OppositionCast

Finally, it has arrived. The polls are open and after six weeks of politicians campaigning, it is now for the voters to decide their fate. Nigel and Sarah discuss the final events in the election campaign and look ahead to the likely change of government. Back in 1997, the 1st of May dawns, with a nervous Michael Portillo canvassing the streets of his constituency, and Tony Blair starting to belie...

With just two days to go until polling day, we're joined by special guest and podcast royalty, former Labour Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. We talk about campaigning, civility, what it's like to win in a landslide election... and what it's like to lose in the glare of publicity. Nigel and Sarah also catch up with Ed Davey's latest stunt, hear which former Prime Ministers have been caught on the door...

With just a week to go until the results of the election are known, Nigel and Sarah discuss the latest developments in the ongoing betting scandal, and review the final head-to-head TV debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. Noises off threatened to distract from the event, and for once Sunak seemed to score some points at his opponents' expense. Meanwhile back in 1997, the political mudsling...

As the betting scandal rumbles on, Nigel and Sarah discuss what further damage it could do to the public's faith in politics overall. They also consider how differing levels of trust change how voters react to policies, promises - and even Taylor Swift selfies. Back in 1997, the issues of Europe continues to dominate, with Sir Edward Heath lambasting the latest Conservative attack on Tony Blair. T...

In this episode Nigel and Sarah review the party leaders' performance in their latest television grilling, discuss the Tory betting scandal, and react to yet another set of eyebrow-raising opinion polls. Could the Conservatives really be reduced to just 53 MPs? Plus, some advice on when to sleep during the election dramas, and our regular trip back to the 1997 General Election campaign, where the...

In the latest from the campaign trail we talk to Conservative Minister Lord Parkinson, fresh from a bloody encounter with a dog in Clacton, and to Dr Louise Thompson about the problems facing smaller opposition parties in parliament. Could the Conservatives be about to join them? Plus, we take our usual time-travelling trip to the the equivalent point in the 1997 General Election campaign, where J...

Manifesto week concludes with the Labour and Green Party manifestos being published, and another TV debate being held. Nigel and Sarah consider the significance of a poll showing Reform UK overtaking the Conservatives, and discuss a surprising Tory win in a local by-election. Also under discussion: is Keir Starmer too robotic? What is the role of leader's spouses, and should you ever bet on an ele...

It's manifesto week, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats having launched theirs, and Labour's still to come on Thursday. Nigel and Sarah discuss these as well as the most recent TV debates and the state of the polls. We're also joined by Dr Richard Johnson of Queen Mary, University of London, one of the co-authors of a new book, "Keeping the Red Flag Flying - The Labour Party in Oppositio...

What are the challenges facing the Lib Dems in this election, and what does success look like for them? In this episode, Nigel and Sarah are joined by Mark Pack, President of the Liberal Democrats, to answer these and other questions. Meanwhile the Prime Minister has been forced to apologise after he received a barrage of criticism for leaving the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations early to con...

As we await the first Leaders' TV debate of the election, Nigel and Sarah discuss the news from the campaign trail, including the effect of Nigel Farage's return to the political fray, and what the latest opinion poll tells us. We also head back for our "live" coverage of the 1997 General Election, where TV debates are also under discussion, along with a look at Tony Blair's battlebus, and a guest...

In this all-star edition of the podcast we speak to Gyles Brandreth and John Sergeant about parallels with previous General Elections, and veteran journalist and author Michael Crick about his work tracking parliamentary candidate selections. Sarah and Nigel also discuss how much fun Ed Davey is having on the campaign trail, Rishi Sunak's excitement at taking a sleeper train, and whether Diane Abb...

As we approach the end of the first week of the General Election campaign, Nigel and Sarah discuss how the opening stages have gone- with Labour proposing lowering the voting age to 16, and the Conservatives announcing the return of national service (sort of). Sarah shares her thought on the visuals of the campaign, including the Prime Minister visiting the Titanic quarter in Belfast, and reveals...

