This week’s podcast features some people who really ought to know better making their general election predictions.

Three wise men – former Lib Dem spin doctor Matt Withers, deputy political editor of the Independent Rob Merrick and Birmingham Mail political editor Jon Walker – take on two small children to see who can most accurately predict the outcome of the election.

Plus there’s my prediction. And bear in mind while the pundits and the children on my 2015 election prediction episode all said Ed Miliband would win I called it for the Tories some way in advance. So I’m confident of repeating that success this time out.

Listen in to our predictions. Laugh at us all on Friday when Jeremy Corbyn wins..

The third and most likely final podcast from the pub for this election campaign. This week we convened in the glorious surroundings of Catford, most famous for having a huge papier mache cat on its shopping centre and for being the butt of many of Spike Milligan’s jokes.

I was joined by Birmingham Mail political editor Jon Walker again and, after touring some of the most glamorous spots in the UK, Matt Withers the former Lib Dem spin doctor also dropped in again.

The horrific events in Manchester have overshadowed the election campaign quite rightly this week. While respectfully nodding to the tragedy there we stuck to what we know best: politics. So we reviewed how the main parties are getting on, what’s gone wrong for the Tories, why Tim Farron is like Richard Nixon and the Lib Dems are like a boring version of The Young Ones and whether Jeremy Corbyn can really win the election.

Visit the podcasts section of my site or listen here: https://soundcloud.com/user-157220226/election-special-3-richard-nixon-a-confused-jeremy-corbyn-and-the-young-ones

Back in the pub this week but with a different panel and a working mic. So the podcast is a bit longer than usual given I had three guests but they were all good guests – Julia Rampen, digital news editor at The New Statesman, Jon Walker the political editor of the Birmingham Mail and, halfway through the recording, Martha Gill turned up wet and bedraggled having taken a very odd route to get to the pub. She’s just started up The Spoon morning email so we talked about why the world needs yet another email to start the day.

Plus of course we analysed the latest election goings on. How each party is faring, what’s going to happen to the Labour party after their inevitable defeat – and Jon had some good intel on that – and a discussion on whether Theresa May has really read the Harry Potter books and a surprisingly heated argument about which ones the best.

And there’s some nonsense about a nuclear dog, Nye Bevan and why rich people are ludicrous.

Listen here https://soundcloud.com/user-157220226/election-special-2-harry-potter-nye-bevan-and-ludicrous-rich-people

So the plan was to generate some atmosphere by recording the next few podcasts in the pub. There’s no MPs around, there’s no MPs in fact – technically they all lost their job when parliament was dissolved. So I hoped to gather together a brains trust each week to mull over events on the election trail.

The plan kind of worked. Jon Walker, friend and colleague and political editor of the Birmingham Post and Birmingham Mail got on board and Matt Withers, a witty and erudite chap who I knew when he was a Lib Dem press officer and who has since gone on to greater things, responded to my Twitter invite for guests.

The brains trust was in place, we met in The Dartmouth Arms, Forest Hill, one of my favourite hostelries.

Unfortunately two things went a little awry. First, because it’s a good pub The Dartmouth Arms was busy and so there was quite a lot of background noise on the podcast. That wouldn’t have been such a problem had I remembered to check that the Yeti mic (that’s actually what it’s called, google it if you don’t believe me) was connected before I started the recording. That’s the trouble with recording in pubs. There’s beer involved. I did spot the problem halfway through the recording and with some judicious editing I managed to pull a decent episode together. As long as you don’t mind hearing anecdotes about Tim Farron told by a man who sounds like he’s on an old mobile phone, and underwater.

No matter the standard of the sound, quality will out so there’s some excellent anecdotes about meeting a senior politician at the darts and two vital questions are answered: Who is the biggest diddy of the election campaign so far, and do hipsters have pets?

Oh and I got a new logo.

Listen here: 

Before MPs stopped being MPs and before they went back to their constituencies to campaign I caught up with a few SNP members to talk about their experiences over the last couple of years, what they liked about being an MP, what surprised them and a bit about what they are expecting from the election ahead.

By the magic of editing, and with the help of a brand new jingle, I’ve cut together bits of my conversations with Kirsty Blackman, Chris Stephens, Marion Fellowes and Deidre Brock. There’s some strong criticism for the Tories but also some cross party praise for their fellow MPs.

And I called on Westminster watcher extraordinaire Tony Grew for a longer chat discussing what he’s called the ‘traumatic parliament’. Among the reflections on some of the momentous events of 2015-17 Tony also picks his MP of the parliament.

Listen here https://soundcloud.com/user-157220226/episode-29-a-slew-of-snp-mps-review-the-parliament-thats-just-been

Hello, I intend to update this blog with loads of stuff – posts every day on politics, feminism and journalism plus links to my articles, podcasts, media appearances, etc