Electioneering

Are Labour's controversial attack ads an effective strategy?Are they even a deliberate strategy?Is the Labour Party in fact psychologically addicted to the moral high ground?Mark Lucas is so rude about Keir Starmer that we've had to deploy the bleep tone for the first time.And we worry that preoccupation with the 'red wall' and Labour's lost socially conservative voters - and throwing red meat to those voters - prevents the party welcoming disillusioned socially liberal Tories to the fold.

Sho Us How It's Done!In this short episode we compare Johnson’s performance in front of the Parliamentary Standards Committee with that of TikTok's CEO Sho Zi Chew in front of Congress.Gordon Brown's Campaign Video DiariesCould they have made the technocrat relatable? We wish we had given bolder advice.Sunak's Fresh FaceWhat does it mean for Starmer, and with tactics getting in the way of strategy, is Labour doomed - again?Bean the pomapooWhen politics feels bleak, let the dog in.

Culture WarsThe Tories have admitted their only chance in the next election is to fight on 'culture wars'. But what are culture wars? How do they work, and why are they so insidious?How can opposition parties fight back? Is it the kabuki drop? Or is it the economy, stupid?The Ratners LessonCorbyn, Starmer, and Labour Party brand management - why Starmer's getting it all wrong.

Querying Keir's Pitch!In which we play you clips of Keir Starmer's voice, and ask you to guess which is the real one.We're rude about Sunak's voice too - does his sing song tone tell us something about his world view?We acknowledge and lament Johnson's ability to connect directly with the people (but listen to our episode 4 for our view on what happens when he can't use that pally trick).Dead spiders and live spiders!Blair may be a master of presentation, but was he always media savvy? Mark recalls Blair's early determined and disciplined approach to presentation.

The campaigning for the next election has effectively already begun. We assess how the land lies through the prism of presentation, and particularly voices. Thatcher changed her voice. Should Starmer do the same? Which modern politicians command authority?