Politics Unpacked

How To Interview A Politician

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Burley has had a ringside seat at some of the biggest political TV grillings for more than a quarter of a century, working with interviewers inclu...

PMQs Unpacked: Zippy's Rainbow Coalition

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The star of children's TV show Rainbow joins Matt, Tim Shipman and Lara Spirit to pause and unpack the exchanges at PMQs. As Rishi Sunak and Keir Star...

Why Are Tory Voters Switching To Labour?

09 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt discusses exclusive YouGov polling examining the reasons why 2019 Conservative voters are switching to Labour. Are they really embracing Keir Sta...

Battle Of The Political Bands

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Forget the Coronation concert - Matt pits politicians singing and playing instruments against one another, and discusses the state of live music in th...

What Do The Local Elections Mean?

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Millions have had their say in elections across England, but what do the results tell us about the chances of Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer ending up in...

Penny Mordaunt: How To Carry A Sword

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt talks to Lord President of the Privy Council Penny Mordaunt about her role in the Coronation, where she'll carry the four-foot sword of state in ...

PMQs Unpacked: They're Going To Need a Bigger Note

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer trade blows over housing and the infamous 'no money left' note at the last Prime Minister's Questions before the local el...

The Swing Voters Who’ll Decide The Next Election

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week millions of voters will go to the polls as more than 8,000 council seats in England are contested in the local elections – the most signif...

Rock Against Racism

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

45 years ago, tens of thousands of people marched through London for the Rock Against Racism concert featuring some of the biggest names in music at t...

Focus Group: He's A Snake

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Undecided voters in Scotland who previously backed the SNP give their verdict in the Times Radio Focus Group. Humza Yousaf is 'unremarkable', but whic...

PMQs Unpacked: Zippy and George

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash over the cost of living, Matt Chorley and Tim Shipman pause and unpack the exchanges - and do a passable impr...

Corbyn Won In 2017. No He Didn't.

25 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt talks to American academic and author Noam Chomsky about the conflict in Ukraine, the end of the world - and who won the 2017 general election.Pl...

Sir Softy or Keir Hard-y

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer keeps talking about his record as Director of Public Prosecutions, arguing it shows he was tough on crime - but the Conservatives think i...

Are You Having a Laugh?

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Which party's supporters can take a joke, and which have a sense of humour failure? Matt looks at the league table of humourlessness with Private Eye ...

Testing The Schools Minister

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nick Gibb is one of Britain's longest-serving ministers, in office (almost) continuously since the Conservatives came to power in 2010. Matt quizzes h...

PMQs Unpacked: Arise, Sir Softy

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer trade personal attacks over crime at Prime Minister's Questions, as Sunak dubs Starmer 'Sir Softy'. Matt is joined by Tim...

Is Rishi Too Rich?

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt is joined by Daniel Finkelstein and Henry Zeffman to discuss whether Rishi Sunak's wealth is a problem after it was revealed he's being inve...

The Reagan Question

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1980 presidential election, Ronald Reagan asked "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"With the economy likely to define the next ge...

The Death of TV Satire?

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With Have I Got News For You one of the last satirical comedy shows still standing, Patrick Maguire asks why satire on our screens seems to be dying a...

When to Hold a General Election

13 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to holding a general election, timing is everything. With Rishi Sunak reportedly hoping to pull off a surprise win late in 2024, Patrick...

Difficult Days For Humza Yousaf

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is Humza Yousaf done before he even gets started? Patrick Maguire looks at the SNP leader's chances after two weeks in office and a series of revelati...

Does Negative Campaigning Work?

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Maguire discusses political advertising - does going negative deliver, or do we all suffer when the parties get down in the gutter? He speaks ...

Good Friday Agreement 25 Years On: Inside the Negotiations

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Carole Walker, sitting in for Matt Chorley, speaks to key figures that drafted the deal including Mark Durkan, assistant to SDLP leader John Hume, and...

Focus Group: Hugh Grant vs. Desperate Dan

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt is joined by James Johnson of JL Partners who leads a panel of undecided voters giving their verdict on the government, Rishi Sunak and Keir Star...

The Battle for Waterlooville

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Suella Braverman faces losing her seat in a reselection battle with Flick Drummond. Matt speaks to journalist Michael Crick and local councillors Caro...

Killing Thatcher

04 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt revisits the last night of the Conservative party conference in 1984 when the IRA bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton in an attempt to kill M...

Clever Things to Say About Polling

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt shares the five things you need to know about British politics right now by looking at what's happening behind the headline polls with opinion ex...

The Day The Times Was Bombed

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From the first camera to take aerial pictures over Everest to documents from the day the paper's offices were bombed during World War Two, the Times a...

VAT's Life

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's 50 years since Value Added Tax was introduced, and it's been a political football ever since. Matt discusses Jaffa Cakes, the pasty tax and the o...

PMQs Unpacked: Thugs and Scum

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's Deputy Prime Minister's questions with Dominic Raab and Angela Rayner standing in for Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer.Matt, Tim Shipman and Lara Spi...

