Politics Unpacked

It's been a year since Boris Johnson resigned outside Downing Street, telling the nation: "Them's the breaks." Matt is joined by impressionist Jon Culshaw and columnists James Marriott and Gaby Hinsliff to discuss exclusive new polling about the former prime minister and whether people want him back. Plus: Decisions, decisions, decisions. We convene a panel of experts to discuss the difficult trad...

In two weeks' time Rishi Sunak faces major by-election tests in the seats vacated by Boris Johnson, Nigel Adams and David Warburton, and the suspension of former whip Chris Pincher means there could be at least one more on the way. Matt speaks to Times journalists on the ground to find out where the Conservatives have a chance of holding on. Plus: Columnists Manveen Rana and Matthew Bell discuss o...

Deputies Oliver Dowden and Angela Rayner stand in at PMQs and clash over mortgage rates and problems in the rental market. Matt pauses and unpacks the action with the help of Tim Shipman and tennis coach Mark Petchey, who joins us live from Wimbledon. Plus Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton discuss whether Rishi Sunak's low attendance record at PMQs is a problem, whether  Robert wil...

Six months ago today, Rishi Sunak laid out five key pledges that he said would build a better future for the country. Matt and a panel of experts from The Times deliver their verdict on the progress he has made so far and whether or not he is on course to achieve those promises. Plus: For the penultimate time, columnists Danny Finkelstein and Henry Zeffman discuss whether the Tory Party is struggl...

Ian Blackford joined the SNP aged 16, going on to lead the party in Westminster during a period of high political drama. In the latest episode of our series reflecting on the careers of MPs leaving Parliament at the next election, he tells Matt about his regrets over negative campaigning against Charles Kennedy, what he thinks about Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond, and how he came to be know...

It's been a century since the broadcasters first asked to record what goes on in Parliament, although cameras didn't make it into the Commons chamber until 1989. Matt goes behind the scenes to see how it all works, and to hear about some of the speeches and debates that have defined political history. Plus: Columnists India Knight and James Marriott discuss whether  more politicians...

Baroness McDonagh, Labour's first female general secretary, was a key figure in the paty and was instrumental in Tony Blair's election victories in 1997 and 2001 Following her recent death, Matt revisits an interview she gave in 2017 when she talked about designing the pledge card to keep politicians on message, her trip to the cinema with John Prescott, and what happened when she realised the par...

As Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer trade blows over housing statistics, Matt pauses and unpacks the action with the help of Peter Dickson, the voice of the X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton discuss the  degree marking fiasco , the death of the  "good chap" system  and whether  Elton John is brilliant or terrible . Hosted on Acast...

Swing voters from across England give their verdict on Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer and explain why they'd rather have consumer expert Martin Lewis at Number 10. The good news for the prime minister is they've heard of his five pledges, the bad news is they don't think he can deliver on them - and are in a mood for change. Matt is joined by James Johnson of J.L. Partners to analyse their verdict. Plu...

Sir Ben Bradshaw spent almost a decade as a junior minister before reaching the cabinet under Gordon Brown. In the latest episode of our series talking to MPs leaving Parliament at the next election, he tells Matt about forming a 'council of elders' to advise the current shadow cabinet on how to be in government, and the importance of doing yoga in the office. Plus columnists Jane Merrick and Matt...

As defence secretary when the Falklands were invaded, John Nott had to check the globe in his office and was horrified to see how far away the islands were. He talks to Matt about the conflict that defined Margaret Thatcher's legacy, and why he walked out of a TV interview when Robin Day called him a 'here-today, gone-tomorrow politician'. He also reveals his connection to the Peppa Pig song. PLUS...

Labour Leader Keir Starmer joins Matt in the studio to discuss help for homeowners, travelling by helicopter, whether Tony Blair should be in the Lords - and he has a go at the quiz, Can You Get To Number 10. Plus: We look at exclusive new polling by YouGov showing the Conservatives may have lost the countryside, and columnists Carol Lewis and Matthew Bell discuss house prices and things they'd ba...

As Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer argue over whether there's a "Tory mortgage penalty", Matt is joined by special guests Jane Garvey and Fi Glover to pause and unpack the exchanges from Prime Minister's Questions. Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton on whether homeowners should expect the state to help with mortgages, why we look down on people who want to get into politics, and why R...

