Losing the election could help the Conservatives ‘return to sanity’ 

Heaven forbid that after 14 years of rabid right wing idiocy that we should have a centrist opposition to a Labour government.

The Tories will return to sanity when they get sick of constantly losing elections

Losing the election could help the Tories to return to oblivion.

Why doesn't the media ask MPs why they refused to attend the commons debates on the excessive deaths of British people as our people continue to suffer and die?

I just registered to vote from france,will be tactically voting labour to get rid of the tories in Havering,a longshot as it’s gammon central.

Too much of a good thing... Is a BAD thing! So time for a LONG Break Tories! You've been in power for far too long! Time to take a much needed break!

Any sane person can see that they need to return to the centre, and stop moving constantly to the right, to the point of absurdity. Sending refugees thousands of miles away to Rwanda??? It is is beyond belief. They might also want to stop replacing Prime Ministers with people no one expected in the post, via a vote by a handful of party members. That is what calling general elections is for- deciding who is in charge of the government. Stopping the massive corruption and cronyism might also be a real vote winner.

Sunak flirting with bringing back Boris Johnson suggests they've not learned anything.

Yup gone insane around 2016 - downfall totally predicted

I think it will mostly just help them return to their homes and hopefully stay there.

Imagine the awful realisation that a government might be doing things without effective scrutiny must be horrying for a political group that has spent years acting deceitfully, proroguing Parliament to circumvent checks and balances, breaking UK law and threatening to flout international law. What is the tiniest violin I can play?

20 years in the wilderness might help a lil, though without Moses ta guide them, sayeth the Lord...

Well done Matt for herding the sheep in this entertaining discussion, which went all over the map. Great show.

Tugendhat would be best as Tory leader to provide a return to rational politics. However, the party is so irrational now, I could see it splitting quite quickly after the election between a centre right party and a MAGA Zombie tribute act that unites with Reform.

The Tories will rip themselves apart and, post the purge instigated by Blobby, the braver-men in the party will want to embrace the unreformed far right.

It would be nice is you had someone on this panel under 40 who could give insight on what voters 18-40 want?? They are the generation who inherit this Tory mess. Do they no get a say? Apparently, not.

If you want to go back to the 1940’s Berlin Germany era ( vote for VILE Farage) it’s a no brainer

These Murdoch Minions aren't getting it. The Tory Party is dead. It is no more. Like the Norwegian Blue in Monty Python, it has shuffled off it's mortal coil. Rejoice!

While Labour should not assume victory, it should be fully prepared to hit the road running so as not to waste time as a new Government. The best work of the last Labour Government was in the first 100 days when very important changes were made.

Theyve been insane for years fancy bringing back the clown total madness cameron was bad enough

Pigs might fly.

Why don’t they ask themselves how they got here?

They have ignored every possible signal from the majority of the electorate that they have lurched far too much to the right so i couldn't imagine them having an evangelistic moment that makes them empathetic or vaguely human...imagine Jenrick starting to paint cartoons for the asylum kids !!!

True - parties (Tory and Labour) develop a sense of entitlement when in office too long. They treat the voting public with disdain and contempt, thinking that they can do anything with impunity.

I wish people would stop saying Labour has this sewn up. I won't belyeve that til it happens

If brexit was a success as I hear people claiming then the Tories should be returned to power with a stonking majority it's wasn't so they won't we are in a terrible mess since leaving I Will be voting Labour hopefully they can bring some stability back unlike the last decade we've endured.

I've long thought only the cleansing waters of opposition would reform the tories. They could even lose the place of official opposition this time! I'm spoiling my ballot this time.

Vote Reform.

Question for Polly Mckenzie. What recommendation would you give an incoming Labour government about how to handle all the free trade deals the Conservatives signed? Please feel free to consult your team as needed. Enjoying the podcast.

Never Sunak. Never Conservative. Never again. Never Sunak. Never Conservative. Never again. Never Sunak. Never Conservative. Never again. Never Sunak. Never Conservative. Never again.

I love the podcast too

the Tories and reform honestly have become obsessed with American politics, where there overtone window is, there center ground is, which is far far far to the right of where it is in the UK there jelous of the spectical, the nationalism and the vast deep christian, evangelical vote the supports it and wish desperately to recreate such spectical here in the UK, they even thought they had there own trump with bojo but unlike in America we arnt so easily entertained by a clown in the UK for long, put bluntly the Tories and by and large the right have simply forgotten the UK is not America, we arnt really a people who likes spectical, we tier easily of politics and politicians and untill they realise that and stop trying to push American talking points and win elections on American style policies and campaigns there dead.

