How To Win An Election

Times Radio Politics

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 on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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140 episodes
Updated July 23

Episodes140

Newest first

May 29, 2025 · 39 min
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 does bringing people into the big tent work, and when is does it go wrong? They talk about Tony Blair's tsars, Gordon Brown's GOATS and Chris Grayling's gaffe. They also discuss cabinet tussles over the spending review, and Robert Jenrick's vigilante video tackling fare dodgers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 22, 2025 · 40 min
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 political masterminds also discuss the Conservative Party's existential polling spiral, why Starmer's approval ratings have fallen so far in the year since the General Election was called, and why Hugo agrees with Polly that babies should get the vote. Send your comments and questions to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 15, 2025 · 1 hr 8 min
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 1992, an election that has been mythologised and is still influencing political strategy today. From soapboxes to shadow budgets to Sheffield rallies, the political mastermind are joined by then Labour leader Neil Kinnock to get under the skin of the campaign and separate electoral fact from fiction. Send your comments and questions to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 8, 2025 · 42 min
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 right, the left, or double down on what they're already doing? And does it have anything to do with Greggs? Send questions, comments and voicenotes to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 1, 2025 · 38 min
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 their seats, and established parties reduced to the sidelines. The political masterminds find out exactly what happened, how much of it was really down to Donald Trump, and what the parties here in the UK can learn. And stop the clocks - Keir Starmer told a joke in the Commons that had MPs laughing, do the team think it delivered? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 24, 2025 · 39 min
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 to do when you know you’re heading for defeat. Does Robert Jenrick know how to unite the right of British politics? Why didn’t Steve Hilton share his snacks with Polly when they worked together in Number 10? And what’s the political strategy behind a Papal election? Send questions, comments and voicenotes to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 17, 2025 · 38 min
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 persuade voters Labour is protecting its former industrial heartlands? Who does Ed Davey have in mind when he appeals to Middle England? And is Reform UK definitely turquoise? Hugo, Sally and Danny are joined by former Lib Dem director of communications Olly Grender. Send questions, comments and voicenotes to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 10, 2025 · 39 min
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 'man cave' when he interviewed him the first time round? And, Keir Starmer wants to tackle what he calls the 'flabby state' - Is that the same as the 'blob', and can you reform Whitehall without going to war with it? Send questions, comments and voicenotes to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 3, 2025 · 40 min
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 rest of government, does it matter who has what job, and should we turn the whole thing into a museum? The political masterminds discuss how number 10 really works, and Polly explains why her husband thinks Canada is worse than North Korea. Send questions, comments and voicenotes to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 27, 2025 · 39 min
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 'fixing the roof when the sun is shining' such an effective message for David Cameron and George Osborne? And which of Danny's three types of strategy will Labour adopt at the next General Election? Send questions, comments and voicenotes to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 20, 2025 · 47 min
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 Starmer, Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch. And as Sally reveals she's replaced her Tesla, do boycotts make any difference? Send questions, comments and voicenotes to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk, or WhatsApp 0333 00 323 53 with the words 'How To Win'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 13, 2025 · 40 min
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 ever just about policy, or always more about personality? We also discuss giving geography lessons to politicians, and Polly gets cross about more empty words about the welfare state. Send questions, comments and voicenotes to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk, or WhatsApp 0333 00 323 53 with the words 'How To Win'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 6, 2025 · 40 min
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 does a foreign conflict turn into a 'Falklands moment', and when does a leader get criticised for spending too much time globe-trotting? Sally, Polly, Danny and Hugo also ask how to stop a minister resigning - or how to let them do it at an advantageous moment. Send questions, comments and voicenotes to: howtowin@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 27, 2025 · 41 min
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 Tony Blair's right-hand woman in Downing Street, at his side for some of the biggest moments in recent political history. She joins Polly, Danny and Hugo to discuss leaders who can tell jokes and those who can't, Liz Truss calling Britain a failed state, and whether anyone knows how to save the transatlantic relationship. Send questions, comments and voicenotes to: howtowin@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 25, 2025 · 28 min
The 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 meantime, here's an episode from our colleagues at The Story. Lord Maurice Glasman was the only Labour politician to be invited to Trump’s inauguration after striking up a friendship with JD Vance. So who is he and why is his 'Blue Labour' movement seen by Starmer's inner circle as the medicine to tackle the rise of Reform? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guest: Patrick Maguire, Political Columnist, The Times and author of Get In:The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer. Host: Manveen Rana. Further reading: To take on the right, will Labour go blue? Clips: GB News, NBC, PBS, UnHerd, Together, ABC Australia, The Guardian. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 18, 2025 · 39 min
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 and Australia, joins the political masterminds to discuss the highs and the lows of the job. And after Kemi Badenoch speaks at a gathering of right-of-centre thinkers in London, what have we learned about her brand of Conservatism? Send questions, comments and voicenotes to: howtowin@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 11, 2025 · 38 min
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 finally made a break-through at Westminster and forced David Cameron into offering the EU referendum. If you have a message for Hugo, Polly or Danny send it to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 4, 2025 · 38 min
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 Times journalists Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund sheds light on the inner workings of Keir Starmer's government, is chief of staff Morgan McSweeney actually in charge? And should a new YouGov/Times poll showing Reform UK ahead of Labour for the first time cause everyone to panic? Send your questions, voicenotes or comments to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 28, 2025 · 41 min
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, one of Tony Blair's closest advisers, joins Hugo, Polly and Danny to discuss running a campaign and delivering at the same time. She explains what a political washing line is, why Liz Truss was all line and no clothes, and they compare notes on ministers who would always go on the airwaves to defend their party. Send your questions, voicenotes or comments to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 21, 2025 · 40 min
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 joined by US pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson to discuss Trump's inauguration, his honeymoon (or otherwise), and Polly and Kristen disagree over Republican women. You can still vote for us in the People's Choice category at this year's Political Podcast Awards. Please vote for us here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.