What makes a good maiden speech, how do you write and deliver one, and what do they say about the MP that makes it? To talk about getting through that tricky first innings in the Commons two more members of the 2024 intake who have already taken their maiden voyage; Jeevun Sandher, the Labour MP for Loughborough, and Julia Buckley, the Labour membe…

In this episode I speak to Adam Payne, the Editor of PoliticsHome. We talk about Adam’s career in journalism so far, including his time at Business Insider, how PoliticsHome covered the UK general election campaign and why he’s still getting his head around the new Parliament and the fact that Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party has a so-called ‘super-…

On this episode of The Political Press Box, I speak to James Heale, Political Correspondent at The Spectator. The interview was recorded just days before The Spectator was snapped up by hedge fund tycoon and GB News investor Sir Paul Marshall for a reported £100m. Andrew Neil, the Chairman of the publication, subsequently stood down from the outlet…

Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray identified before the election all of the most pressing issues for a new government's bulging in-tray in her infamous ‘s*** list’, so this week two more members of the 2024 intake of MPs; Lewis Cocking, the new Tory member for Broxbourne, and a former leader of the local council, and Tim Roca, Labour MP for Ma…

On this episode of The Political Press Box, I speak to Nick Tyrone, a serial think-tanker, author and Substacker, about his ‘This Week in Brexitland’ newsletter, the state of ‘X’ and where he thinks the Labour and Conservative parties are heading next. A prominent pro-EU campaigner, Nick has written for The Spectator, The Express, The New Statesman…

A leading issue which continues to be of great interest to journalists, and voters, is immigration. It's a top non-economic concern in the UK, the US and Europe, where the far-right is making serious electoral gains, most notably in Germany. To discuss this very topic I spoke to Hein de Haas, a Professor of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam.…

Continuing our series introducing the political class of 2024 by profiling new MPs, this week we have Caroline Voaden, who last month was elected as the new Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon. A former journalist and MEP, she speaks to Alain Tolhurst about how she got involved in politics, winning her the seat for the Lib Dems as they swept the so…

Continuing our series introducing the political class of 2024 by profiling new MPs to look out for, this week we have Joe Robertson, the Conservative MP for the new Isle of Wight East seat. In a historically bad night for his party Joe was one of 26 new Tories to enter the Commons, so he discusses with Alain Tolhurst what it was like winning his se…

Terry Jermy, the new Labour MP for South West Norfolk, who in a night of massive shocks on election night, delivered probably the biggest by unseating the former Prime Minister Liz Truss. One of the final constituencies to be called, Truss - who had a majority of more than 26,000 - was ousted by 38-year-old Jermy from the seat she had held since 20…

After widespread unrest took over the country after the tragic stabbings in Southport last week, Alain Tolhurst looks at what is behind the current riots, how to stop them from happening again, and what can be done to put communities divided by extremism and racism back together again. Joining him Chris Webb, Labour MP for Blackpool South, one of t…

In this episode of The Political Press Box, I speak to Henry Hill, who at the time of recording was Conservative Home’s Acting Editor. Owned by the Total Politics Group, the outlet is known in journalistic circles for its Conservative member surveys and general coverage of the party. We discuss Henry’s analysis of the general election campaign, inc…

As the race to replace Rishi Sunak hots up, Alain Tolhurst speaks to guests representing each of the six candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring to be the next Tory leader. First up are the MPs Saqib Bhatti, who is backing the former Home Secretary Priti Patel, and Mark Garnier, one of those supporting Mel Stride’s leadership bid, as wel…

Gabe Fleisher is editor and founder of Wake Up To Politics, a daily newsletter focused on American politics he founded in 2011. On this episode of The Political Press Box, we discuss the very recent and dramatic developments in US politics, including Joe Biden stepped aside as the Democrats' Presidential candidate, and how Gabe made it so big, so y…

After Keir Starmer hosted the European Political Summit last week guests Jill Rutter, senior research fellow at the think tank UK In A Changing Europe, and Raoul Ruparel, former special adviser to Theresa May on Europe and Spad at the Department for Exiting the European Union, join Alain Tolhurst and Adam Payne from PoliticsHome to discuss Labour’s…

After the first King’s Speech under a Labour government for 15 years, a host of policy experts joins Alain Tolhurst to look at what the first 100 days of a Keir Starmer administration will look like, after the new Prime Minister said his plan for government would "take the brakes off Britain" and put the country on the "path of national renewal". J…

After last week’s extraordinary election result, this week has seen hundreds of new MPs and their staff descend on Westminster, but what’s it like entering Parliament for the first time? Alain Tolhurst is joined by Dan Tomlinson, elected last week as the new MP for Chipping Barnet, along with one of his Labour colleagues Sarah Owen, her senior parl…

