The first week of the election campaign is over. What do the polls say and how have they changed? What policies have the parties announced? John Curtice and Rachel Wolf are joined by two former campaign insiders to discuss.   Hosts: Professor John Curtice and Rachel Wolf Guest: Dr Denise Baron, former head of insights for the Liberal Democrat Campaign and Dr Tom Hamilton formerly head of research for the Labour Party. To find out more about Tortoise: - Download the Tortoise app - for a...

Gen Z - people born between 1997 and 2012 - are the post Brexit, post financial crisis, post austerity generation. They are better educated than their predecessors, but face higher levels of debt and higher housing costs. For many this will be the first time they get a chance to vote in a general election. So what do they think and what could that mean for policy makers?  Hosts: Professor John Curtice and Rachel Wolf To find out more about Tortoise: - Download the Tortoise app - for a...

John and Rachel discuss how schooling has changed from the 1960s until now. Who goes to school? Who runs them? And are school-leavers better at maths now than their predecessors?  Hosts: Professor John Curtice and Rachel Wolf To find out more about Tortoise: - Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists - Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and exclusive content - Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio...

John Curtice and Rachel Wolf discuss the fallout from the local elections results and work out what this could mean for the major parties in a the general election. Hosts: Professor John Curtice and Rachel Wolf To find out more about Tortoise: - Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists - Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and exclusive content - Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and...

Just over half of the British public now think the monarchy is ‘very’ or ‘quite’ important.  That’s according to new data published by the British Social Attitudes survey which suggests that support for the monarchy has been in decline over the last decade.  John and Rachel discuss why this is happening.  Click here to book your tickets for Trendy Live at 6.30pm on Wednesday 8th May:  https://www.tortoisemedia.com/thinkin/trendy-live-show-local-election-special/  Hosts: Professor John...

Nearly two-thirds of under 35s have used a dating app or online service to meet a partner. That’s according to an exclusive poll for Trendy. However, opinion is split about whether online dating is a positive or negative experience. How has how we find a partner changed and what does it mean for long term relationships?  Click here to book your tickets for Trendy Live at 6.30pm on Wednesday 8th May: https://www.tortoisemedia.com/thinkin/trendy-live-show-local-election-special/  Hosts:...

Tortoise is hosting a special live edition of Trendy on Wednesday 8th May. Join hosts John Curtice and Rachel Wolf in the Tortoise newsroom for this special live recording of the podcast to make sense of the local elections being held on May 2nd in England and Wales. Most of the elections are for positions last contested in 2021. At that time Boris Johnson’s government was still enjoying a bounce in the polls thanks to the roll out of the COVID vaccines. Fast forward three years and the...

Forty years ago London was in decline. Now it’s a global megacity with a growing population and a large economy, but it’s quite socially conservative. How does that shape the politics of the capital and who governs it? Click here to book your tickets for Trendy Live at 6.30pm on Wednesday 8th May: https://www.tortoisemedia.com/thinkin/trendy-live-show-local-election-special/  Hosts: Professor John Curtice and Rachel Wolf Guest: Professor Tony Travers, director of LSE London To find out more...

Voters in England and Wales will elect councillors, mayors, London Assembly members and police and crime commissioners. What’s at stake? Is local democracy in Britain in good shape? And what can these elections tell us about the general election? Hosts: Professor John Curtice and Rachel Wolf To find out more about Tortoise: - Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists - Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and exclusive content -...

A new survey suggests the public’s satisfaction with the NHS is at a record low. What can the next government do to fix this? John and Rachel are joined by Julian le Grand, former senior policy advisor to Tony Blair specialising in health, who argues it’s time to bring back what he describes as "targets and terror" to the NHS. Guest: Julian le Grand, former senior policy advisor to Tony Blair specialising in health Hosts: Professor John Curtice and Rachel Wolf To find out more about...

There’s feverish speculation about the timing of the next election, so in this episode Rachel and John look at how campaigns have changed with the help of Kate Dommett, professor of digital politics at Sheffield University. Guest: Kate Dommett, professor of digital politics at The University of Sheffield Hosts: Professor John Curtice and Rachel Wolf To find out more about Tortoise: - Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists - Subscribe to Tortoise+ on...

