650 Podcast

Edward Morello, Liberal Democrat MP for West Dorset, joins 650 for a conversation about family history, door-to-door sales, overturning the Conservatives' 139-year winning streak in West Dorset, and the reality of life in Westminster.

Edward grew up in a lively household where debates around the dinner table ran long into the night. He reflects on his family roots: his Polish great-grandfather who was a chaplain in the Free Polish Army and helped negotiate refuge in the UK for thousands of Polish soldiers after the Second World War, and his Italian heritage on his father’s side.

Edward also discusses his varied career before politics, from selling websites door-to-door on Slough Trading Estate to working in geopolitical risk and renewable energy finance. He shares the moment the Brexit referendum result pushed him to enter frontline politics, the exhaustion of being defeated in 2019, and the relentless campaigning that led to winning West Dorset in 2024 after 138 consecutive years of Conservative representation.

He speaks candidly about the strange bubble of Parliament, why being an MP is a test for your ego, and the challenge of balancing life between rural Dorset and London.

650 meets the people behind the politics, with one mission: to interview all 650 MPs.

Chris Kane, Labour MP for Stirling and Strathallan, joins 650 for a conversation about family history, community, public service and the path from local radio to Westminster.

Chris grew up in Stirling in a close-knit family, with his father running the electrical shop founded by his grandfather. He reflects on the stories that have stayed with him: one grandfather’s experience landing on D-Day, and another’s life changing overnight when his own father was killed in a mining accident. Chris’s grandfather had to leave school, become a grocer’s apprentice and help support his family before eventually founding the business that remains in the family today.

Chris also discusses working at a local radio station from the age of 15, watching the legacy of pit closures in his community, becoming involved in politics through his local community council, and progressing through every level of elected local government in Scotland before entering Parliament in 2024.

He makes the case for valuing political experience, shares the nerve-racking reality of election night, and explains why becoming an MP can feel like starting a senior job with no formal training.

650 meets the people behind the politics, with one mission: to interview all 650 MPs.

Steve Race MP, Labour MP for Exeter, joins 650 for a deeply personal conversation about grief, family, identity and the path to Parliament.

Raised in a council house near Hull, Steve talks about the lasting impact of his sister’s life and death from Hurler syndrome, his mother’s fight to secure the right care and opportunities for her, and why those experiences made the NHS and advocacy central to his politics.

He discusses coming out in the 1990s, moving to Manchester for university, working for Ben Bradshaw MP, LGBTQ+ representation and the renewed pressure on minority rights. Steve also shares his views on class, social mobility, casework, Exeter, and the balance between representing a constituency and acting on national and international responsibilities.

650 is a podcast about the people behind the politics, with one mission: to interview all 650 MPs.
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Natasha Irons MP joins 650 to discuss the story behind her path to Parliament.
The Labour MP for Croydon East reflects on her grandparents arriving from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation, growing up in South London, and how social housing gave her family the stability and dignity to build a future.
Natasha talks about the moment she first felt politics could be for someone like her, her 15 years working in television marketing at Channel 4, becoming a local councillor, and why she eventually decided to stand for Parliament.
She also shares the reality of balancing Westminster with raising two young children, the intensity of election campaigns, her belief in the importance of local government, and what she hopes to achieve for young people and her community.
650 is a podcast project with one mission: to interview all 650 MPs and create a portrait of the people behind power.
www.650podcast.com.
Instagram/X: @650podcast 
TikTok: @650.podcast

Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft on childhood abuse, caravans and bedsits, constant new schools, and the path from all of it to a seat in the House of Commons.
Vicky Foxcroft has been the Labour MP for Lewisham North since 2015, but her route to Parliament was anything but conventional.

She welcomed us into her Westminster office mid make-up touch-up, and within minutes was treating us like old friends. Then she told us about a childhood most people wouldn't guess at.

Everything changed when her mum entered an abusive relationship. The man began abusing Vicky too, and family life became increasingly unstable. Vicky, her mum and her sister moved again and again, living in caravans, bedsits and temporary accommodation. Every move meant a new home and a new school, and at some of them she was badly bullied.

Against the odds, she came out with good BTECs and a place at university. That's where she joined the Labour Party, the start of a path that would eventually lead to the House of Commons.

What keeps her going? Helping people who are struggling. She tells us about visiting a school where a young girl living in temporary accommodation walked up to her and said: "When I'm older, I'm going to be an MP, just like you." Moments like that, she says, make all of it worth it.

Her superpower: empathy. Her biggest weakness: empathy.
Vicky also speaks openly about her time as shadow minister for disabled people and her later role as a government whip under Keir Starmer.

This is Vicky Foxcroft's life story, laid out in full.
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