'Putin of The Labour Party'

28 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As Jeremy Corbyn is barred from standing as a Labour MP, Momentum founder Jon Lansman accuses Keir Starmer of behaving like 'Putin of the Labour Party...

Oh, Doctor Beeching!

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On this day 60 years ago Dr Richard Beeching wielded the axe, closing thousands of miles of railway and thousands of stations. Matt talks to the music...

Secrets of the Red Box

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt Chorley delves into the history of the iconic Red Box, the symbol of power given to every cabinet minister and prime minister.We find out what's ...

Focus Group: Tories Turning the Tide?

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Swing voters from across England say they prefer Rishi Sunak to Keir Starmer as prime minister in the latest Times Radio Focus Group.Matt is joined by...

PMQs Unpacked: Get Out of Westminster

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt is joined by Patrick Maguire and Lara Spirit to pause and unpack the exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions. Rishi Sunak claims Labour is 'soft ...

Food Fight

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt speaks to Leon co-founder Henry Dimbleby, who has just resigned as the government's 'food tsar'. He explains why he's quit, what's wrong with our...

D-Day for Boris Johnson

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Will the inquiry into whether Boris Johnson misled Parliament over Partygate finish his political career - or open the door for his return?Matt is joi...

David Owen: Labour, Limehouse and “hubris syndrome”

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David Owen became foreign secretary aged just 38, before going on to break away from Labour as one of the ‘Gang of Four’ and lead the SDP.He talks...

Get Off The Golf Course

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt looks at the government's new plan to get seven million adults back into a job. He speaks to Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride, who say...

We're Going On A Jeremy Hunt

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's Budget day, and we've been on a Jeremy Hunt - talking to people around the country called Jeremy who all look after the finances of a local ...

3 Dads Walking

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt is joined by three men whose daughters took their own lives to talk about their campaign for suicide prevention to become part of the school curr...

Chorley's Budget Airline

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of this week's budget Matt jets around the G7 to speak to a raft of international correspondents who lay out the economic problems they're facin...

Strong Message Here

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From Ron Burgundy to Jeremy Corbyn's 'strong message here', Matt looks at what happens when the TV autocue goes wrong. He speaks to Lauri Plesco, the ...

Happy Birthday, Sir Humphrey

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's 170 years since Gladstone commissioned the Northcote-Trevelyan review, which gave birth to the impartial civil service. Why has the system surviv...

PMQs Unpacked: Back To School

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt is joined by Tim Shipman, Lara Spirit and the politics students of Vyners School to pause and unpack the exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions....

Rishi, parlez-vous français?

07 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of Rishi Sunak's trip to France for the first Anglo-French summit in five years, Matt discusses the state of relations between Paris and Lo...

The Next Spymaster

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sir Jeremy Fleming, the director of the intelligence agency GCHQ, is stepping down after nearly six years in the role. Matt speaks to two of his prede...

'I Haven't Felt Happy Since Brexit'

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Northern Ireland Minister and self-styled Brexit hardman Steve Baker sits down with Matt and Times Political Editor Steve Swinford for a frank dis...

Frank Field

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2021 Frank Field, now Lord Field, was told he had weeks to live. 18 months on he tells Matt he's published his memoirs and is 'just happily waiting...

PMQs Unpacked: Do Widzenia, Pet

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt is joined by Tim Shipman and Lara Spirit to pause and unpack the exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions. Keir Starmer claims that the average fa...

Final Finkelvitch

28 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel Finkelstein and David Aaronovitch have been the cleverest duo on the podcast for nearly three years. Today Matt and Danny say goodbye to David,...

Remembering Betty Boothroyd

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Betty Boothroyd, the first female speaker of the House of Commons, has died aged 93. Matt is joined by current speaker Sir Lindsey Hoyle to reflect on...

Floella Benjamin

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt hosted this year's Parliamentary Book Awards, where he sat down with winner and children's TV legend Floella Benjamin.Columnists Manveen Rana and...

Focus Group: Labour Switchers

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Times Radio focus group returns, this time with a group who voted Conservative in 2019 but say they currently plan to back Labour. Matt is joined ...

PMQs Unpacked: Deal Me In

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt is joined by Tim Shipman and Lara Spirit to pause and unpack the exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions. Rishi Sunak says he'll keep fighting un...

Got To Have Faith

21 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes faces questions about her views on gay marriage, Matt discusses the role of faith in politics with columnis...

How to Talk to Putin

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Baroness Ashton was the first - and last - Briton to lead European foreign policy, with an in-tray including Iran's nuclear programme, natural disaste...

Do Protests Work?

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years on from the march against the Iraq War, Patrick Maguire is joined by historian Phil Tinline to ask whether protests ever actually work. T...

Life After Sturgeon

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Maguire get's the latest polling on Nicola Sturgeon’s possible successor with Dr Emily Gray from Ipsos and explores the wider implication of...

Sturgeon Resigns

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Maguire presents highlights from the reaction to Nicola Sturgeon's resignation as First Minister live on Times Radio. The Conservatives' Ruth ...