Wouldn't it be great if Corbyn got re-elected? Not for any political position, but just so we wouldn't have to hear any more about "reality." It's no patronising. Perhaps reality is what people make of it?

odious.

You can tell Mandelson hates Corbyn.

Mandy had to look up the Labour candidate in Islington North. 😊

last month i earnt £1679 which i then paid £114 in tax and £50.48in nat insurance. how little does any party want me to earn before i actually take home what i earnt?

The longer the Tories are out in the cold the better, once they realise leaving the EU was a mistake then they maybe a plausible party to vote for again....not that I will.

Matt chorley is the dogs will be sorry to him go

The Tories also known as New Labour

Mandelson has been in full campaign mode the last few weeks. Makes the podcast much less interesting.

Oh I'm now drowning in lefty tears hahaha

This podcast is not as good as "the rest is politics" - discuss

This is the most important election in a generation. We Conservatives cannot afford to lose to the most radically left-wing Labour party in the history of the United Kingdom.

🇬🇧🤡🌎🇬🇧🤡🌎🇬🇧🤡🌎

Tories will draw wrong conclusions from a defeat... that they need to go more right wing and more reform.

Show started as if it is “How to fill in the time before a Labour victory”.

The prime miniature was out of his depth from the start

A Conservative (Boris) urgently went to Ukraine to scupper the peace treaty!, why?

Since when has the Libdems’s been on the left. These people voted for austerity and at the time had Tax cuts on their manifesto. I guess if you’re on the right everyone is on the left, same as if you are Stalin everyone is on your right.

They are rotten to the core . Don't hold your breath.

Surely the problem for the Tories (or their Grandees anyway) is that they positioned themselves as Social Democrats thus mainly competing for the same votes Labour and the LibDems do. They have done it rather badly and managed to disenchant their traditional voters in the process - a lose lose by any measure. Half the country or more feels unrepresented, an open goal for the Tories when they return to their roots and throwaway CRT which ludicrously is deployed to demonise people they should cherish.

Fond memories of real political debate have been aroused by your civilized debates. HOw refreshing. Other forms of media have a lot to answer for; mainly driving out well-balanced, thoughtful candidates for Parliament.

The Tories have gone past the point where they can return to anything approximating to sanity. The greater their loss, the greater will be the savage insanity of the few remaining, as each faction blames the others for their demise.

They’ll be in the unelectable far right wilderness for at least ten years hopefully

Great if they could shake down see the light and rejoin the EU. I might then consider voting for them as I once did but until then, never again.

Davy failed the Horizon victims. He was minister in charge - no excuses.

It would be completely against the run of history for the Tories to return to sanity. They will double down on moving to the right until they lose at least one further election, probably two.

Ditch the Lords; have an elected 'Senate' like AUS with all its powers and electoral systems !

A lot will depend on who is left standing after the Tories coming General Election rout. If, say, the bulk of the remaining Parliamentary party were to comprise of one nation Tories capable of focusing of voters priorities then they have a chance. If, however, those remaining are from the libertarian right pursuing their own narrow, think tank dominated policy shibboleths (e.g. anti-wokery and tax cuts for the well off) then the Tory party will not recover. Indeed, it will be unlikely to remain one party.

The Tories clearly drew people who just wanted to be in the winning party, but with little to no idea how to run a government. Truss being a prime example, though Rishi fits that mold as does Boris. I am disappointed that no party has put anything about trying to rejoin the EU in the Manifesto, just curious to see what it would do for their standing.

Enough ‘Ideological Purity’, forever determined to force people to fit the ideology. Adopt pragmatism, pursue whatever works instead of incessantly returning to square one. The job of the opposition is to put up plausible/feasible alternatives, and any sensible governing part will listen and accept changes.

After 14 years of this shower I am warming to mandy

The Tories in opposition under Blair/Brown went Left. They need to get back to being an actual Conservative party. When they got back in in 2010, they couldn't even summon up the courage to abolish Blair's american Supreme Court. Pathetic.

With the amount of marginal seats in play a few points can mean diffence between 150 and 50 seats. The tories can't give up when there is alot to play for

My god, these Murdoch minions are dull.