The Political Party

Brace yourself for a top-level briefing from one of The Scottish Government's most senior public health experts. This is a brilliant explanation of how and why different governments react differently to the crisis, what role demographics play in the spread of the virus and what messages work best with the public. It's a comprehensive public health briefing delivered in a characteristically human way. Follow Jason and say nice things to him on Twitter here: @jasonleitch Follow Matt on Twitter: @mattforde FOR THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE ON CORONAVIRUS PLEASE GO TO: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus *** IMPORTANT TOUR UPDATE *** NEW REARRANGED DATES INCLUDE: 21 June - Cambridge Junction 2 October - Corby Cube 4 October - Brighton Komedia 9 October - Chorley Little Theatre 18 October - Leeds Hyde Park Book Club 25 October - Newcastle Stand 3 November - Camberley Theatre 13 November - Alnwick Playhouse 15 November - York Crescent 19 November - Cardiff Sherman Theatre 29 November - Glasgow Stand 3 December - Southend Dixon Studio 6 December - Sheffield Leadmill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following a stunning result in the Labour Deputy Leadership campaign, Rosena returns to share her experiences of going back to the front line of the NHS as an A&E doctor. Recorded just before Boris Johnson came out of intensive care, Rosena explains what being in ICU involves if you're a patient. Having been elevated to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Rosena also reflects on the mental health impact of the crisis but also gives us some messages of hope. Follow Rosena on Twitter: @DrRosena Follow Matt on Twitter: @mattforde FOR THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE ON CORONAVIRUS PLEASE GO TO: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus *** IMPORTANT TOUR UPDATE *** NEW REARRANGED DATES INCLUDE: 2 October - Corby Cube 4 October - Brighton Komedia 9 October - Chorley Little Theatre 18 October - Leeds Hyde Park Book Club 25 October - Newcastle Stand 3 November - Camberley Theatre 13 November - Alnwick Playhouse 15 November - York Crescent 19 November - Cardiff Sherman Theatre 29 November - Glasgow Stand 3 December - Southend Dixon Studio 6 December - Sheffield Leadmill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cancel your plans for the next hour, you've got a date with The Mooch. Donald Trump's fast-talking and deep thinking former Director of Communications delivers a comprehensive assessment of the President's profound mishandling of the crisis. Mixing personal insight of Trump's character and an analysis of the political risks to the President, Anthony Scaramucci proves himself to be one of the best guests in the history of the show. Oh, and listen out for investment advice! Follow The Mooch on Twitter: @Scaramucci Follow Skybridge Capital on Twitter: @SkyBridge Follow Matt on Twitter: @mattforde FOR THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE ON CORONAVIRUS PLEASE GO TO: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus *** IMPORTANT TOUR UPDATE *** NEW REARRANGED DATES INCLUDE: 21 June - Cambridge Junction 2 October - Corby Cube 4 October - Brighton Komedia 9 October - Chorley Little Theatre 18 October - Leeds Hyde Park Book Club 25 October - Newcastle Stand 3 November - Camberley Theatre 13 November - Alnwick Playhouse 15 November - York Crescent 19 November - Cardiff Sherman Theatre 29 November - Glasgow Stand 3 December - Southend Dixon Studio 6 December - Sheffield Leadmill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of Scotland's finest political columnists analyses the political implications Alex Salmond's trial and verdict. What are the ramifications for Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP and the cause of Scottish independence? One of Salmond's allies, Kenny Macaskill has promised a "reckoning" but who for and when? Euan takes us inside the rival camps of the SNP and a gathering storm delayed by the coronavirus outbreak. Follow Euan on Twitter: @euanmccolm Follow Matt on Twitter: @mattforde FOR THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE ON CORONAVIRUS PLEASE GO TO: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus *** IMPORTANT TOUR UPDATE *** NEW REARRANGED DATES INCLUDE: 21 June - Cambridge Junction 2 October - Corby Cube 4 October - Brighton Komedia 9 October - Chorley Little Theatre 18 October - Leeds Hyde Park Book Club 25 October - Newcastle Stand 3 November - Camberley Theatre 13 November - Alnwick Playhouse 15 November - York Crescent 19 November - Cardiff Sherman Theatre 29 November - Glasgow Stand 3 December - Southend Dixon Studio 6 December - Sheffield Leadmill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A friend of mine who works in Whitehall has told me that the army are going to be on the streets this week arresting people who don't listen to this podcast. If that sounds familiar, you'll be aware that this crisis has already been fertile ground for disinformation. Marianna Spring is a BBC specialist reporter covering disinformation and social media. In this fascinating interview, Marianna reveals how disinformation and misinformation gets so widely shared, why we share it, how to spot it, what the trends are, how it differs around the world and so much more. This is a brilliant insight not just into the sharing of innaccurate information, but into human behaviour. Follow Marianna on Twitter: @mariannaspring Follow Matt on Twitter: @mattforde FOR THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE ON CORONAVIRUS PLEASE GO TO: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus *** IMPORTANT TOUR UPDATE *** NEW REARRANGED DATES INCLUDE: 21 June - Cambridge Junction 2 October - Corby Cube 4 October - Brighton Komedia 9 October - Chorley Little Theatre 18 October - Leeds Hyde Park Book Club 25 October - Newcastle Stand 3 November - Camberley Theatre 13 November - Alnwick Playhouse 15 November - York Crescent 19 November - Cardiff Sherman Theatre 29 November - Glasgow Stand 3 December - Southend Dixon Studio 6 December - Sheffield Leadmill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pour yourself a glass of your favourite drink, unwrap a bar of your favourite chocolate and enjoy the fascinating insights of Ben Page, Chief Executive of IpsosMORI and all-round polling guru. He takes us inside the mind of the nation and tells us what the country thinks about the government handling of the crisis, public attitudes to stockpiling, what it is that we most fear and even how many Britons think that coronavirus is 'fake news'. You might be in for a shock... Follow Ben on Twitter: @benatipsosmori Follow IpsosMORI on Twitter: @IpsosMORI Read IpsosMORI's 'Trust: The Truth': https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/ipsos-thinks-trust-truth Follow Matt on Twitter: @mattforde FOR THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE ON CORONAVIRUS PLEASE GO TO: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus *** IMPORTANT TOUR UPDATE *** NEW REARRANGED DATES INCLUDE: 21 June - Cambridge Junction 2 October - Corby Cube 4 October - Brighton Komedia 9 October - Chorley Little Theatre 18 October - Leeds Hyde Park Book Club 25 October - Newcastle Stand 3 November - Camberley Theatre 13 November - Alnwick Playhouse 15 November - York Crescent 19 November - Cardiff Sherman Theatre 29 November - Glasgow Stand 3 December - Southend Dixon Studio 6 December - Sheffield Leadmill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Labour Leadership election quietly comes to an end, one time leadership hopeful Emily Thornberry reflects on the contest and her role in it. As candid as ever, Emily reveals the challenges some leadership candidates face in being able to obtain data and in her case, incredibly, a ballot paper. Emily also tells Matt what she thinks the party must do next, regardless of who is leader. You can follow Emily on Twitter here: @EmilyThornberry You can follow Matt on Twitter here: @mattforde FOR THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE ON CORONAVIRUS PLEASE GO TO: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus *** IMPORTANT TOUR UPDATE *** NEW REARRANGED DATES INCLUDE: 21 June - Cambridge Junction 2 October - Corby Cube 4 October - Brighton Komedia 9 October - Chorley Little Theatre 18 October - Leeds Hyde Park Book Club 25 October - Newcastle Stand 3 November - Camberley Theatre 13 November - Alnwick Playhouse 15 November - York Crescent 19 November - Cardiff Sherman Theatre 29 November - Glasgow Stand 3 December - Southend Dixon Studio 6 December - Sheffield Leadmill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the country deals with coronavirus, we are facing an economic crisis as well as a public health one. So how do we mitigate the worst