The Thought Police

Mike and Matt take a closer look at the week's news including whether Big Ben should indeed bong for Brexit, the press coverage of Harry and Meghan and the long term future for the monarchy (if there is one), what's next for the House of Lords, why MG believes someone should build a ship on the Thames, the overwhelming omnipresence of the BBC and whether there's value in the licence fee and how Ma...

Mike and Matt unpick a few more world events as they get stuck into how you categorise people who were formerly 'Remainers', the argument for a new centre-left to challenge Labour, falling out with those who don't share your politics...or your humour, colleagues who have used and abused their power, Boris Johnson's premiership and the mysteries of the deep... Follow the podcast on Twitter: @Though...

Mike and Matt are back once again to digest the news of the week. The future of the Royal family is up in the air and the pair ponder whether the Sussexes may be the first yet not the last to go, Mike lambastes the woke generation and their propensity to milk problems, Matt informs us that you can learn a lot from Monty Don and American gardens and they both share their experiences of having to de...

Mike and Matt discuss getting back to work, MGs car problems, the Labour party leadership race, being pansexual, what constitutes sub judice, the horrendous news agenda and the cause of the Australian fires.  Follow the podcast on Twitter: @ThoughtPoliceTP. Mike Graham is: @IROMG and Matt Kelly can be found: @TheNewEuropean New episodes are available to download every Tuesday and Thursday so subsc...

Mike Graham and Matt Kelly return from their holidays with a bang as they discuss their action packed sojourns abroad over Christmas and take a look at the busy news agenda as 2020 rolls in. Also up for discussion today is the brutality of social media, why it's wrong to judge a holiday brochure by its cover, why you need to make sure you have an expensive bottle at the ready when you visit MG's f...

CHRISTMAS BEST OF 2: What better way to see in the New Year than to gather round for a little story time! Here are some more best bits from the Thought Police ahead of their return in 2020 for you to enjoy as Mike and Matt tell stories of mistaken identity, youthful boozing, unfortunate column titles, smuggling 'guns', the rigmarole of buying the Christmas tree and how to cleverly dupe a fearsome...

CHRISTMAS BEST OF 1: While the boys take a Christmas break to mull more than just wine, why not take a listen back to how Mike Graham and Matt Kelly reacted to the big political stories of the last few months including Brexit, selling the NHS, climate change, the London Bridge terror attack, the December General Election and the fractures within the Labour Party and of course...that Prince Andrew...

It's the final Thought Police of the year and the last chance for Mike Graham and Matt Kelly to tidy up a few loose ends to round off 2019. Exciting things to come but for now enjoy conversation which covers the role of Scotland and Northern Ireland post Brexit, Christmas tree decorations, reaching a half-century of podcast episodes, Campuchia, the language of touts, festive telly, and how the cam...

It's the podcast you've been waiting for as Mike and Matt deliver all the fall out to the 2019 General Election. From Labour's poor performance, to a Boris Johnson run United Kingdom, to the countdown to Brexit - it's all in here. The pair also explain their separate encounters with Rupert Murdoch...one of which was far more dramatic than it probably should have been.    Follow the podcast on Twit...

It's polling day - at last - and Mike and Matt are sick of the whole affair. On today's episode they try and predict the future without knowing what's going to happen, they bash politicians who won't give you a straight answer and they debate whether Brexit will happen. They also tangent into areas including celebrity endorsements of political campaigns, the costs of going through a divorce, trust...

The election is almost upon us but before we get to it, there's some other business to dispense with. Mike and Matt discuss losing your voice, being roped in to going to the panto, buying Christmas trees, the perils of Christmas party season and Robert Kilroy Silk. What more do you need to get you in the festive spirit?  Follow the podcast on Twitter: @ThoughtPoliceTP. Mike Graham is: @IROMG and M...

Mike and Matt return with a look at what might happen next week as the people prepare to head to the polls to decide the next Prime Minister. They discuss the shoddy state of politics in the UK and why there are so few decent candidates to vote for, while Matt  shares the details of working on an ultimately doomed project which the pair speculate could offer a hint to the future for the latest ent...

