Labour sees a landslide general election victory, what's next for Scotland? While Keir Starmer's Labour celebrated massive gains, and the Lib Dems saw a comeback, it was a punishing night for the Tories and the SNP. As the parties reflect on the results, and Labour prepares for Government, the team discuss the big moments of the night, and ask what the election tells us about the political landscape now, and what does the result mean for Scotland as it looks to the 2026 Holyrood elections?...
Jul 05, 2024•30 min
On election eve, the team considers the state of the parties after the six week campaign. From gaffes to being grilled in front of live audiences, wacky stunts to serious statements, the team looks back at the 2024 general election campaign in Scotland and the wider UK, and discuss how the parties have shaped up ahead of the polls opening on Thursday July 4th. What have been the defining moments of the campaign, how might the political landscape change on Friday, and just how far can the Podliti...
Jul 03, 2024•36 min
Martin Geissler sits down with SNP leader John Swinney. His party are coming into this general election off the back of what he himself described as a “rough time”. They’re offering voters “a new chapter”, with calls for more powers for Scottish Parliament, and eventually, they hope, full independence for Scotland, but given they’ve been in power in Holyrood for 17 years, how is that message landing with voters? In this audio version of the BBC Scotland Sunday Show interview, Martin asks Swinney...
Jun 30, 2024•28 min
What do the manifestos say about welfare, LGBTQ+ rights, social issues, and more? The team deep dives into the party manifesto offers on social issues for the 2024 general election, comparing and contrasting pledges, and what they might mean for Scotland. Part of a series looking at the 2024 party manifestos. For more coverage on more manifesto topics, subscribe to Podlitical on BBC Sounds, or visit the BBC News website.
Jun 29, 2024•24 min
What do the manifestos say about climate change, green policies, and oil & gas? The team deep dives into the party manifesto offers on climate policy for the 2024 general election, comparing and contrasting pledges, and what they might mean for Scotland. Part of a series looking at the 2024 party manifestos. For more coverage on more manifesto topics, subscribe to Podlitical on BBC Sounds, or visit the BBC News website.
Jun 29, 2024•22 min
What do the manifestos say about the Scottish Independence, Brexit, immigration and more? The team deep dives into the party manifesto offers on statehood, foreign policy, immigration, military support and more for the 2024 general election, comparing and contrasting pledges, and what they might mean for Scotland. Part of a series looking at the 2024 party manifestos. For more coverage on more manifesto topics, subscribe to Podlitical on BBC Sounds, or visit the BBC News website.
Jun 28, 2024•21 min
What do the manifestos say about the NHS, social care, and health? The team deep dives into the party manifesto offers on public health and care for the 2024 general election, comparing and contrasting pledges, and what they might mean for Scotland. Part of a series looking at the 2024 party manifestos. For more coverage on more manifesto topics, subscribe to Podlitical on BBC Sounds, or visit the BBC News website.
Jun 27, 2024•15 min
What do the manifestos say about tax, spending, and the pound in your pocket? The team deep dives into the party manifesto offers on money and the economy for the 2024 general election, comparing and contrasting pledges, and what they might mean for Scotland. Part of a series looking at the 2024 party manifestos. For more coverage on more manifesto topics, subscribe to Podlitical on BBC Sounds, or visit the BBC News website.
Jun 26, 2024•22 min
Martin Geissler sits down with Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross. It’s fair to say it’s been a rough campaign for the Tories, but is it all doom and gloom in the camp? In this audio version of the BBC Scotland Sunday Show interview, Martin asks Ross about his policies, his plans for the future, and the ups and downs of a few weeks on the campaign trail. Part of a series of interviews with party leaders over the course of the general election campaign. To hear them all, subscribe to Podl...
Jun 23, 2024•26 min
Martin Geissler sits down with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. The polls suggest Labour are doing well just now – but of course, two weeks is a long time in politics. Can they keep up the pace they’ve set themselves? In this audio version of the BBC Scotland Sunday Show interview, Martin asks Sarwar about tax, just how Labour will get that growth they need to fund their pledges, immigration, and independence. Part of a series of interviews with party leaders over the course of the general el...