Daniel Finkelstein and Henry Zeffman discuss what we we learned from the MPs defending Boris Johnson during the debate over the Privileges Committee report, and why is Keir Starmer planning to fill the Lords with new Labour peers? Plus: Does Britain care about freedom? New research by US Pollster Frank Luntz shows how important freedom is to the UK public, and how political parties can use the con...

Sir Gary Streeter started out in the SDP, defected to the Tories, was an aide to John Major after his general election defeat and was sacked by Iain Duncan Smith after telling him he was 'unelectable'. He joins Matt for the latest episode of the Exit Interviews - our series talking to MPs leaving Parliament at the next election. Plus columnists Rachel Sylvester and Iain Martin enter the 'no Boris...

This week in 1983 one of the great political schemers, Edmund Blackadder hit TV screens for the first time. Matt chart's the politics of the classic sitcom, from the power plays to the by-elections, speaking to Tony Robinson, who played Baldrick, and Miriam Margolyes who was a regular on the show.  Plus Columnists India Knight and James Heale discuss  whether partygate would have blown o...

After the Privileges Committee finds that Boris Johnson misled the Commons, Matt considers his future career options with Times sketchwriter Quentin Letts, biographer Andrew Gimson, the Spectator's Katy Balls and Johnson supporter David Campbell Bannerman. Plus: Columnists Manveen Rana and Matthew Parris on the former prime minister's relationship with the truth, the migrant boat disaster in...

Keir Starmer takes aim at Rishi Sunak over Boris Johnson's resignation honours list, while Sunak attacks Labour for picking peers like Tom Watson. Matt, Tim Shipman, Isabel Hardman and Patrick Maguire pause and unpack the exchanges from the House of Commons. Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton discuss whether being in the Lords is all it's cracked up to be,  whether abortion la...

Daniel Finkelstein and Henry Zeffman are back to discuss the battle over Boris Johnson's honours list, why the former prime minister annoys Rishi Sunak so much, and whether there's any chance of Labour winning all four by-elections on the horizon. Plus: As the Covid inquiry public hearings get underway, Matt looks at the big questions to be answered with a line-up of experts from the Times an...

Labour veteran Dame Margaret Hodge sits down for The Exit Interviews, our new series featuring MPs leaving Parliament at the next election. She talks to Matt about her 30-year career in the Commons including being neighbours with Tony Blair, her battles with the BNP, and what she really said to Jeremy Corbyn when she confronted him over antisemitism. Plus: Columnists Iain Martin and Libby Purves d...

Former US President Donald Trump has been criminally charged for the second time in three months, but is still the favourite to secure the Republican nomination in the race for the White House. Can any of the other candidates stop him? Matt speaks to Trump's former Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Plus, columnists India Knight and James Marriott talk about how to have a barbecue in a heatwave , why In...

Daniel Finkelstein, Times columnist and friend of the podcast, tells the story of his parents' remarkable journey from the Soviet Gulags and the Nazi concentration camps of World War II to safety in north London. Matt joins him at the Wiener Holocaust Library, home to his grandfather's archive documenting the Nazi rise to power, to discuss his book  Hitler, Stalin, Mum & Dad: A Family Mem...

With Rishi Sunak away in America, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden faces off against Labour's number two, Angela Rayner. Matt, Patrick Maguire and Lara Spirit pause and unpack the exchanges as the two trade blows over the Covid inquiry, and Rayner tells Dowden his punchlines are 'dire'. PLUS: Columnists Hadley Freeman and Oliver Kamm discuss weight loss drugs , Oxfam's controversial new advert...

Rishi Sunak is off to meet Joe Biden at the White House for the first time and will hope to make a big impression (or at least get the President to pronounce his name correctly). Matt discusses the the diplomatic dos and don'ts in Washington D.C. with a former ambassador and hears from advisers who learned the hard way what happens when a trip goes wrong. Plus Columnists Quentin Letts and Hen...

Matt is back with the first episode in a new series, The Exit Interviews, sitting down with MPs leaving Parliament at the next election to talk about their highs and lows, their best and worst bosses, and the lessons they've learned from politics. Former cabinet secretary George Eustice worked on his family farm, stood for election for UKIP and went on to be press secretary to David Cameron....