The state of public finances is dire: government debt is high and so too are taxes. How did we get into this mess and what choices does the next government have? To find out more about Tortoise: - Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists - Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and exclusive content - Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more If you want to get in touch with us directly...

Four years on from the start of the pandemic we’re still living with the consequences. In this episode, John Curtice and Rachel Wolf discuss Covid’s legacy. What has it done to the size of the state, public services and the world of work? To find out more about Tortoise: - Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists - Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and exclusive content - Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's...

The US presidential election is shaping up to be a repeat of 2020: Joe Biden vs Donald Trump. How does America choose its candidates and what’s likely to happen in November’s election? To find out more about Tortoise: - Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists - Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and exclusive content - Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more If you want to get in...

What do you do all day? Data suggests the average time people spend on leisure has decreased since the 1980s. John and Rachel explain what’s going on and what they spend their time doing. Email: [email protected] Hosts: Professor John Curtice and Rachel Wolf To find out more about Tortoise: Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content Become a member and get access to all...

One of the biggest policy challenges Britain faces right now is its housing crisis. How did we get into such a mess and how do we get out of it? John Curtice and Rachel Wolf are joined by Dr Tim Leunig who advised three secretaries of state on housing policy.  If you want to hear more from Tortoise on housing, listen to Making sense of social housing.   Email: [email protected] Hosts: John Curtice and Rachel Wolf To find out more about Tortoise: Download the Tortoise app - for a...

The number of university graduates has never been higher, but what does that mean for social mobility? Has it stalled and if so, what does that reveal about inequality? Email: [email protected] Hosts: John Curtice and Rachel Wolf Executive producer: Jasper Corbett To find out more about Tortoise: Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content Become a member and get access...

Across Europe the radical right is making progress and winning elections. To understand why, Rachel and John speak to Professor Sara Hobolt from the London School of Economics. Email: [email protected] Hosts: John Curtice and Rachel Wolf Producer: Lewis Vickers Executive producer: Jasper Corbett To find out more about Tortoise: Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free...

Across the western world birth rates are declining. Why aren’t we having as many children as we used to? Is there still a link between marriage and having children? And what can policy makers be doing about the falling birth rate?    Email: [email protected] Hosts: John Curtice and Rachel Wolf Producer: Rebecca Moore Executive producer: Jasper Corbett To find out more about Tortoise: Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists Subscribe to...

A quarter of all government spending goes on welfare, including pensions, housing and incapacity benefit. What challenges does the next government face when it comes to welfare? Email: [email protected] Guest: Robert De Vries, senior lecturer in sociology and social policy at the University of Kent Hosts: John Curtice and Rachel Wolf To find out more about Tortoise: Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple...

If the opinion polls are right the Conservatives could face one of their worst electoral defeats in their history in the upcoming general election. Can anything change that?   To find out more about Tortoise: Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more If you want to get in touch with us...

Two thirds of us never go to a place of worship. Support for organised religion in the UK is in steep decline among most groups in the UK. Yet most of us will celebrate Christmas in a few weeks. So what’s going on? John Curtice and Rachel Wolf discuss whether the UK is now a secular country and the role that faith still plays when it comes to certain policies, for instance education.   To find out more about Tortoise: Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our...

Jeremy Hunt announced £20bn in personal and business tax cuts in his recent Autumn Statement. But to pay for that schools, hospitals and other public services won’t be protected from the rising cost of inflation. On top of that, forecasters predict economic growth will be weak and inflation will remain high over the next few years. So what choices do taxpayers face and what might greet a new government next year when it comes to tax and spend? John Curtice and Rachel Wolf are joined by...

Polls suggest both US president Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak face an uphill battle to win votes in upcoming national elections. John Curtice and Rachel Wolf are joined by US polling expert, Professor Christopher Carman to discuss whether Biden and Sunak could be defeated for the same reasons?   For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-free access, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts. If you’d like to...

Britain spends nearly £50 billion a year on defence. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there were renewed calls for an increase to defence spending. Would voters support this? Rachel Wolf and John Curtice discuss how voters view the armed forces and the changing nature of Remembrance in Britain.  For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-free access, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts. If you’d...