effects of that and avoid a damaging recession? Torsten Bell is the Chief Executive of the influential Resolution Foundation and they've produced some radical plans to keep the economy afloat. Torsten knows a thing or two about handling a major crisis, he was a member of the Council of Economic Advisers at the Treasury during the 2008 Financial Crash. You can read the report 'Doing What it Takes' here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/doing-what-it-takes/ For the latest government advice on coronavirus, click here: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response You can follow Torsten on Twitter here: @TorstenBell You can follow The Resolution Foundation on Twitter here: @resfoundation You can follow Matt on Twitter here: @mattforde *** IMPORTANT TOUR UPDATE *** NEW DATES FOR MARCH/APRIL GIGS INCLUDE: 21 June - Cambridge Junction 2 October - Corby Cube 4 October - Brighton Komedia 9 October - Chorley Little Theatre 18 October - Leeds Hyde Park Book Club 25 October - Newcastle Stand 3 November - Camberley Theatre 13 November - Alnwick Playhouse 15 November - York Crescent 19 November - Cardiff Sherman Theatre 19 November - Glasgow Stand 3 December - Southend Dixon Studio 6 December - Sheffield Leadmill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first episode of the podcast recorded since social distancing measures were recommended by the government, Matt meets Paul Harrison, former Press Secretary at 10 Downing Street under Theresa May and former special adviser to at the Department of Health under Jeremy Hunt. Paul gives his assessment of the government's Comms strategy on coronavirus, the things it should and shouldn't be doing, handling the Lobby during a period like this, the wisdom of daily press conferences and crucially, the capability of the state to handle a crisis. For the latest government advice on coronavirus, click here: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response Follow Chris Whitty on Twitter here: @CMO_England Follow Sir Patrick Vallance on Twitter here: @uksciencechief Follow Jason Leitch on Twitter here: @jasonleitch Follow Lexington Communications on Twitter here: @Lexcommuk Follow Matt on Twitter here: @mattforde Email the show: politicalpartypodcast@gmail.com Sign up to Matt's mailing list for free treats and goodies: http://mattforde.com/mailing-list Get tickets to Matt's fully-updated - and now slightly rearranged - 'Brexit Pursued by a Bear' tour: www.mattforde.com/live Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kim McGuinness If you've been desperate to hear from a leading non-Westminster politician (and even if you haven't), you're in for a massive treat. Kim McGuinness is the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria and the first Police and Crime Commissioner to feature on the show. She tells Matt all about the job of the Commissioner, the huge impact they can have, the limits on them and the political aspects of such a unique role. It's also a timely reminder that some of our brightest and best politicians aren't in Westminster... Follow Kim on Twitter here: @KiMcGuinness and @NorthumbriaPCC Follow Matt on Twitter here: @mattforde Email the show: politicalpartypodcast@gmail.com Sign up to Matt's mailing list for free treats and goodies: http://mattforde.com/mailing-list Get tickets to Matt's fully-updated 'Brexit Pursued by a Bear' tour: www.mattforde.com/live 'BREXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR' TOUR DATES: 14 March - Maidenhead: Norden Farm 18 March - Leeds: Hyde Park Book Club 19 March - York: The Crescent 20 March - Alnwick: Playhouse 22 March - Southend: Dixon Studio 23 March - Cambridge: Junction 27 March - London Southbank 29 March - Brighton: Komedia 2 April - Cardiff: Sherman Theatre 7 April - Newcastle: Stand 8 April - Glasgow: Stand 9 April - Aberdeen: Lemon Tree 10 April - Chorley: Little Theatre 12 April - Camberley: Theatre 17 April - Corby: Cube 23 April - Shrewsbury: Theatre Severn 28 April - Exeter: Phoenix 30 April - Bristol: Tobacco Factory 1 May - Gloucester: Guildhall 2 May - London Bloomsbury 7 May - Maidstone: Hazlitt Arts 13 May - Nottingham: Spiegeltent 20 May - Sheffield: Leadmill 21 May - Stafford: MET 22 May - London Southbank 28 May - Eastleigh: The Berry 30 May - Edinburgh: Stand 31 May - Edinburgh: Stand 9 June - Brighton Komedia *** EXTRA DATE *** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.