Shows / How To Win An Election
How To Win An Election
The Times brings together some of the most experienced strategists in British politics to discuss what's really going on behind the big stories, and elections taking place here and around the world.
Daniel Finkelstein, Sally Morgan and Polly Mackenzie join Hugo Rifkind for an intelligent, adversarial and witty conversation every week.
Follow the podcast now to never miss an episode.
Send questions, comments and voicenotes to: howtowin@thetimes.co.uk
Executive Producer: Andrew Alexander
Hosted…
Episodes
- How To Win An Election
How To Win The Deputy Leadership - And Mandelson Sacked
The political masterminds discuss the deputy Labour leadership contest - and then the breaking news as we record the episode that Peter Mandelson has been…
- How To Win An Election
How To Survive A Scandal
Angela Rayner is under fire after admitting she failed to pay enough tax on her second home. Keir Starmer has vowed to do "everything he can" to save her…
- How To Win An Election
How To Holiday With JD Vance
Is Chevening, the foreign secretary's country house, more Maga than you might think? After news that US vice president JD Vance will stay with the foreign…
- How To Win An Election
How To Win The Summer
MPs have left Westminster for the summer, but politics continues - with Nigel Farage promising to spend six weeks fighting a war on crime. Can opposition…
- How To Win An Election
How To Punish The Labour Rebels
With Hugo away, Patrick Maguire joins the political masterminds to ask whether Keir Starmer was right to punish rebellious Labour MPs by removing the whip…
- How To Win An Election
How The Populists Are Coming (From Left And Right)
This week the political masterminds consider what's happening on the populist left and right, with more Tories defecting to Reform UK and talk of a new party…
- How To Win An Election
How To Respond To A Tearful PMQs
It's been a dramatic political week, with Keir Starmer attempting to answer speculation about the chancellor's future after she was seen in tears at prime…
- How To Win An Election
How To Learn From Former PMs
The political masterminds are answering your questions this week, including - should Keir Starmer look to Harold Wilson, or ignore historical precedents? Can…
- How To Win An Election
How To Call A Cobra Emergency Meeting
The government has held a meeting of the Cobra committee to discuss the Israel-Iran crisis - but how important is it really during a national emergency, and is…
- How To Win An Election
How Reform Plans Another Election Upset
The political masterminds ask whether Rachel Reeves' Spending Review charts a course to victory at the next General Election, before turning to another set of…
- How To Win An Election
How To Stop A Spending Review Revolt
With tough choices facing the government, the political masterminds look at what goes on behind the scenes ahead of a spending review - and how reluctant…
- How To Win An Election
How To Bring In An Outsider, Tsar, Or GOAT
The political masterminds are joined by former Tory cabinet minister David Gauke, fresh from leading the sentencing review for Keir Starmer's government. When…
- How To Win An Election
How To Perform A Giant U-Turn
Keir Starmer is changing course on the winter fuel allowance - where does it sit in the league table of political U-turns, and will it please anybody? The…
- How To Win An Election
How… The Elections Were Won And Lost: Labour in 1992
We're kicking off a new series on the podcast, looking at how the biggest elections in recent history were won - and lost. We start with the Labour campaign in…
- How To Win An Election
How To Save A Legacy Party
The Labour and Tory leaders are getting plenty of advice on how to see off the threat from Reform UK, the Lib Dems and the Green Party. Should they move to the…
- How To Win An Election
How To Win A Canadian Election
Canada has been to the polls, and the results are extraordinary - a huge swing in the polls helping the Liberals rise from the dead, opposition leaders losing…
- How To Win An Election
How To (Prepare To) Lose An Election
With local elections in England on the way, the political masterminds are joined by former Tory adviser and Reform UK supporter Tim Montgomerie to discuss what…
- How To Win An Election
How To Turn The Red Wall... Turquoise?
