Never Mind The Bar Charts

Tactical voting took centre stage in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts as I discussed the thought-provoking pamphlet Breaching the Blue Wall: could tactical voting help England's 'progressive' parties defeat the Conservatives? with one of its authors, Dr. Alan Wager.
We focus on politics in England, but much of what we discuss is also applicable more widely too.
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Show notes
Breaching the Blue Wall - the pamphlet discussed in the show.
Tactical voting research #1 - many voters don't know the tactical situation in their seat.
Tactical voting research #2 - the impact of tactical voting websites.
Paula Surridge's words of wisdom on understanding British politics.
That top-rating previous podcast with Tim Bale.
Alan Wager on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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It's back to more serious matters in this episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts after last time's board game review - the role of money in British politics. I was delighted to have on the show Professor Justin Fisher, one of the country's leading experts on the topic and someone whose research into grassroots politics makes him a better informed expert than many on what really goes inside political parties.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Jeremy Thorpe's role in unlocking the beast of national political spending.
The independent who got elected as an MP by campaigning to protect a hospital.
The Elections Bill.
Justin Fisher's blog post mentioning John O'Farrell and karaoke.
Justin Fisher's work on non-members helping in election campaigns.
Tim Bale on the upsides of getting non-members involved formally in parties.
Justin Fisher on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Something a little different from the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts: a board game review with Jim Williams. A political board game, of course.
It'd be great to hear what you think of this game review. Should Jim and I play more games and talk about them in future episodes?
Show notes
Get your own copy of 1960: The Making of the President.
Eugene Burdick.
My cunning advantage over Jim.
Canadian Check Shirt Guy (aka Rodney Smith) reviews 1960: The Making of the President on YouTube.
How Nixon's poor shaving helped lose him the 1960 election.
The famous Nixon/Khrushchev photo.
Make Votes Matter - campaigning for electoral reform in the UK.
If Then: How One Data Company Invented the Future by Jill Lepore: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon.*
Codenames and 13 Days.*
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.

 
There’s a new book of political alternative histories out called Prime Minister Priti: And other things that never happened. One of its editors is a Liberal Democrat. So who better to have back on Never Mind The Bar Charts than that editor… Duncan Brack.
 
Listen to us discuss how Eric Joyce having one drink too many caused Brexit (perhaps), what the appeal is of political counter-factuals, our favourite chapters from this book and how one change in the events of 1923 could have led to a very different political history for the Liberal Party.
 
 
 
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Show notes
 
Our earlier episodes talking about Lord John Russell, Jo Grimond and David Steel.
My contributions to previous volumes: what if the 1832 Great Reform Act had never happened (full chapter) and what if Chris Huhne had beaten Nick Clegg in the 2007 Lib Dem leadership contest?
Prime Minister Priti: And other things that never happened edited by Duncan Brack and Iain Dale: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
Prime Minister Corbyn: And Other Things That Never Happened edited by Duncan Brack and Iain Dale: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
The Prime Ministers We Never Had: Success and Failure from Butler to Corbyn by Steve Richards: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
The Prime Ministers Who Never Were: A collection of counterfactuals edited by Francis Beckett: Amazon / Waterstones.*
Duncan Brack on Twitter.
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.
 

What happens at Lib Dem party conference? What's it like attending one? What are likely to be the big debates at this September's federal conference? What are the hidden gems to look out for?
With the 2021 Liberal Democrat Federal Conference coming up and a special registration offer of just £1 for first time conference attendees, I joined Cllr John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod team for a special live show previewing conference. Whether you've never come to conference before, or have been going for many decades, the show will have something for you.
 
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Show notes
It's only £1 to register for conference if you've not come to one before.
That photo of a young colleague.
The most excellent Lib Dem Pod.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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It was great to have Survation's Damian Lyons Lowe on Never Mind The Bar Charts, fresh off the back of his firm's success in polling the Hartlepool by-election. As well as talking about how he got into political polling and what to watch out for when a surprising poll appears, we discussed whether everyone is just paying too much attention to political polls. Does it really matter what they are currently saying? Listen to find out...
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Yes, it is fun watching people do Sudoku: Cracking The Cryptic's YouTube channel.
Damian Lyons Lowe gets grilled by Andrew Neil.
The ever-wise Martin Boon.
Survation's successful Hartlepool polling.
Get your latest polling fixes with Britain Elections and Elections Map UK on Twitter.
Anthony Wells disagrees with agree/disagree questions.
Keiran Pedley on Twitter and his podcast.
John Curtice on what the polls say.
Damian Lyons Lowe on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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With the a new edition of 101 Ways To Win An Election out, I chatted with co-author Ed Maxfield for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. Roaming across Black Lives Matter, William Wilberforce, Matt Hancock, how the music industry is changing and one of the worst answers given in a political debate, we talked about political campaigning, our favourite chapters from our own book and other books we'd recommend.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Get the new edition of 101 Ways To Win An Election.
How public opinion has shifted over taking the knee.
How experience can lead to doctors making more mistakes.
The different impact of the internet on the music and phone industries.
Michael Dukakis gets it wrong on the death penalty.
William Wilberforce by William Hague: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
Putting Voters in Their Place by Ron Johnston and Charles Pattie: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.
 

 
Lib Dems love by-elections. Lib Dems love winning by-elections. And Lib Dems love getting excited after by-elections.
 
So to help us all calibrate our levels of excitement after Sarah Green’s victory in Chesham and Amersham, it’s great to welcome back to Never Mind The Bar Charts, Paula Surridge, senior lecturer at Bristol University and an expert in how values are driving political choices in modern Britain.
 
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
 
Show notes
 
Lib Dem Newswire edition looking at the lessons from Chesham and Amersham.
Brexit, British politics and values: Paula's article looking at how Brexit is still shaping British politics.
The British General Election of 2019 by Rob Ford, Tim Bale, Will Jennings and Paula Surridge: Amazon / Waterstones.*
Paula's previous appearance on the show, looking at what the data from 2019 general election says about the future for the Lib Dems.
Paula Surridge on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.
 

 
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another special live show with the Lib Dem Pod team. This time we looked at proportional representation with Lib Dem Parliamentarians Wendy Chamberlain and Paul Tyler.
 
Why is proportional representation (PR) a good thing? Does it matter which version of PR is used? What's the route to securing it for more elections in the UK? How much should the party talk about it? Find out the answers to all these and more in the show.
 
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
 
Show notes
 
Liberal Democrat Newswire #148 also looked at the route to securing more electoral reform.
Lib Dem Pod - a great podcast you should listen to.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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We all know about the love Liberal Democrats have of delivering leaflets. So our dream professor of politics would be one who specialises in studying leaflets. Which is why I’m delighted to say that is just who I was speaking to for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, Professor Caitlin Milazzo of Nottingham University.
We talked about how political leaflets are changing, the impact they have, how political campaigning isn't getting more negative and the evidence that female candidates are more likely than male candidates to make an important mistake with their election literature. Listen on to find out more, including how to avoid that mistake yourself...
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
 
Show notes
The Open Elections project.
Upload a leaflet to the Open Elections project or help code those already uploaded here (currently after leaflets for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd elections).
Other research into political leaflets: Mark Shephard and Justin Fisher.
Evidence from Rosie Campbell, Phil Cowley, Nick Vivyan and Markus Wagner on how voters prefer local candidates.
Follow Caitlin Milazzo on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts.
 
Enjoy the show? Spread the word
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Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.