Tom Harris: The Imposter

Pressure of the job finally puts an end to Tom's front bench career, while he settles down as half of Westminster's Odd Couple. Meanwhile, the Scottish independence referendum looms ever closer.

Being appointed to – and then sacked from – Scottish Labour's front bench, to being appointed as Shadow Minister for Fluffy Animals on Ed Miliband's front bench, and everything in between.

Denis MacShane is one of the most thoughtful and persuasive advocates of the European Union, but Tom is friends with him anyway. A fascinating figure who has been active in the labour movement for more than 50 years, his latest book, "Must Labour Always Lose?" asks why the party has been so electorally unsuccessful in that time and suggests some ways to improve its chances.

Following the death of his closest friend at Westminster, Tom makes the most important political decision of his career.

In the aftermath of the 2010 general election, Labour proves to be the natural party of opposition, while Tom continues his self-sabotage of his own political career. 

It's 2010 and thirteen years of Labour government finally come to an end, but not without an intense level of drama involving a final coup attempt, a newspaper campaign against Tom personally, and some prime ministerial name-calling hijinx on the campaign trail.

It all gets a bit over-heated in the summer of 2009, as the expenses scandal claims its most high profile victim, Tom rejects an offer to rejoin the ministerial ranks and the Commons elects a new Speaker. And all that was just in June!

The second part of my interview with Jane Kennedy covers the internal strife in the Parliamentary Labour Party during Gordon Brown's premiership, her decision to leave full time elected politics and then to take up full-time elected politics a couple of years later. And Jane has some harsh words for her former party under Jeremy Corbyn and since.

An interview with the wonderful Jane Kennedy (you'll have to listen to find out where the "F" comes from, and who put it there), who fought Militant and rose through her trade union to become a Labour MP in Liverpool and a minister, before leaving parliament in 2010. Part 1 takes us up to the 2001 general election.

In which Tom manages, through some imaginative accountancy manoeuvres, to compress the entire 2009 MPs' expenses scandal into about 18 minutes.

In which Tom considers resigning as a minister, David Cairns actually does (and gets smeared for his troubles) and an embattled Gordon Brown turns to an old foe for aid in his hour of greatest need.

Rumblings of discontent over Gordon Brown's leadership start to spread as Tom gets on with his day job at the Department for Transport, saving the Blackpool Tram and engaging in a game of red box ping-pong with civil servants over who sets policy. Also, John Prescott shows a disarmingly self-effacing side to his character.

Gordon Brown's premiership gets off to a brilliant start. For a few weeks. Tom waits by the phone (again) to find out if the new prime minister wants him in his new government, before heading off to a Genesis concert. Meanwhile, everyone gears up for a snap general election that is definitely going to happen. Definitely.

Tony's time in office draws to a close, Gordon is crowned King of the Labour Party, and Tom worries that the new prime minister elect doesn't even know who he is. Features Douglas Alexander as Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

"Blue" Peter Duncan was the Conservatives' only Scottish MP between 2001 and 2005. In this episode he recalls his highs and lows from his short tenure as an MP, including Iain Duncan Smith's election as Tory leader, and also Iain Duncan Smith's dismissal as Tory leader.