As the UK General Election campaign gets properly underway, we unveil exciting changes to the podcast! Joining Nigel Fletcher as our new co-host is political commentator and comedian Sarah Southern, who in her previous career was a key aide to David Cameron during the 2010 General Election (the last time a Leader of the Opposition made the transition to government). From now until polling day on 4...

EMERGENCY PODCAST! (As they say) With Rishi Sunak calling the General Election for 4th July, Nigel Fletcher gives his initial observations on the campaign and we hear from a variety of opposition party leaders in their first campaign appearances. Plus, some hints about our exciting plans for coverage of the rest of the election campaign. Stay tuned... Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies...

Wales is often seen as one of the most anti-Conservative parts of Britain, with a strongly working-class Labour tradition. But in the postwar period the Conservative Party has remained the second party of Wales in electoral terms. In this episode Nigel talks to Dr Sam Blaxland, author of a new book charting the history of the Conservative Party in Wales 1945-1997. The story is a more nuanced than...

In the UK, the Labour Party has held a convincing lead over the Conservatives in the opinion polls since the disastrous impact of the "Mini-budget" under Liz Truss in the autumn of 2022. This month we've had another "fiscal event" in the shape of Jeremy Hunt's budget, but this doesn't seem to have had much effect on the polls at all. How can a "big moment" change the political weather, and what tr...

Over recent years, as leadership turmoil regularly engulfed the Conservative Party, the position of the 1922 Committee was brought to greater public attention. It provides a channel for communicating backbench dissent to the party leadership, and oversees formal leadership and no-confidence votes. But how did it come to exist, and how has its role changed? In this episode we speak to Professor Phi...

The House of Commons descended into acrimonious chaos this week, with the Speaker facing a major backlash for his handling of an Opposition Day debate on the situation in Gaza. What was the row about, and what does it tell us about the way opposition functions in parliament? In this episode, Dr Nigel Fletcher does his best to explain its significance. Away from all that, we also pause to reflect o...

An increasing number of MPs have reported an increase in the level of personal abuse, threats and intimidation they have received in recent years. Some of them, including Mike Freer MP, have cited it as a reason for choosing to stand down from Parliament. Most seriously, we have seen in the last decade the brutal murder of two MPs, Jo Cox in 2016 and Sir David Amess in 2021, as they went about the...

We're back! With 2024 shaping up to be a dramatic year for politics in the UK and around the world, we're kicking off a new series of OppositionCast, beginning with a look at preparations for a potential change of government. This week Sir Keir Starmer has written to the Cabinet Secretary to formally request the beginning of "Access talks" - the process by which the Official Opposition meets senio...

An unscheduled EMERGENCY episode (!) prompted by the resignation of senior Civil Servant Sue Gray to take up a job as Chief of Staff to the Labour Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer. Featuring the government's response in the House of Commons to an urgent Question on the subject, Keir Starmer's awkward radio interview about it, and a look at the challenges of running the Leader's office wi...

With protests continuing on the streets of Iran against the country's authoritarian regime, and the Ukrainian people continuing their defiance in the face of Russia's invasion, different forms of opposition continue to be manifested around the world. In this episode Nigel talks to foreign policy expert Garvan Walshe about the resistance being shown in these three countries and their prospects for...

As the Conservative Party suffers a collapse in its opinion poll rating, Nigel speaks to pollster Chris Curtis of Opinium Research about how bad it is for the government, and what it means for the Labour Party. We also hear from Professor Jane Green of Nuffield College Oxford in her keynote address to our Opposition Studies Conference, given in July during a previous political crisis... Produced b...

There is a new mood of confidence around the Labour Party as it takes a substantial lead in the opinion polls and begins thinking seriously about the prospect of power. Nigel Fletcher reports from the Labour Party Conference on Sir Keir Starmer's speech, and talks to guests including Professor Jane Green, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Meg Hillier MP, and Dr Catherine Haddon of the Institu...

In this special episode, we pay tribute to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the week of her State Funeral. Nigel reflects on the relationship between the Queen and her Leaders of the Opposition, with archive contributions from the current and former Leaders of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The episode also includes clips from the 1992 BBC documentary "Elizabeth R - A year in the life of Th...