It Could Be Said
News & Politics
About
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Luke Middup talk about whatever they damn well want to. But usually the latest developments in the whacky worlds of British and International Politics
Episodes
- It Could Be Said #272 These Men That We Admire
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to not talk about Sir Keir Starmer or Peter Mandelson because nothing could be worse. Instead we talk about people we admire as we discuss our love of Charles De Gaulle, George Orwell, Er…
- It Could Be Said #271 It's All Going Great, Just Great.
Simon Alvey and Will Cooling discuss the latest developments in the American-Israeli attack on Iran before getting Simon's thoughts on the Gorton and Denton By-Election and discussing the role of religion in public life, animals on money,…
- It Could Be Said #270 Am I Mad, In A Coma, Or Back In 2003?
Dr Luke Middup and Will Cooling return to talk the latest resignation of Peter Mandelson, the latest scandal involving the former Duke of York, the latest shock defeat of an unpopular Labour Government by a left-wing rival, and the latest…
- It Could Be Said #269 It's Been A Week
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup enter 2026 with a round up of the latest craziness from The White House including events in Venezuela, Minneosota and Greenland. They then give their cultural recommendations.
- It Could Be Said #268 That Was The 2025 That Was
Simon Alvey and Will Cooling are joined by The Wool Shift Dust's Dr Luke Middup to discuss the year that was 2025. We talk biggest British and Overseas stories of the year plus our recommendations and disappointments of the year.
- It Could Be Said #267 We Briefly Talk About Downfall and Suspiria Because Politics Is Too Horrifying
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to try and make sense of the breaking news about the BBC crisis, with the corporation's Director-General and Head of News quitting due to...erm...saying Donald Trump urged people to storm…
- It Could Be Said #266 MOST DEPRESSING EPISODE EVER
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Liuke Middup join you from a pit of despair called last Sunday as they consider the potential death of American democracy in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's mourder, and the growing popularity of Nigel Fara…
- It Could Be Said #265 Keir Be Shuffling TO THE GRAVE
A youthful Simon Alvey, a middle-aged Will Cooling and an old Dr Luke Middup return to talk all drama of a traumatic week in Labour politics. Yes it's our reshuffle emergency podcast...delayed by two days because Luke wanted to watch the S…
- It Could Be Said #264 My Summer with Luke & Simon
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk sport! Yes the world of politics is still too depressing to talk about so we discuss the start of the football season, England falling at the final hurdle in the cricket but vault…
- It Could Be Said #263 Keep On Looking For That Ray Of Sunshine
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return with a monster podcast as they catch up on the news. They discuss the football, Jeffery Epstein and Donald Trump, the cancellations of the Late Show, the formation of a new political part…
- It Could Be Said #262 I Wonder What Roy Jenkins Would Have Done
Dr Luke Middup and Will Cooling return to talk about the problems facing Rachel Reeves and the wider Labour Government. We do this by looking at what we do in her position and how she compares to her predecessors.
- It Could Be Said #261 Podcasters Behaving Giddily
Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return in a surprisingly good mood considering much of the episode is given over to war in the middle east & Starmer's planned disability cuts. They also talk the race to be NYC Mayor, England vs India in th…
- It Could Be Said #260 Alien vs Predator Repeated As Farce
Will Cooling & Dr Luke Middup return to discuss Elon Musk and Donald Trump falling out, Labour surprising everyone in Hamilton & what's up with Kemi Badenoch. They also start with some football talk and slip in a mini-review of Clarkson's…
- It Could Be Said #259 Guess Who's Back! Back Again!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return after two months off from podcasting for a freewheeling discussion even by our standards. We begin with Will and Luke bemoaning the mess that Sir Keir Starmer is making off being Prime Mi…
- It Could Be Said #258 Donald Trump's Tariffanaza
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling & Dr Luke Middup return to talk Donald Trump's tariffs! They talk the sheer scale and recklessness of the announcement, the impact on both America and the wider world, and what on earth happens next.
- It Could Be Said #257 Dissing Rachel's Ability
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk about Rachel Reeves's Spring Statement. In particular they discuss in detail the impact of the government's cuts to disability benefits.
- It Could Be Said #256 Volodymyr Zelenskyy Goes To Washington
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup talk the latest developments in the deepening crisis over the American Government's attitude to Ukraine.
- It Could Be Said #255 Happy Podcast Is Oh So Happy
Simon Alvey is happy because of trains. Will Cooling is happy due to morbid drama full of dull rooms and badly fitted suits. Dr Luke Middup is happy because of football. We are all so happy. No sadness or worry over here. No siree. The Bad…
- It Could Be Said #254 A Day Late or A Month Early?
If a week is a long time in politics then a weekend is a long time in whatever Donald Trump thinks he's doing. Join Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup for a group therapy session about an America that keeps threatening to break b…
- It Could Be Said #253 Musk!?! This Bloody Stinks!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to look back at 2024 through the prism of the weekend's biggest news stories including the Labour Government trying to avoid openly arguing with an aggressively racist and conspiratorial…
- It Could Be Said #252 I Beg Your Pardon!?!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk through the biggest news in global politics including Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter, the unusually sleepy Irish elections, the growing crisis in France and the ballad of Lo…
- It Could Be Said #251 Now Look Sad & Say D'oh!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return for the podcast they hoped they'd never have to record; breaking down the re-election of Donald Trump as American President. They took their experiences on the night, thoughts about why i…
- It Could Be Said #250 The Night Before The American Election, The Whole World Held Its Breath
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss Kemi Badenoch's victory in the Tory Leadership election, the budget, and the soon to be over neverending story that is the American Presidential Elections.
- It Could Be Said #249 Sue Gray and Kemi Badenoch's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the shock departure of Sue Gray from her role as Chief of Staff, the latest twist and turns in the Tory Party Leadership race, and much more besides!
- It Could Be Said #248 Happy Birthday Prince Harry!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup meet to celebrate the 79th anniversary of Britain winning the Battle of Britain, the sixteenth anniversary of the implosion of Lehman Brothers, and much more besides! Given the party atmosphere,…
- It Could Be Said #247 The Badness of King Elon
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the far right rioting across England and Northern Ireland, and what it means for the affected communities, particularly British Muslims. They then discuss the issue of Twitter…
- It Could Be Said #246 Rage, Rage Against The Dying Of The Light...Until We Have To Podcast
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Middup talk what may be the craziest week in American political history. Joe Biden becomes the first president of the modern era to not seek the renomination, and drops out in a uniquely public and late mom…
- It Could Be Said #245 No Sleep Till Downing Street!
A very tired Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup gathered on Saturday 6th July to unpick the general election results. They weren't quite the epic bloodletting some of the MRPs promised, but they delivered a brutal defeat to the T…
- It Could Be Said #244 Your Super Soaraway Elections Preview!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return with a super soaraway elections preview! They talk about the mechanics of watching elections night, including when to nap and what to eat, before looking at the latest polls, and making…
- It Could Be Said #243 What Are The Odds of That Happening!?!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to cover the latest goings on in the election including the Tory betting scandal, latest polling, lacklusture manifestos, Nigel Farage on Ukraine, environmentalism run amok, and whether…
- It Could Be Said #242 You Let RISHI Do A General Election!?!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk yet another bad week in the general election for Rishi Sunak as Nigel Farage reenters frontline politics, he loses the debate to Sir Keir Starmer, gets shouted at for misusing gov…
- It Could Be Said #241 On All Farage's Eve, The Podcast Did Record
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the first full week of the election campaign. Recorded before Nigel Farage's return to frontline politics on Monday, we look at the arguments over Diane Abbott, the Tory's new…
- It Could Be Said #240 National Service For Some, Tax Cuts For Others
Simon Alvey returns from Northern Ireland to catch up with Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup about the election. Together they discuss RIshi Sunak's shock announcement and the even more shocking state of the Tory Party's campaign, with Micha…
- It Could Be Said #239 Why Does It Always Rain On Rishi?
Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk the surprise announcement of an election on Thursday 4th July. We discuss why Rishi Sunak decided upon a snap election, the amateurish announcement and Labour's response. We then look at the i…
- It Could Be Said #238 The Winner's Gotta Be Anyone Other Than Kane
Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk a disappointing end of the season for Harry Kane and the slow start to the longest election campaigns in British and American history. They also discuss whether devolution has been a success.
- It Could Be Said #237 Ipswich FC, The Tories and John Swinney Walk Into A Bar...
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to talk about Ipswich's promotion to the premier league, Clarkson's Farm and a new First Minister in Scotland. They turn their minds to the local elections, looking at the big mayoral ra…
- It Could Be Said #236 Oh Humza, You're Breaking Patrick's heart, You're Shaking Your Majority Dangerously
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to do a deep dive into Humza Yousaf's no-good, awful Thursday as his gambit to preempt the end of his coalition with the Greens may very well bring his premiership to a premature end.
- It Could Be Said #235 I Got Threads, They're Multiplying
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup manage to fill a cute little podcast to capacity as they discuss the latest developments in the Middle East and American Congress, the return of Liz Truss ahead of the local elections, the growi…
- It Could Be Said #234 We Be Canadian/Caledonian Dreaming
Simon Alvey and Will Cooling return to talk about the utter destruction that is predicted for the Tories in the latest MRP modelling, and to what extent we should take the prospect of a Tory wipeout. We then get Will's updates on the lates…
- It Could Be Said #233 So Dr Middup, How Was The Football Match?
Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss a range of topics including the shock resignation of Jeffrey Donaldson as DUP Leader following his arrest on Thursday, Matthew Parris's article advocating for the mass euthanasia of the old…
- It Could Be Said #232 ...Which Means You've Probably Lost Your Remote Control
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the latest developments in British politics. Before that however they discuss Notts County's current fortunes in the football league, Zone of Interest, and The Wild Men. They…
- It Could Be Said #231 The Rematch More Than A Century In The Making
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to look ahead to the election that we're all dreading; the rematch between Presidents Biden and Trump. We marvel at how Trump has managed to destroy his primary opposition and explain why…
- It Could Be Said #230 It's A Wonderful Keir
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the year in British politics. They look at how Rishi Sunak has been brought crashing down to earth both by the Tory Party's crushing unpopularity and his own mistakes before co…
- It Could Be Said #229 Davros Is Not For Turning
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to talk about a lot! We discuss Doctor Who's latest Davros retcon, the theological problem of moral evil, what bits of All Out War are still relevant in 2023, and the return of David Cam…
- It Could Be Said #228 We Recorded This Last Night...OKAY!!!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to not discuss the reshuffle because that happened after this podcast was recorded. We instead discuss whether Donald Trump could become President again, the chaos that has engulfed the H…
- It Could Be Said #227 Don't Ask Suella, Assume She's Useless
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk about the Department of Work and Pensions latest attempts to promote disability inclusion and Suella Braverman's recent comments about immigration and multiculturalism. They then…
- It Could Be Said #226 Sunak Over There, Sunak Over Here, Sunak Everywhere
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to recap a crazy week in British politics as they touch upon the beginning of the Lib Dem Conference, Liz Truss's latest comeback, Rishi Sunak trying to prove himself an Action Man by exp…
- It Could Be Said #225 And Now We Turn To The Mitterrand Position
We're back from our summer holidays as Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup do a tour of various news stories including the mini-reshuffle, the state of Britain's schools, whether the death penalty should be brought back, what the…
- It Could Be Said #224 FOOTBALL'S BACK! MORALITY ISN'T!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup surpass themselves by not getting past the introductions in this 90minute podcast! After looking forward to Notts County, Ipswich Town and Leicester City's new season we discuss Tottenham Hotspu…
- It Could Be Said #223 NHS & UKRAINE WINNING HERE!!!
Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup talk about the NHS, Ukraine, Ben Wallace, University Admissions, and By-Elections and at no point do they say Keir Starmer is a wrong-un for his pro-child poverty policy. Well he is you know, an…