Never Mind The Bar Charts

Welcome to the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts which, as trailed at the weekend, is the first of two interviews with the candidates to be the leader of the Liberal Democrats. Following the toss of a coin, Jo Swinson's interview comes first: Mark Pack interviews would-be Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson about why she wants the job. The topics they discuss include what she thinks of the SNP, what she'd do in a hung Parliament and how the party can be more successful. The Ed Davey interview will come out in a couple of days and then Stephen and I are recording our reflections on the interviews early next week. Do let us know either on this post or the social media channels below what you made of the interviews before we record that show; listener feedback is always gratefully received. Find Never Mind The Bar Charts on social media Like the show? Do follow on Twitter or Facebook. It's a great way to hear more about the podcast - and to let your friends and colleagues know about it too.

Exclusive interviews with Edward Davey and Jo Swinson coming up. Subscribe the podcast to make sure you don't miss them. Show notes The mystery coin was a special 2001 Canadian 10 cents (held upside down and with light glinting off it... at least that's my defence). Make sure you don't miss those exclusive interviews by subscribing in your favourite podcast app or sign up for email alerts.

In episode #9, Stephen Tall and Mark Pick pick over the European election results and what comes next for the Lib Dems. Can the party sustain its May run of successes? Show notes Kieran Pedley co-hosts the Polling Matters podcast, which you can find here. Examples 1, 2 and 3 of how the media missed the story of the Lib Dem surge. Details of Lord Ashcroft's polling. Tim Bale points out that the referendum theory Stephen mentioned doesn't really hold water. Phil Cowley writes and edits great books, and here is his tweet we mentioned. And... ignore my garbled reference to the 1992 general election. The comparison that can be done in different ways is between 1987 and 1992, not 1992 and 1997.

Welcome to the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, in which Stephen Tall and I pick over the 2019 local election results to see how happy the Liberal Democrats should be. We also take a bit of a look forward to the European elections, discuss the use of 'bollocks' (complete with Ofcom guidance) and consider the overall pace of the Liberal Democrat recovery. Show notes 704! The coalition didn't irredeemably damage the Lib Dem brand: the evidence. Not Enough Champagne: the centre-left podcast we praise during the show. John Curtice's analysis of the Lib Dem local election performance versus the Remain/Leave balance of an area. How rude is 'bollocks'? The official Ofcom guidance. How effective is 'bollocks'? It fits with this wise advice.

Stephen Tall and Mark Pack discuss the leaked Change UK memo about the Lib Dems, where Change UK is headed, a bold claim about Tony Blair from Stephen and how the local elections may change the political trajectory of the Remain parties. Show notes Our previous podcast episode about Change UK / The Independent Group. That Change UK memo. Local election predictions look promising for the Lib Dems. The Liberal Democrat Euro campaign launch.

Welcome to the latest edition of Never Mind The Bar Charts, in which Stephen finally gets me to talk about Brexit. But only after discussing the Newport West by-election, the reliability of the national opinion polls, the likely Liberal Democrat leadership contest and whether the party might be about to lose Norman Lamb from its ranks. Listen and enjoy... Show notes Norman Lamb's comments about his future can be read about here. The Lord Ashcroft polling discuss was covered in more detail by me here. One small fact correction on myself: the second Brexit Party person to have to stand down was the party's treasurer. The podcast now has its own social media channels.

Listen and enjoy as birthday boy Stephen and I discuss Vince Cable's record as party leader now he's announced his departure date (nearly), who might succeed him, what happened at Liberal Democrat conference in York, the brilliance of Geoff Payne, the party reforms now underway and why Stephen Tall pays up money to the New Statesman. He also mentioned the Steel vs Pardoe way of looking at Lib Dem leadership contests, explained by Jonathan Calder here.

Listen and enjoy as Stephen and I discuss the future of The Independent Group, its possible impact on British politics, parallels with the SDP and what it means for the Liberal Democrats. With a shoutout to the Polling Matters podcast episode which took a look at TIG polling and the Times Red Box podcast interview with Anna Soubry.

Stephen and Mark discuss three things they don't like. A few follow-up links for what we discussed: Finnish universal basic income trial and thoughts from my time on a policy working group looking at the subject. Nick Barlow's blog post on new parties. Why I like ideology.

Mark Pack and Stephen Tall discuss Paddy Ashdown, Lib Dem strategy and our obsession with US politics. Brexit nearly doesn't get mentioned.

Stephen Tall and Mark Pack talk about their favourite political podcasts and commentators, what the government should be doing if it wasn't consumed by Brexit and the Liberal Democrats.