Vantage Point Laura Thomas, Head of Strategy @ Grayling

In Nicky's next episode as the host of the Vantage Point political podcast by Grayling, she speaks with Rachel Wolf, a Founding Partner at Public First, leading the agency's policy work. Before taking on this role, Rachel was a Michael Gove and Number 10 adviser, co-author of the Conservative’s landslide-winning 2019 manifesto, a regular columnist in Conservative Home and the Telegraph. And today, she and Nicky speak about the uniquely British political phenomenon of the manifesto—if they’re still relevant, how they can work well or not so well and what goes into creating them.

Today, we’re so happy to have my friend, former colleague, and someone whose interests are many, and usually pursued to a level of mastery—Allison Burton-Parker. Allison is a globe-roaming wine educator and writer living between the Loire Valley, London and New Zealand. She is a former luxury advertising executive—which is when we first met in New York City. ABP, as she’s affectionately called within our NYC friend group, surrendered to her love of
wine a decade ago and never looked back. She holds the WSET Diploma in Wines, is the Education Director for the Academie du Vin in London and co-founder of the Loire Wine Academy. Her interest and expertise in wine reaches far beyond merely drinking and enjoying it which we’ll unpack a bit in this episode.

In Nicky's next episode as the host of the Vantage Point political podcast by Grayling, she speaks with Luke Tryl, a polling and policy expert who is now a director at More in Common, which carries out regular public opinion research and publishes regular research reports on a range of challenges facing the UK today. More relevantly for this episode, Luke was Special Adviser to Nicky at the Department for Education and shares some amusing stories in this episode from their times on the campaign trail.  

In Nicky's next episode as the host of the Vantage Point political podcast by Grayling, she speaks with Wooyun Jo, a researcher at Loughborough University specialising in Asian security and a member of the South Korean Presidential Peaceful Unification Advisory Council. Nicky and Wooyun unpack the results of the Taiwan general election which took place on the 13th of January. It is the first of ten major democratic elections taking place globally in 2024—and one keenly watched by the US and China in particular. And now, here’s Nicky.

In Baroness Nicky Morgan's first episode as the host of the Vantage Point political podcast by Grayling, she speaks with Sajid Javid, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Sajid is currently a Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove but recently announced that he will stand down at the next election. Nicky and Sajid discuss the Autumn Statement and what it means for UK taxes, what it's like to serve as a chancellor during a crisis, the upcoming UK election landscape (don't get too confident Labour!) and Sajid's future plans as he transitions into the next phase of his career.

Today’s guest on the Vantage Point podcast is Baroness Nicky Morgan. Today, we introduce Nicky as the host of a political series that will feature as part of the Grayling Vantage Point podcast as we move into 2024—the year in which countries making up more than
50% of global GDP will head to the polls and vote. Nicky will unpack the process that candidates and parties undertake in prep for major elections, dissect some of the key issues driving both the political discourse and voter’s decisions as well as give her hot take on the twists and turns the world will inevitably experience on the road to these major democratic events.