201 | Party like it's 1974

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We talk about the current election by talking about two previous ones: the February and October general elections of 1974. A lot of 2019 politics started back then, from the rise of the SNP to Liberals getting squeezed by the electoral system. But it was different too and we have stories of campaigning by landline and hovercraft, MPs on acid, naked civil servants and experts being taken seriously. Plus we discuss how
the 1974 elections led to the rise of Thatcherism and changed British politics forever. With Helen Thompson, Chris Brooke and Peter Sloman.





35 | Scotland and the Union

This week we focus on what the general election in Scotland might mean for the rest of the UK.  Does a Tory revival in Scotland spell the end of Indyref 2?  Does Labour's collapse chime with what's going on in the rest of Europe?  Plus we explore whether a thumping majority for Mrs May would strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations.  In the first in a series of historical comparisons, we also ask whether this election has echoes of what happened when Ted Heath called a snap poll in 1974.  Is Tony Blair now the Enoch Powell of British politics?  You heard it here first.