Politics Without The Boring Bits The Times

Matt Chorley and Patrick Maguire pause and unpack the action from the Commons chamber, as Tory MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke defects to Labour moments before PMQs.
Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton discuss never-ending Tory plots, whether the police do enough to tackle stalking, and whether cycling can be cool.
Columnists: (01:24)
PMQs Unpacked: (23:00)


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Mortgage costs went up after Liz Truss' mini-budget in 2022, and are yet to come down. As new analysis of the local election results suggests that support for the Conservatives dropped more sharply in areas where there are more mortgage holders, Matt tries to get to the bottom of who is really to blame.
PLUS: As the Liberal Democrats table another motion of no-confidence in the government to try and trigger an election, Matt asks The Times' Tom Peck - what's the point?
No-confidence (08:31)
Did Liz Truss Really Screw Your Mortgage? (14:52)

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Description: Matt sits down with MPs leaving Parliament at the next election to find out about their highs and lows, their best and worst bosses, and the lessons they've learned from politics. Conservative MP Craig Whittaker tells Matt about being deputy chief whip in Liz Truss's government, what it's been like having stalkers, and the ‘rot’ inside the Tory party.
Plus: Columnists Rachel Sylvester and Libby Purves discuss the return of the 'coalition of chaos' and whether student protests are effective.
The Columnists: (01:50)
The Big Thing: (20:22)

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Children's TV legend Timmy Mallett tells Matt what he would do if he ruled the world, including using sleep as an energy source.

Plus: Lara Spirit continues her A-Z of Parliament, this week looking at "O" for "opposition days".

After a difficult set of election results for the Conservatives, including a by-election defeat in Blackpool South, Matt looks at what they mean for the parties and for Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer as elections expert John Curtice says that losing is the government's "habit".
Plus: Columnists India Knight and James Marriott discuss why neither of them voted, whether they sympathise with Boris Johnson who forgot his ID at the polling booth, and what it means for politics that young people are becoming more religious.

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In half a century just three opposition leaders have become prime minister. 45 years after Margaret Thatcher arrived in Downing Street, Matt hears from the people who knew her best - including Conservative colleagues Ken Clarke, Jonathan Aitken, and David Howell, aide turned author Michael Dobbs, her biographer Charles Moore, and her daughter Carol Thatcher.
Plus: Manveen Rana and Matthew Parris discuss the SNP's leadership struggles, is noise in the Commons a good thing, and whether you should trust attractive politicians. 
The Columnists: (01:00)
The Big Thing: (22:27)

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