The Thought Police (Mike Graham and Matt Kelly) are quick to respond as you might expect, giving their informed assessment of the London Bridge terrorist attack as well as the justice system in the UK as a whole. They also debate the appropriate punishment for serious offenders, being Matt Kelly's neighbour and radical new ways to discourage radicalisation.   Follow the podcast on Twitter: @Though...

Matt Kelly and Mike Graham are back for another sparkling edition of the Thought Police and today it's all about the changing landscape of local and national journalism. From months spent gathering information inside the walls of Buckingham Palace to days grinding away in the newsroom office, the times they are a-changing. The pair share their experiences of engaging with the community to win thei...

There are three weeks to go until the election and it's reaching... who knows what conclusion? Mike Graham and Matt Kelly try to make sense of it all in their usual blockbusting manner while also discussing what makes successful journalism and why the Daily Mail's controversial political position was brilliant if not always favourable thanks to their highly skilled yet polarising former editor......

Independent candidates Mike Graham (@IROMG) and Matt Kelly (@TheNewEuropean) discuss all the week's political talking points at home and abroad including why the upcoming Christmas election is important but tedious and in a different Remain vs. Leave issue - this time from across the pond - whether Donald Trump can survive his impeachment hearings. PS The sound of drilling is not coming from the T...

Mike and Matt drill down into the car crash TV event of the year; Emily Maitlis' interrogation of His Royal Highness, Prince Andrew. Enjoy. The sounds in the background are not the sounds of the Prince digging himself out of an enormous hole... Matt has the builders in! Follow the lads on Twitter: @IROMG and @TheNewEuropean while the podcast is: @ThoughtPoliceTP. Email questions or comments to: th...

Mike and Matt dip into the mailbag and pull out a question on their best and worst business trips. Prepare for some cracking stories from around the world as well as other classic titbits such as an why MG has an intimate knowledge of Richard Madeley, why Matt Kelly has always been a bum and why you should always write down your good ideas...  Follow the podcast on Twitter: @ThoughtPoliceTP / @IRO...

Mike and Matt return to their soapboxes to give the result of the upcoming election...or at least how it seems after the latest round of political posturing; and once they've started they can't stop as they discuss the NHS, how we treat our old people, whether to lower the voting age, Father Christmas*, terrible excuses for turning down jobs and Liverpool's relentless quest for the Premier League...

Matt and Mike capture the zeitgeist of modern journalism as they discuss the importance of free speech, the potential purchase of the Telegraph and what it might mean, the challenges of tackling tricky issues as a media savant, the influence of social media vs. newspapers on the upcoming election and of course there are a few tangents via Fleet Street as well! Follow the podcast on Twitter: @Thoug...

Mike and Matt discuss the big stories of the week including the build up to the General Election and the first few days of campaigning, the cans and cant's of the political process, snowflake footballers, why Brendan Rodgers is a bit odd, dreaming about ministers (definitely not through choice) and the recent high profile McDonald's firing on an explosive edition of the Thought Police.  Follow the...

Mike and Matt reflect on their changeable drinking habits over the years as they discuss the best ways to give up alcohol; as far as Kelly is concerned, it's all down to the right beer. MG hazily remembers some drunken Fleet Street nights and offending some Germans while Matt harps on about a hotel stay which very nearly wasn't. It's a boozy, woozy, doozy of an episode of the Thought Police.   Fol...

Mike and Matt return after a short period of illness for an in depth look at the latest news and how it's reported. Topics include Kay Burley, interviewing politicians, standing up to Terry Manners, religion not practising what it preaches and pigs in blankets.  Follow the podcast on Twitter: @ThoughtPoliceTP / @IROMG / @TheNewEuropean and if you have a question for the boys email: thoughtpolicepo...

This episode was due to be a delve into the Thought Police mailbag (and loosely ends up that way) but actually starts out with Matt and Mike lamenting their recent #firstworldproblems including a frustrating family drama, the incompetence of car deliveries, unexpected perils of the countryside and those journalists with a ridiculous reticence to cover simple stories. It's more mixed bag than mail...

With Brexit supposedly only a few days away, it's the final battle between the Remainer (Matt Kelly) and the Leaver (Mike Graham). What starts out as a critical analysis of the latest Queen's Speech (and develops into a debate about whether Brexit really means Brexit) ends with more uncertainty than ever before. Divisive, polarising and full of outrageous opinion. And that's just The Thought Polic...