Inside Whitehall

In the last of the mini election series James is joined by the fabulous James Heale, Political Correspondent of the Spectator to look at what historical parallels there might be with the current election and political actors of the past. James is an established lobby journalist and author, having written the Out of the Blue: The inside story of the unexpected rise and rapid fall of Liz Truss. He is also a keen follower of political history and the pair look at which political figures are most like our current political leaders and whether elections past point to what might ahead for the main parties. Follow and comment on Twitter @WhitehallPodUK

Jonathan rejoins James as a guest, having taken a leave of absence for the campaign. They discuss the way political parties are targeting voters during the election and the life of a candidate during the election campaign. They also take a look at the last two weeks of the election and what that brings as well as the campaign diet and how you keep going while walking 20, 000 steps a day! Follow and comment on Twitter @WhitehallPodUK

Alain Tolhurst, Chief Reporter at PoliticsHome, joins James this week to discuss manifestos. Each election political parties will publish a manifesto, an outline of what they would deliver should they win power. Alain and James look at which manifestos have made the biggest difference in recent election campaigns, for good or bad. Why are they important once a party is in government? What is the the Salisbury Convention and why does it matter? As well as a look at how the current party manifestos have gone down so far and what they might mean in the months ahead in the week that both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party launched their manifestos. Follow and comment on Twitter @WhitehallPodUK

James is joined this week by the Sunday Times Deputy Political Editor, Harry Yorke. They look at the TV debates between the political leaders. With the first of those debates for the 2024 General Election held last week, Harry and James look back at the history of debates in the UK and how they impact elections. Take a peak inside the 'spin room' with Harry, who has covered multiple TV debates, and the pair discuss who won last weeks debates and how much they really matter.Follow and comment on Twitter @WhitehallPodUK

James and Jonathan discuss the moment the 2024 General Election was called and what Jonathan has had to do since. When did Jonathan find out? How do candidates prepare for an election? What's the difference between leafletting and canvassing? Listen to find out.The episode was recorded whilst Jonathan was still an MP, due to the dissolution of Parliament there are no longer any MPs for the duration of the election and Jonathan is now an official Conservative Party candidate.Follow and comment on Twitter @WhitehallPodUK