Jun 23, 2024•27 min
This week, investigations into bets on the general election, and talk of tactical votes. As the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning is investigated by the Gambling Commission for placing a bet on the timing of the general election, alongside a Tory candidate and one of Rishi Sunak's closest aides, the team discusses the news from the campaign trail and what they've been up to this week. Also, Lucy, Rajdeep, and Phil chat tactical voting, just how much it will play into this election, an...
Jun 20, 2024•26 min
How do political polls work, and why do different polls have different projections? Podlitical sits down with Rachel Ormston, Research Director for Ipsos in Scotland, and Mark Diffley, a pollster from Diffley Partnership, to talk all things polling. How do pollsters collect and collate their data, and why exactly are "MRP" polls so in vogue right now? The team talk through why Scotland is tricky to poll this election, how polls are "projections" not "predictions", why pollsters are paranoid, and...
Jun 19, 2024•28 min
How can parties "win" the general election, and how might they define winning? The team look at the possible routes to victory that the Scottish and UK parties could take, both likely and unlikely, and what it tells us about the current political landscape of the UK. What is the strategy behind the Conservatives' warning of a Labour supermajority, what might a successful election look like for second-or-third party in Westminster candidates SNP, the Liberal Democrats, and Reform UK, and what do ...
Jun 13, 2024•38 min
The team discuss the Debate Night Scottish Leaders' debate. Following a fiery hour, how did the leaders set out their pitches to the Scottish electorate, how did Scottish leaders differ from Westminster counterparts, and how did the audience react to their pledges and promises? From cost of living to independence, the team analyse the performances and claims made by Anas Sarwar from Scottish Labour, Douglas Ross from the Scottish Conservatives, John Swinney from the SNP, Alex Cole-Hamilton from ...
Jun 12, 2024•27 min
The Scottish Tory leader announces his resignation, the first manifestos launch, and more. Following the bombshell news that Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross is intending to resign that role after the general election, the team discuss how this might effect campaigning, how parties may use the news in the upcoming Scottish leaders debate, and what it means for Holyrood on July 5th. What other plans have parties made ahead of the debate? As the first manifestos begin to appear, with mor...
Jun 11, 2024•30 min
Martin Geissler sits down with Helen McDade of Reform UK. Reform UK is Nigel Farage’s latest political vehicle. They’re a broad church, united it seems by an opposition to immigration, but does Scotland share that same sentiment? In this audio version of the BBC Scotland Sunday Show interview, Martin asks McDade about how she found a home in Reform UK following her career working at environmental charities, and how exactly they want to reform the UK. Part of a series of interviews with party lea...
Jun 09, 2024•10 min
Martin Geissler sits down with Alba leader Alex Salmond. Alba claim to offer a different vision for Scottish independence, and hope to hoover up some of the pro-independence vote from the SNP and Scottish Green, but they've yet to have a representative elected under their banner. Will this election be the one? In this audio version of the BBC Scotland Sunday Show interview, Martin asks Salmond about his strategy for getting independence, if he has any concerns about splitting the pro-independenc...
Jun 09, 2024•14 min
Martin Geissler sits down with Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie. The Scottish Greens were part of the Scottish Government, until the then-First minister Humza Yousaf collapsed the Bute House Agreement. They had power, they had exposure, but has that helped their cause? In this audio version of the BBC Scotland Sunday Show interview, Martin asks Harvie about independence, a post-government world for his party, and how he thinks they’ll do in the election. Part of a series of interviews wi...
Jun 09, 2024•14 min
Mortgages, tax, and cost of living: Is this an election on the economy? Podlitical sits down with BBC Scotland Business and Economy Editor Douglas Fraser, and Mairi Spowage, Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde, to discuss the economy and the role it's playing in the general election. How much of our current economic situation is down to internal decisions like taxation, mini-budgets, and Brexit, or external forces like the pandemic and the war in Ukraine...
Jun 07, 2024•26 min
How can politicians explain nuance in numbers and sell "sort of" answers in an election? The team look at the first general election debate between Labour's Keir Starmer and the Conservative's Rishi Sunak, and the controversial tax figures quoted by Sunak that Labour claim are "lies", discussing how politicians can sell nuanced or complicated positions when in a debate or on the doorstep, and how even fudgy figures can be electoral wins if enough people remember them. Also, there's been controve...
