There's an election coming in the next year or so, but how much does the public ever get to hear about how the main parties choose their candidates for political office? That's what Rob Parsons has been talking about this week with the broadcaster Michael Crick, who followers of politics over the last 40 years will know is the esteemed broadcaster and journalist who was a founding member of the Channel 4 News Team in 1982 and has served as political editor of Newsnight. He's also a former pupil of Manchester Grammar School and a Manchester United fan for his sins. But the main reason he's on the podcast is that Michael is the man behind the fantastic Tomorrow's MPs Twitter account which sheds a light on the often secretive and murky way the main parties choose the candidates for winnable seats in Parliament. You won't want to miss this interview if you want to know how politics really works from a journalist who really has seen it all. *** The Northern Agenda is a Laudable production for Reach. It is presented by Rob Parsons, and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin. You can subscribe to the daily Northern Agenda newsletter here: http://www.thenorthernagenda.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices