Never Mind The Bar Charts
News & Politics
About
Mark Pack and guests talk about the Liberal Democrats, British politics and a few stray digressions. Only a few.
Episodes
- Tribal Politics: How Brexit Divided Britain - and lessons for pro-European campaigners
Sara Hobolt and James Tilley discuss their book "Tribal Politics: How Brexit Divided Britain." They analyze how the Brexit referendum created lasting political identities and examine the influence of social media on forging anti-Brexit ide…
- The Thick of It, Series 1: Political Fictions podcast
Mark and Cory revisit the first series of the political TV show The Thick of It. They discuss fictional policy proposals that later became reality and analyze character dynamics.
- New podcast: Political Fictions
A trailer is available for Political Fictions, a new podcast focusing on politics in TV, film, and books, co-hosted by Cory Hazlehurst. The host of Never Mind The Bar Charts will continue their show with fewer episodes.
- Are political party members psychopaths? New data from the Party Members Project
This episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features Paul Webb discussing the "Britain's Party Members" report. The conversation covers the data sources, the composition of British political parties, and the psychological traits of their mem…
- Have we become too critical of Labour's general election campaign?
Authors of "The British General Election of 2024" discuss the criticism of Labour's election campaign, considering the post-election slump and potential lessons for other parties.
- Fail Safe: the film that got overshadowed by Dr. Strangelove
I've popped up on a movie podcast, War Movie Theatre with Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Here is what they have to say about the show: "A 1964 film about accidental nuclear war from a legendary director and featuring a German scientist with…
- 50 gems from political science: Phil Cowley's new book
This episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features podcast favourite Phil Cowley talking about his new book, The Smallest Room in the House . It is crammed full of fun yet useful insights from political science. Listen to us talk about Sim…
- Liberal trends, populist politics: who is going to win out? Podcast with Rob Ford
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts sees a return to the show for Professor Rob Ford. We dive into my favourite political paradox to discuss with him: the long term liberalising trends in British politics and yet the run of win…
- What's happened to those who voted Labour in 2024?
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts sees me discuss with polling expert Steve Akehurst what has happened to Labour's July 2024 vote. We dive into the characteristics of those who voted for Starmer but are now flirting with Fara…
- Liberalism: a great new book focusing on what politicians do
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features an interview with Emeritus Professor Jonathan Parry, whose new book, Liberalism , explores the history of liberalism as a political idea in Britain. Parry emphasises that liberalism…
- Local elections 2025: the Lib Dem verdict
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw me team up with John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod team to discuss the local elections. How did they go for the Liberal Democrats and what lessons are there for the party? Show notes Some hi…
- Podcast: First impressions of the House of Lords
John Potter of the Lib Dem Pod quizzed me about my first experiences of the House of Lords for our latest joint podcast. Show notes Lib Dem Pod . The Government Chief Whip's Ring Binder . Photograph © House of Lords 2024 / photography by R…
- Jeremy Thorpe: European triumph, political leadership and personal scandal
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another in the occasional series looking back at previous party leaders with Duncan Brack. This time we pick over Jeremy Thorpe's career - securing Britain's place in Europe, leading the L…
- How to explain, and beat, populism
Peter Kellner join sme to discuss a new report on what is going wrong with our politics, and the solutions. No surprise then that our conversation focused on populism, its causes and how liberals can defeat it. Show notes Disruptive Delive…
- The surprising similarity between Tony Blair and Nigel Farage
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw Paula Surridge return to the show, talking about the impact of political values and of perceived competence on recent general elections. We got into some surprising similarities between T…
- Lessons from a century of Labour-Liberal (Democrat) relations
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts takes a look at a book that has made me rethink several things I thought I knew about the history of the Liberal Democrats and Liberals before them. It also contains some wonderfully acerbic…
- Does proportional representation produce weak governments?
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts takes a look at recent research into the impact of electoral reform on the stability of governments. Does PR mean less stable government? Listen to my discussion with the research's author Dy…
- Do those "Winning Here" posters and bar charts actually work?
Election campaigns often put significant effort into persuading voters that their candidate(s) could win. But does such campaigning really change people's expectations of who might win? And even if it people's views do change, does being s…
- Failed State: why our government is broken and how to fix it
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts sees a return to the show for Sam Freedman. This time he’s got a new book out, about how our government is broken – and what to do to fix it. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast…
- The importance of geography to British electoral politics
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts discusses a great new book about the geography of British elections with its two authors, Jamie Furlong and Will Jennings. Why do the Conservatives underperform on Merseyside yet overperform…
- Election 2024 debrief: podcast with Tim Bale
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts takes a look back to the five criteria for success that Professor Tim Bale set out for opposition leaders and considers how they played out by the end of the 2024 general election. Feedback v…
- One last podcast before polling day
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another special with John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod , looking at all the latest from the election campaign. Show notes The More in Common polling I mention . Lib Dem Pod . Theme tune by H…
- The best Lib Dem general election campaign since...?
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another special with John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod , looking at all the latest from the election campaign with Lib Dem peer Liz Barker and Lib Dem candidate David Chadwick. Feedback very…
- A Dalek, The Avengers and other reasons to canvass with Victoria Collins
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another team-up with the Lib Dem podcast, taking a look at the general election, mulling over Nigel Farage 's entrance and hearing about how a Dalek got canvassed. Appearing on the show is…
- What do candidates get up to in their leaflets?
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw a return for the Professor of Political Leafleting, the Lady of the Leaflets, Professor Caitlin Milazzo. She's one of the top experts on what election candidates put in their leaflets and…
- The general election is on: how's it going?
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another team-up with John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod team. This time we were joined by Bill Revans, leader of the largest elected Lib Dem group in the country , to talk about the start of…
- How did the May 2024 elections go for the Lib Dems?
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another joint venture with The Lib Dem Pod , taking a look at the 2024 local elections. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes…
- Can Rishi Sunak save himself by doing a Jeremy Corbyn?
Never Mind The Bar Charts took an unexpected turn when I was discussing the track record of polls closing in previous Parliaments with Professor Will Jennings. One of the most dramatic such examples was with Jeremy Corbyn in 2017... so per…
- My five favourite espionage novels
Something completely different to the usual fare this time: a little while back I picked my five favourite spy novels for the Spybrary podcast. For a variation from the usual Never Mind The Podcasts fare, take a listen to what I picked, an…
- Two more Conservative by-election defeats: what does it all mean?
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another by-election special with the Lib Dem Pod team, talking about what to make of the latest set of Parliamentary by-elections. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with oth…
- How to improve people's lives: Rachel Bentley on being a councillor
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features Southwark councillor Rachel Bentley on what it's like being a councillor, the difference you can make to improve people's lives, the disappointments of Sadiq Khan, life campaigning a…
- Will it be the TikTok general election … or the Zoom general election?
Professor Kate Dommett is one of the UK’s absolute top rank experts on political campaigning, data and the internet. So who better to have back on Never Mind The Bar Charts to talk about how parties use data and what the next general elect…
- The story of Charles Kennedy’s leadership, and lessons to learn from it
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts welcomed back Duncan Brack for another of our reviews of previous party leaders. This time, it’s Charles Kennedy we took a look at. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with other…
- A year of Rishi Sunak and lessons from the Mid Bedfordshire by-election
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another special with the Lib Dem Pod team. We talked about a year of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister and lessons from the Mid Bedfordshire by-election . Listen carefully also to spot a littl…
- Meet the inspirational star who wants to be an MP
I've been honoured to have many great guests on Never Mind The Bar Charts but wow... this time's guest really blew me away with his moving life story and with the thought of just how exciting it would be to see him on the national politica…
- Values or the economy - what’s driving our politics? Podcast with Paula Surridge
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features Paula Surridge once again, who since last time has been promoted to Professor - congratulations! We talk about what's driving British politics, whether the Conservatives can win next…
- Banning alcohol in the US didn’t last; could Brexit be the same?
It took decades of campaigning for Prohibition campaigners to win in the US, getting alcohol banned in the early twentieth century. Once they'd won, their victory seemed set to last. Yet in less than a decade and a half their victory had b…
- ”The Liberal Democrats have been making the spectacular seem routine”
So wrote John Curtice after the latest record-breaking Parliamentary by-election by the Liberal Democrats. Who better therefore to discuss how happy Liberal Democrats should be after Sarah Dyke's victory than Frome-born political scientist…
- What do over 500 field experiments tell us works for getting people out to vote?
Florian Foos has worked with eight different political parties in five different countries carrying out field experiments to test what does and doesn't work in election campaigning. So I invited him on Never Mind The Bar Charts to talk abo…
- Why do so many obvious policy ideas keep on not happening?
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features Sam Freedman, talking about his recent excellent article on why apparently obvious policy ideas keep on being talked about, but not getting implemented. What's going on? Feedback ver…
- Negative campaigning in political leaflets: what the evidence says
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw a return to the show for Professor Caitlin Milazzo, one of the county's top experts on political leaflets - what goes into them why and with what effect. This time we discussed her new re…
- Another Lib Dem local election triumph
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another tie-up with The Lib Dem Podcast , following the stunning Lib Dem gains in the local elections . I joined councillors John Potter and Richard Kemp, along with new Lib Dem council le…
- Where is the Conservative Party going and how did it get here?
I really enjoyed reading Professor Tim Bale's new book, The Conservative Party After Brexit . So who better to have on the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts to discuss the point of such books, how such an apparently ramshackle pa…
- How to tackle the corrosion of trust in our politics
Find out the answer to that... and speculate on what Tim Harford and Matt Forde would be like as MPs with the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts . Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjo…
- How to build houses, and win elections
For the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts , I'm speaking with Cllr Keith House , leader of Eastleigh Council . The local team has an impressive record of building houses on green fields and (yet also) getting re-elected. How have…
- Why does Lords reform so often fail, and how can it be got right next time?
Many attempts at reforming the House of Lords have been made. Many attempts have failed. So what can would-be reformers learn from the failures of their predecessors to achieve more? Professor Meg Russell, director of the Constitution Unit…
- How have Labour and the Lib Dems done in 2022?
It was a warm welcome back to Professor Tim Bale for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. We revisited the five tests for opposition parties we've discussed before. How have Labour and the Lib Dems been performing against them?…
- Talking political polling, with the No Man’s Land podcast
I recently appeared on the No Man's Land podcast, which describes itself as a, "pod on politics and centrism, for those stuck between political trenches". But rather than talk about whether or not the Liberal Democrats should aim to be cen…
- Where next for British politics?
A nice easy question for me and Callum Robertson to chew over in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts . Here's what we made of it... Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show n…
- The cancellation of the Lib Dem autumn conference
I joined John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod team for a special show looking at why the party cancelled its autumn federal conference in Brighton. We talked about the decision with Federal Conference Committee Chair, Cllr Nick da Costa, Cllr H…