Jun 06, 2024•24 min
Are election debates about winning or simply not losing, and do they influence votes? The team analyse the first Scottish leaders debate, and look into some of the political frontlines the parties are fighting on, from oil & gas, to the NHS, and devolution. With multiple further debates to follow during the general election campaign, what will politicians be hoping to get out of the debates, how might it influence people's voting intentions, and why does it feel like there are several differ...
Jun 04, 2024•22 min
Martin Geissler sits down with Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton. The Liberal Democrats election campaign is well underway, with Sir Ed Davey, the party's leader, whizzing down waterslides and falling into lakes. But will it win them votes? In this audio version of the BBC Scotland Sunday Show interview, Martin asks Cole-Hamilton about energy, housing, Brexit, independence, and more. Part of a series of interviews with party leaders over the course of the general election camp...
Jun 02, 2024•26 min
How are politicians promoting their message, and what happens when narratives go rogue? This week saw tensions over Labour MP Diane Abbott's place in the party following her return from suspension, manoeuvring in Holyrood over the vote to sanction former SNP health secretary Michael Matheson, and Tories talking taxation. As the general election campaigning continues, the team discuss how politicians and their parties try and broadcast a clear message to voters, and how they can control - or lose...
May 30, 2024•28 min
As general election campaigns kick off in earnest, how are they unfolding in Scotland? The team look at the first official week of the general election campaign, including the differences north and south of the border as parties look to exploit weak spots in each other's plans. In a week that's seen early gaffes, politicians paddleboarding, pledges on pensions, the NHS, & the economy, and an unusual case of a party which may have launched its campaign in no know UK constituency, Podlitical a...
May 28, 2024•35 min
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a snap election. What's next for Scotland? Following a day of febrile speculation, and despite it feeling like campaigning had already started months ago, the Prime Minister has officially announced a general election for July 4th. As parties throw themselves onto the campaign trail in earnest, the team explain what the mood was like on the ground on the day of the announcement, how the next weeks might unfold, what to watch, and what strategising might be g...
May 23, 2024•26 min
Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton speaks to Podlitical post-conference. Cole-Hamilton explains how he was "always liberal", tracing his politics back to his parents and joining the Quakers, and explains the platform of change he wants the Scottish Liberal Democrats to run on in the next election, that the party have shown they "don't need to be in power to wield power" . Cole-Hamilton discusses toxicity in politics, including how abuse on the "abyss" of social media hurt his m...
May 22, 2024•31 min
Podlitical sits down with the Presiding Officer to mark 25 years of Scottish Parliament, Kirsten Campbell talks to the Presiding Officer about how she got her start in politics, and how she nearly didn't put herself forward to be the next Presiding Officer. Alison Johnstone discusses why female representation in the job matters, how she deals with heated debates in Parliament, how she handles protesters interrupting proceedings, and the parts of the job we may not see. As we mark a quarter centu...
May 17, 2024•32 min
This week sees political giveaways, promises, pledges, and appearances on Loose Women. If we're not in an election campaign, why does it feel like we are, and why are the parties acting like they are too? The team discusses the Scottish Parliament declaring a housing emergency, a fund to erase school dinner debt, and the summit with Ferguson shipyards. In Westminster, Labour lays out its five pledges, the Westminster lobby awaits further potential defections from the Tories to Labour, and the Pr...
May 16, 2024•24 min
Politicians reflect on the highs and lows of Holyrood to mark its 25th anniversary. Podlitical's Lucy Whyte and Glenn Campbell sit down with Scottish Labour's deputy leader Jackie Baillie, the SNP's Christine Grahame, and former Scottish Conservative leader Baroness Annabel Goldie, all of whom were elected in the first Scottish Parliamentary election in 1999, to look back on a quarter of a century of Holyrood. Has the devolved parliament lived up to expectations? Is politics more tribal? Should ...
May 14, 2024•44 min
What can we expect from the new First Minister of Scotland John Swinney? As he officially becomes First Minister this week, following no other candidates putting forward their names for leadership, what might be the priorities and challenges of the new John Swinney administration? With a familiar cabinet and the addition of Kate Forbes as the Deputy First Minister, will it be enough to satisfy the half of the party that backed her against Humza Yousaf last year? The team take a look at what we l...
May 09, 2024•22 min