In a General Election special recorded just as the final results rolled in on Friday morning, the PoliticsHome team of Alain Tolhurst, Caitlin Doherty and Tom Scotson dissects a historic victory for the Labour party, after an extraordinary night saw Keir Starmer swept to power on an enormous majority, and the 14 years of Tory government ebbed away …

In this episode of the Political Press Box, I speak to Morten Morland. Even if you don’t know Morten, you’ve probably seen his art -- in The Spectator, The Times and elsewhere. His distinctive style has seen him crowned as one of the best political cartoonists operating in the UK today. But before we get into the interview, I should also note that …

As the election race enters the final stretch PolHome’s editor Adam Payne and political and digital consultant Laura Dunn join host Alain Tolhurst to look at the final leaders’ debate, after Rishi Sunak came out swinging Wednesday night, what we can expect from the last week of campaigning before polling day, the latest on gambling-gate, as well as…

On this episode of the Political Press Box, I speak to Seb Whale, formerly of Politics Home, The House Magazine and Politico. Seb is a freelance political reporter, but he has also successfully transitioned to writing non-fiction books. His first title was a biography of John Bercow, the former Speaker of the House of Commons. Seb's next book with …

With two weeks of the campaign to go Scarlett Maguire, director at pollsters JL Partners, Andrew Roe-Crines, Senior Lecturer in British Politics at Liverpool University, and Philip Catney, senior politics lecturer at Keele University, look at what a crushing new series of polls means for Rishi Sunak, and the role Reform UK are playing in a potentia…

As attention switches to party manifestos this week three people first-hand experience of writing them; Rachel Wolf, who co-wrote the Tory 2019 manifesto, Marc Stears, part of the team who wrote Labour’s 2015 manifesto, and Lord Richard Newby, who wrote the Lib Dems’ in 2017 and chaired this year’s one too, talk about how the documents come togethe…

On this episode of The Political Press Box, I speak to Lucy Fisher, the Whitehall editor of the FT. Formerly of The Daily Telegraph and The Times, Lucy is also the host of the FT's Political Fix podcast and is a familiar face on British current affair shows. We caught up in the middle of the 2024 General Election campaign to discuss how the FT is a…

On this episode of The Political Press Box, I speak to Ed West, one of the most prominent conservative writers in Britain. We discuss how Ed started his journalistic career writing for 'lads mags' and how he transitioned from the mainstream media to Substack, where he has tens of thousands of subscribers. You can read Ed's Substack, The Wrong Side …

The second week of the election campaign has been dominated by Nigel Farage’s decision to stand to be an MP and the fallout from the first leaders debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. Alain Tolhurst is joined by elections experts Rob Ford and Paula Surridge along with PolHome editor Adam Payne to talk about this week’s polling, then PolHome…

PoliticsHome editor Adam Payne and reporter Nadine Batchelor-Hunt take stock of the first week of the general election campaign, plus broadcaster and former MP Gyles Brandreth and journalist Seb Whale join Alain Tolhurst to discuss their books on the secrets of the Whips' Office. Sign up to The House's new Friday newsletter from Sienna Rogers round…

In this episode of The Political Press Box, I speak to George Eaton, Senior Editor (Politics) at The New Statesman. George, a long-time Labour watcher, has recently re-joined the Lobby and has written extensively on Sir Keir Starmer and his leadership. We discuss George's plans for the general election, how Starmer compares to Jeremy Corbyn and how…

Conservative MPs Stephen Hammond and Henry Smith, both of whom have decided not to run for their seats again at the general election, reflect on why they have called it quits on the Commons, and offer some advice for candidates vying to replace them. Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver…

Michael Crick, who runs the @tomorrowsMPs Twitter and three prospective parliamentary candidates – Khobi Patterson-Vallis, Conservative candidate for Brighton; Josh Babarinde, Lib Dem candidate for Eastbourne; and Roz Savage, Lib Dems candidate for South Cotswolds, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss the secretive process behind who gets …

In this episode of The Political Press Box, I speak to Robert Colville, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies. The think-tank was set-up by Keith Joseph, Alfred Sherman and Margaret Thatcher in 1974 to champion economic liberalism. It continues to be one of the UK’s most influential policy shops. I spoke to Robert about his journalism career at…

Conservative MP Mark Garnier, director of research at Labour Together Christabel Cooper, and professor of politics at Queen Mary University Tim Bale join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to assess the fallout from the local elections which saw huge losses for the Tories across England including the West Midlands mayoralty and a host of bellwether coun…