Nigel Farage is pitching for voters in the North and Midlands, promising to build what he calls a "turquoise wall". Will taking control of British Steel help…
- How To Win An Election
How To Take On The Flabby State (With Michael Gove)
Danny's away, so Sally, Polly and Hugo are joined by former cabinet minister and politest man in politics, Michael Gove. What did he learn about Donald Trump's…
- How To Win An Election
How To Run Number 10
10 Downing Street is a rabbit warren of offices in a Georgian townhouse, and the centre of power in Britain. But how much control does it really exert over the…
- How To Win An Election
How To Sell Austerity 2.0
Rachel Reeves doesn't want to use the word 'austerity', but has she found a narrative to help explain her cuts to welfare and government spending? Why was…
- How To Win An Election
How To Lose A By-Election (And Sell Your Tesla)
Which party has the most to lose in the Runcorn & Helsby by-election? The political masterminds make their predictions, and discuss what's at stake for Keir…
- How To Win An Election
How To Learn From Farage's Feud
As the row between Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe threatens the success of Reform UK, how do you stop the big beasts in a political party from falling out? Is it…
- How To Win An Election
How To Be PM In A Global Crisis
With Keir Starmer focused on diplomacy over Ukraine, the political masterminds ask if the domestic agenda always has to suffer during major world events. When…
- How To Win An Election
How To Tell Jokes, Deal With Trump, And Welcome Sally
We're welcoming a new political mastermind to the podcast this week - Sally Morgan has been a Labour insider since the days of Neil Kinnock and went on to be…
How To Win An ElectionThe Labour Peer Who Inspired JD Vance
How To Win An Election is moving to every Thursday, starting this Thursday, February 27th - when we'll be announcing a new political mastermind. In the…
- How To Win An Election
How To Survive As A Political Adviser
What's the role of an adviser at the top level of politics, and does it always involve swearing? John McTernan, who has worked for prime ministers in the UK…
- How To Win An Election
How To Be A Disrupter
Nigel Farage's former adviser Gawain Towler joins the political masterminds to discuss how to be an insurgent force in politics. They look back at how UKIP…
- How To Win An Election
How To Tell Who's Really In Charge
This week the political masterminds (and Hugo) are joined by Theo Bertram, who worked in Downing Street for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. After a new book by…
- How To Win An Election
How To Hang Out Your Political Washing
How much time in Number 10 is devoted to getting on with the business of government, and how much to thinking about winning the next election? Sally Morgan…
- How To Win An Election
How To Respond To Trump
Keir Starmer is on a charm offensive with Donald Trump - does it give Labour's opponents an electoral advantage? The political masterminds (and Hugo) are…
- How To Win An Election
How To Stop Your Missions Becoming Impossible
With Reform closing in on Labour in the polls and questions being asked about the chancellor's political survival, how can the government get on with the day…
- How To Win An Election
How To Say Goodbye To Peter
The political masterminds (and Hugo) say farewell to Peter before he heads to Washington as the UK's ambassador to the United States. Has he packed his…
- How To Win An Election
How To Stop Political Chaos Ruining Christmas
Peter, Polly and Danny are answering your questions this week. When has politics ruined their Christmas - or in Polly's case, a hen do? Will there be a…
- How To Win An Election
How To See Off An Insurgent Party
Nigel Farage's Reform UK is on a roll, but can the political masterminds see a time when he breaks the traditional two-party system? How would they advise…
- How To Win An Election
How To Keep Blaming Your Predecessors
The prime minister wants to blame the last government for leaving the economy in a mess, just like David Cameron did in 2010 - but is the strategy working, and…
- How To Win An Election
How To Prepare For PMQs
Peter, Polly and Danny explain what goes on inside 10 Downing Street - and the Leader of the Opposition's office - in the days and hours before Prime…
- How To Win An Election
How to Handle Elon Musk (And The Farmers)
How should Keir Starmer cope with criticism from the world's richest man (and Trump adviser) Elon Musk - ignore him, or try to build bridges through mutual…
- How To Win An Election
How To Work Out Why You Lost
