How To Win An Election

There's an arms race under way as the parties make competing offers to help with the rising cost of living. Is anyone cutting through to the voters?

And as Keir Starmer's rivals consider whether to move against him after May's elections, Danny argues that the looming economic crisis makes it a bad time for them to act.

We also find out why Sally introduced 'garish posters and loud music' to Downing Street, and Polly holds forth about barbecues.

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Sally, Polly, Danny and Hugo discuss the conspiracies swirling around the theft of Morgan McSweeney's mobile phone. How did government work in the pre-smartphone era, when Tony Blair refused to use one?

They also explore how political language is evolving (and whether it’s becoming dangerously loose), and imagine what’s more likely - a Lab-Lib coalition or a Tory-Reform alliance.

Plus, the team settle a debate you didn't even know existed - chilled vs super-chilled.

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Angela Rayner has fired the opening shot in the leadership race to succeed Keir Starmer, warning that Labour is 'running out of time'.

We discuss the art of being on manoeuvres without being caught doing it - from Michael Portillo installing the phone lines, to Rishi Sunak's team secretly registering 'readyforrishi.com'.

And, will any of the potential candidates - including Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting, Andy Burnham or even John Healey - actually be ready to go if the party suffers a heavy defeat in the local elections in May?

We also give (unsolicited) reading suggestions for Keir Starmer:

Sally: The Choice Before the Labour Party, RH Tawney
Polly: The Man Who Planted Trees, Jean Giono
Danny: Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer, Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund
Hugo: Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett

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In this special crossover episode with our colleagues at the Times podcast The State Of It, Hugo is joined by Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund to discuss the new edition of their book Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer.

Morgan McSweeney was the man credited with rescuing Labour from electoral oblivion and propelling Keir Starmer to power. How did it all go so wrong, and how did Keir Starmer end up running a 'passive premiership'?

The paperback edition is available to order at the Times Bookshop where Times Plus members can get a 20% discount.

Artwork: Russel Herneman for the Sunday Times
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Sally, Polly, Danny and Hugo look at what the Mandelson files say about decision making in Keir Starmer's Downing Street. Is there a comparison with Boris Johnson's handling of the Chris Pincher scandal, which led to Johnson's resignation as prime minister?

With Starmer's cost of living agenda in trouble, we ask if lessons can be learned from Edward Heath and the 1973 oil crisis, and from Tony Blair taking on the tanker drivers in the 2000 fuel protests.

The team give their ideas for rewiring the nation, including moving Parliament to York and swapping the older person's bus pass for electric bikes.

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