S01-EP13 - David Howarth on winning an election, Polling Day & the future of democracy

With one day to go, we interview the former politician and academic David Howarth – who won a surprise victory to become the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge in 2005 – for his insight on the twists and turns of Polling Day, and the daily pressures of life in Westminster. In a refreshingly candid discussion, he reveals why the ‘public mood’ is a myth, what it’s really like on the campaign trail, why the legacy of the MP expenses scandal makes him fear for the future of our democracy, and how Alex Salmond predicted the key role of minor parties almost a decade ago. Also in this episode, we speak to Khue Pham – foreign correspondent for the leading German newspaper Die Zeit – for a German’s perspective on the quirks of British elections, and whether a grand coalition of Labour and the Conservatives is the answer to our political stalemate. Finally, our regular panel assess their predictions from earlier podcasts, and give their own forecast for tomorrow’s result. Posted 6/5/15 For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Om Podcasten

Coronavirus! Climate! Brexit! Trump! Politics has never been more unpredictable, more alarming or more interesting: Talking Politics is the podcast that tries to make sense of it all. Every week David Runciman and Helen Thompson talk to the most interesting people around about the ideas and events that shape our world: from history to economics, from philosophy to fiction. What does the future hold? Can democracy survive? How crazy will it get? This is the political conversation that matters.Talking Politics is brought to you in partnership with the London Review of Books, Europe's leading magazine of books and ideas.