When you've lost an election, how do you work out what went wrong - and do you always have to blame the leader? The political masterminds (and Hugo Rifkind)…
- How To Win An Election
How To Win A US Election, Part II
The political masterminds are joined by Chatham House's Dr Leslie Vinjamuri to discuss the state of American democracy, the gender gap between US voters, and…
- How To Win An Election
How To Avoid A Budget Blunder
The budget is at last upon us, and political masterminds Peter Mandelson, Polly Mackenzie and Daniel Finkelstein join Hugo Rifkind to discuss how to manage…
- How To Win An Election
How To Manage The News Cycle
We're answering your questions on the podcast this week, including - was it easier to manage the news agenda in the Blair and Cameron years? Will some…
- How To Win An Election
How To Win A US Election
We're in the final weeks of the race for the White House, and it could all come down to the votes of fewer people than it takes to fill two Taylor Swift…
- How To Win An Election
How To Shake Up Downing Street
Peter Mandelson, Polly Mackenzie and Daniel Finkelstein are back - now with added Hugo Rifkind. There's a lot to catch up on since they last met - including…
- How To Win An Election
How To Make Starmer A One-Term PM
As the Conservatives get ready for a lengthy leadership campaign, how long could take to get back into a position where they can win - could it happen as soon…
- How To Win An Election
How To Deal With JD Vance
Donald Trump has picked JD Vance as his running mate and looks on course to return to the White House. How is the UK Government preparing for Trump 2.0, and…
- How To Win An Election
How To Whip Your New MPs
It's the first week of the next election campaign, and new MPs are arriving in Westminster in their hundreds. The political masterminds Peter Mandelson, Polly…
- How To Win An Election
EMERGENCY EPISODE: How To Win The NEXT Election
The political masterminds Peter Mandelson, Polly Mackenzie and Daniel Finkelstein join Matt Chorley in front of a live audience to unpack the election and look…
- How To Win An Election
How To Stay Up For Truss
Election night is nearly here, but which seats will the political masterminds be keeping an eye on as the results start flooding in? Could Liz Truss provide…
- How To Win An Election
Q&A: How To Replace Joe Biden
After Joe Biden's calamitous performance in the first US presidential debate, will the Democrats have to replace him as their candidate for the White House?…
- How To Win An Election
How Not To Talk About Brexit
It's the subject that none of the parties want to talk about - why hasn't Brexit played a bigger part in the election campaign so far? The political…
- How To Win An Election
Q&A: How Not To Bet On Politics
We're answering your questions in another bonus episode, including: Does someone at Conservative HQ have a bet on the party being wiped out? If Labour wins…
- How To Win An Election
How To Oppose A Supermajority
As ministers admit on the airwaves that a Conservative victory looks unlikely, how will a small Tory rump in Parliament oppose a new Labour government? The…
- How To Win An Election
Q&A: How Starmer Is Measuring The Curtains
With Reform UK now ahead of the Conservatives according to one poll, how should Rishi Sunak respond? The political masterminds Peter Mandelson and Daniel…
- How To Win An Election
How Trump Will Win
We've got a special guest on the podcast this week, with American pollster and strategist Frank Luntz joining Peter Mandelson, Polly Mackenzie, Daniel…
- How To Win An Election
Q&A: How To Get D-Day Wrong
The podcast is going twice-weekly for the rest of the campaign, with the political masterminds answering your questions. First up today, how did Rishi Sunak…
- How To Win An Election
How To Fight Farage
How will Nigel Farage's decision to stand as a candidate for Reform UK affect the election result, and can things get any worse for Rishi Sunak? The political…
- How To Win An Election
How To Dodge A Dodgy Candidate
The race is on to get candidates in place for the general election, with the Tories having to deal with more MPs announcing their departure by the day. The…
- How To Win An Election
EMERGENCY EPISODE: How To Call An Election!
It's happened. Rishi Sunak has announced the General Election for 4th July - as predicted by Danny in the last episode of the podcast. The political…
- How To Win An Election
How To Pull Off A Political Stunt
The long election campaign is well underway, and politicians are vying for attention with eye-catching photocalls, speeches, visits and stunts. The political…