Gay Marriage: 10 Years On

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A decade after the Commons voted to introduce civil marriage for same-sex couples, Patrick Maguire looks back at a moment of change for the country an...

Can Sunak Shake Off Sleaze?

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

New polling for the Times shows that 70% of voters think the Conservatives give the impression of being sleazy and disreputable - up from 51% in April...

Letters That Changed Britain

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What do Queen Victoria, Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens and an anonymous prostitute have in common? They all wrote letters to The Times that ...

Wacaday with Wes Streeting

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt talks to shadow health secretary Wes Streeting about NHS pay, Labour's relationship with the unions and his experience as a gay Anglican - before...

PMQs Unpacked: Zelensky's in Town

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt is joined by Patrick Maguire to pause and unpack the exchanges between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions. With Ukrainian...

Has Sturgeon SNPeaked?

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon is under pressure following the row over her gender reforms and a drop in the polls.But is she in serious tr...

Is Truss Right or Wrong, Wrong, Wrong?

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Liz Truss is back to make the case for her tax-cutting agenda. Does she have a point, and is anyone listening? Matt is joined by journalist Katy Balls...

Neil Kinnock: 92 or 97?

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

All week, people in politics have been asking whether the next general election is going to be a similar result to 1992 - when Labour were expect...

Rishi Sunak's 100 Days

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Prime Minister has been in office for 100 days, a big achievement by recent standards. Matt has some exclusive polling from YouGov showing what th...

PMQs Unpacked: Rank Pathetic!

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt Chorley, Tim Shipman and Lara Spirit pause and unpack the exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions. Rishi Sunak accuses Keir Starmer of siding wit...

Brexit Q&A

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Three years after the UK left the European Union, Matt hosts a panel of experts from The Times to answer questions sent in by readers. Plus colum...

Sorry, Not Sorry

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why do politicians find it so hard to say sorry? After Nadhim Zahawi declined to apologise following his sacking by the Prime Minister, Matt discusses...

Is Parliamentary Oratory Dead?

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Maguire sits in for Matt Chorley and tests his theory that speeches in the House of Commons aren't as good as they used to be. He looks back a...

Focus Group: Sunak's Pledges and Starmer's Face

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Times Radio Focus Group meets for the first time in 2023. James Johnson from J.L Partners leads a group of swing voters from across the country as...

PMQs Unpacked: A Job Too Big?

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt Chorley, Tim Shipman and Lara Spirit pause and unpack the exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions. This week, Keir Starmer asks Rishi Sunak if be...

The Cost of Dying

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One in four terminally ill people of working age find themselves in poverty. For them and their families, the agony of grief is compounded by financia...

Sunak's Away Day

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As Rishi Sunak gets ready for a cabinet trip to Chequers and Keir Starmer plans an outing for his team, Matt asks if a political away day is a good wa...

How To Make A Party Political Broadcast

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Party political broadcasts have been around for nearly 100 years, featuring everything from men sitting woodenly behind desks to yogic flying.How are ...

Generation Game

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nice to see the polls, to see the polls nice? Matt looks at exclusive polling showing that while the Conservatives are losing young voters, they have ...

PMQs Unpacked: Lethal Chaos

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt is joined by Tim Shipman to pause and unpack the exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions. This week, Keir Starmer challenges Rishi Sunak on the '...

Britain's Litter Problem

17 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt takes to the streets to find out about Britain's litter problem. He speaks to a listener who's found everything from sex toys to a sawn-off shotg...

Bring Back Boris

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Conservative Democratic Organisation is a new group calling for Tory party members to have a greater say in how the party is run, and who it elect...

Lineker: Football vs Politics

13 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt talks to Gary Lineker about exclusive polling for Times Radio showing which job the public thinks is harder - being prime minister, or being a pr...

James Graham

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Talk about making a drama out of a political crisis. If there's one man who's turned the defining moments of our age into hits on stage and screen, it...

PMQs Unpacked: From Clapping to Sacking

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt and Tim Shipman are back to pause and unpack the exchanges at the first PMQs of 2023, which sees Keir Starmer accuse Rishi Sunak of going from 'c...

Doctor, Doctor, Shall I Pay You Now?

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After Ken Clarke told us better-off patients may have to start paying for GP appointments, Matt looks at the case for reforming general practice and h...

Ken Clarke and Paying for the NHS

09 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt's back, and he's joined by political big beast Ken Clarke to discuss a career spanning more than 50 years in the Commons and some of the biggest ...

Smaller Parties Win Elections Too

06 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How can the smaller political parties win in 2023 when the electoral system is stacked against them and they are struggling for the public's attention...

Can The Lib Dems Cut Through?

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Liberal Democrats are stuck at a distant third in the opinion polls, with a leader many people still haven't heard of. Do a series of by-election ...

Peter Mandelson

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Maguire in for Matt Chorley talks to the architect of New Labour, the former cabinet minister Lord Mandelson. They discuss Keir Starmer "sorti...

Have the Tories Run Out of Steam?

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are the Conservatives heading for a period out of office, or can they confound expectations before the next General Election?Sitting in for Matt, Patr...