On this week's New Statesman Podcast, Stephen Bush is joined by Patrick Maguire to look at the Tories' recent pledges and wonder whether they might be on election footing. Then, Stephen talks to Hettie O'Brien about political optimism before Patrick returns for You Ask Us, where this week they're looking at why independent candidates face such an uphill struggle.
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Send us your questions for future episodes via Twitter @ns_podcasts.
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