The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast

The Scottish Parliament is winding up ahead of the election in May. Is there any chance of a real upset ofr is it another SNP shoo-in?Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reform UK Scotland manifesto launchPresented as the first major manifesto of the 2026 election campaignFramed as more about political messaging than a detailed governing programmeTax cuts versus realityBig promises on cutting income taxStrong scepticism about whether the sums add up or the savings are deliverableManifestos as political brandingDiscussion that modern manifestos are often just headline documentsCostings are often vague once properly examinedLaw and order agendaReform proposals on tougher sentencing, more prisons, ending early release, and scrapping hate crime lawsArgument that these policies are popular-sounding but very expensivePressure on Scottish public financesWider discussion that all parties face a difficult fiscal backdropConcerns about long-term affordability of spending promises and welfare growthReform’s electoral strategy and vulnerabilitiesReform portrayed as a home for angry or disillusioned votersBut also as vulnerable to scrutiny, weak candidates, and campaign mistakesCandidate controversyMention of a Reform candidate being suspended over alleged Covid loan misuseUsed as an example of how election campaigns expose candidate problemsAssisted dying vote at HolyroodReview of the bill being defeatedFocus on lobbying, safeguards, and why MSPs may have changed positionParliament doing its jobArgument that rejecting a bill after detailed scrutiny is part of how democracy should workEmphasis on lawmakers judging the actual legislation, not just the principleWar in Iran and economic falloutThe conflict presented as the biggest external event shaping politicsConcern about its effects on oil, gas, inflation, and wider economic stabilityRisk of a new cost-of-living crisisDiscussion of rising energy bills, persistent mortgage pressure, and fewer hopes of interest-rate cutsQuestion of whether the UK is heading into “cost of living crisis part two”Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and Labour instabilityDiscussion of shrinking fiscal headroom and pressure on the governmentSpeculation about Starmer’s future and Angela Rayner positioning herself for a leadership moveA broader failure of political honestyFinal theme that politicians are not being frank with voters about the scale of the economic problemsSuggestion that leadership across politics is avoiding hard truthsFocussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the eve of the SNP's one day conference ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in May, the party looks like winning on around a third of the vote but with little talk of Independence. What now for the SNP? Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie discuss. Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The conflict in Iran has given cover to a lot of stories in the news this week but Bernard and Alex are on watch. Sally Donald has stood down as an SNP candidate amid allegations and the candidacy and position of Irshad Ahmad on the Labour Lothian list is drawing controversy. A warning for all parties that there may be more to come. Also, the challenges facing the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves.Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new MRP "Mega Poll" is showing that the SNP are on track for a landslide victory in the 2026 Scottish Parliament Election with tactical voting working in their favour. Plus, in the wake of Labour's By Election defeat (coming third behind the Greens and Reform UK) and refusing Andy Burnham's application to be a candidate, was Anas Sarwar right all along to call for Keir Starmer to resign?Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie discuss. Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bernard and Alex discuss political accusations made of the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC. They explain the nature of her role, the controversies and pontential conflicts of interest and ask if it's time for reform of the Lord Advocate's position. Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a week in politicsBernard and Alex discuss the newspaper reports on the charges Peter Murrell (Nicola Sturgeon's former husband) will face in court and analyse where Anas Sarwar's calls for the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, to resign in the wake of the Epstein / Mandelson scandal have left the Scottish Labour Leader in the run up to the Scottish Parliament Elections. Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded on the morning of Friday 6th Feb 2026 (It may all have changed by lunchtime)Includes a moment to reflect on the life of Alex's Father, Allan Massie, who died earlier this week. Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New polls report that 1 in 5 Scots claim they will vote for Reform UK at the Scottish Parliament Elections in May. Bernard and Alex analyse what is ahead. Tributes to Lord Jim WallaceScottish Parliament PollingBurnham and StarmerWill unpopular Tories be any more popular in Reform?Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We only took a well earned holiday in the cold months in advance of a busy year with the Scottish Parliament Elections. We're back and in this episode we look at the political year ahead domestically and Internationally. Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With a live audience at the University of Glasgow Stevenson Trust for Citizenship, Bernard and Alex are join by Professor Chris Carman and questions from the floor, including Prof Sir John Curtice. PONSONBY & MASSIE – STEVENSON LIVE PODCAST00:00 – 00:01:16 | Intro & Format00:01:16 – 00:03:34 | Early Predictions & Polling Landscape00:03:34 – 00:05:55 | Labour’s Misread of Momentum (2010 vs 2024)00:05:55 – 00:12:15 | Reform UK: Mood, Populism, Immigration00:12:15 – 00:18:45 | Starmer’s Weakness & Impact on Scottish Labour00:18:45 – 00:23:34 | Independence as Tactical Messaging00:23:34 – 00:33:00 | 27 Years of Devolution: Has It Delivered?00:33:00 – 00:40:00 | State Size, Means vs Ends, and 2026 Prospects00:40:00 – 00:41:47 | Election PredictionsAUDIENCE Q&A (Chaired by Prof. Chris Carman)00:41:47 – 00:44:48 | Q1 – What’s the Offer to Young Voters?00:44:48 – 00:49:50 | Q2 – State Size & Social Democratic Mission (Sir John Curtice)00:49:50 – 01:01:35 | Q3 – Scrutiny, Misinformation & Media TrustAudience question.01:01:35 – 01:09:20 | Q4 – Social Media, Democratic Innovation & Greens’ Prospects01:09:20 – 01:20:29 | Q5 – Edinburgh vs Glasgow & Sustainability of ‘Free Scotland’ Model01:20:29 – 01:27:00 | Q6 – Is Social Democracy Still Represented?01:27:00 – 01:29:10 | Q7 – MSP Exodus & Legislative Overload01:29:10 – End | ClosingFocussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bernard Ponsonby:“I’m not sure in a sense who would lead them. I’m sure that… …Wes Streeting would run.I suspect that there would be some people within the PLP — because the minute somebody says they’re running, there’s always an alternative campaign which is not really about supporting one candidate, it’s about stopping another.John Major effectively became prime minister because he wasn’t Michael Heseltine.So I think there would be people who would start looking at Ed Miliband.And then, of course, there’s Angela Rayner……and at that point, the markets will collectively take to their lavatory pans.”Alex Massie:“Yeah, I mean, I think, although he says he’s done the job before and he doesn’t want to do it again, I think Ed Miliband is the one to keep an eye on there.It seems to me that Miliband occupies a sort of comforting place on the political spectrum for a lot of the parliamentary Labour Party and indeed for the Labour Party membership.I do not see Wes Streeting being acceptable to either the parliamentary party or the membership.And there’s the further complication for him that his parliamentary majority is only 500 votes — there is a really good chance he could lose at the next election.And I think that would also concentrate minds in an anti-Streeting kind of way.”Bernard Ponsonby:“I genuinely have no idea who would actually win it… I don’t think the PLP has coalesced around any one individual yet.But yes — there will always be people trying to stop someone rather than elect someone.And Miliband will be looked at.”Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bernard and Alex dig into the editorial crisis at the BBC, Comcast/SKY's potential takeover of ITV and Bernard (STV's former Political Editor and longest serving journalist of 34 years) says he no longer thinks the company has a future. Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bernard and Alex delve into one of the bigget topics of the modern political age. Why can't Westminster or Holyrood seem to manage our public finances?Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Part Two, in marking the 25th anniversary of the death of Donald Dewar, Bernard and Alex reflect on the Office of First Minister and how it has changed since Dewar's time as the first office holder. Plus they rate every First Minister out of 10. PART ONEDonald DewarHenry McLeishJack McConnellAlex SalmondPART TWONicola SturgeonHumza YusafJohn SwinneySummary and RatingsFocussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Part One, as we approach the 25th anniversary of the death of Donald Dewar, Bernard and Alex reflect on the Office of First Minister and how it has changed since Dewar's time as the first office holder. Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(00:05) Set-up: Tory & SNP conference week — immigration, ECHR, and whether the Conservatives are “doomed.”(01:29) Are the Tories finished short–to–medium term? Leadership vs timing and arithmetic after a crushing defeat.(03:59) What the Conservatives are trying to sell: contrition on net migration; mooted ECHR exit; welfare/PIP tightening (incl. ADHD/mental-health references).(06:49) Both main parties “dancing to Farage’s tune” — the Reform UK gravitational pull on immigration policy.(08:56) “Can you out-Reform Reform?” Why the answer is no — and why growth/economic confidence is the real antidote to populism. Threats to Labour from the left (Greens/Corbyn).(11:18) Tory identity crisis: talk of repealing the Climate Change Act vs the real problem of UK power prices — headline-grabbing vs serious policy.(13:18) What are the Tories for now? From coherent Thatcherism to today’s knee-jerk opposition.(16:45) Scotland: Tory revival rode the constitutional (pro-Union) wave; with independence parked, what’s their offer?(19:27) A quarter-century in devolved opposition and still no centre-right blueprint for Scotland (state size, tax, business, justice, “wokery”).(23:31) Holyrood “fanning around”: dog-theft bill as a symptom; why brand toxicity blunts “common-sense Conservatism.”(26:41) SNP conference preview: independence strategy debate; polls, minorities parliament, and why activists may not “rock the boat.”(30:06) “Steady-as-you-go” Swinney: on ~35% the SNP could still be largest party (≈58–60 seats) due to fractured opposition and candidate churn.(32:23) Voter mood: if “they’re all useless,” stick with “the useless ones we know” — SNP success as least-worst option.(32:56) Longevity shocker: after 19–20 years in power, SNP still in pole position; next episode trail — Donald Dewar at 25 years.Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scottish polling: SNP still first; Reform’s rise fractures the unionist vote and could hand SNP an outsized seat haul on a modest vote share.Scottish Labour’s bind: must sell a credible policy offer while “owning” SNP record attacks — but Starmer’s unpopularity in Scotland limits Sarwar’s room.Reform dynamic: positioned as a “super protest vote”; mainstream parties risk losing if they try to outbid Farage on immigration.Electoral system: case made for shifting Holyrood to STV to avoid disproportional outcomes under a fractured party system.Approval ratings mood: Starmer underwater; Swinney seen as safer “adult in the room,” explaining SNP resilience despite policy discontent.Immigration: small boats symbolic of border control; debate increasingly about legal migration thresholds (ILR rules, salary/English requirements).Centre ground wobble: concern that political centre is collapsing, opening space for Reform beyond traditional limits.Leadership jeopardy: Starmer’s authority tied to Budget performance and spring elections; internal manoeuvring (incl. Burnham) noted.Fiscal outlook: expectation of a tax-raising Budget; VAT hike flagged as the most likely manifesto breach.Post-election arithmetic: conditional openness to SNP–Labour cooperation if both in mid-30s seats range.Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big mixed bag of issues in this week's episode“Deplore the Man. Respect the Office.” → How Starmer & Swinney played Trump for UK/Scotland gains → Moral vs national interest “Love-Bombing Trump: Smart or Shameful?” → The realpolitik you weren’t told about → Starmer + Oval Office letter; subtle money/investment icons.“The Real Opposition? The Auditor General.” → £2bn hole, welfare rules, and the bill coming due → Auditor General report“Scotland’s Justice Pivot: What You Weren’t Told” → Not Proven scrapped — but did safeguards go too?“Saloon-Bar Morality vs National Interest” → Engaging Trump: grown-up statecraft or sell-out?“Buy Now. Pay Later. Government.” → Why Scotland’s books won’t balance by 2029“Soft Words. Hard Bills.” → The welfare promise vs the budget reality“Yellow Card Politics” → Hepburn v Ross, seagulls & standards at Holyrood“Proven. Not Proven. Truth.” → Bernard’s case for how verdicts should really work“Ego, Investment… and Whisky Tariffs” → How flattering Trump might pay ScotlandFocussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Questions Time, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, Scotcast, Americast etc etc then The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast could be a great show to add to your list of favourites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.