Politics Unpacked

Running The Numbers For Thatcher

It was the leadership contest that finally ended Margaret Thatcher's premiership - even though she won in the first round. The year was 1990, when the veteran prime minister took on her challenger Michael Heseltine but failed to deliver the knockout blow. Patrick Maguire in for Matt Chorley speaks to Conservative peer and pollster Lord Hayward, who marked the books for the first ballot and knew how widespread disenchantment with the Iron Lady had become. Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton discuss a <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ai-chatbot-threat-nuclear-war-pandemic-fdxd2m2r7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">warning from one of the "godfathers" of AI</a>, <a href="https://open.acast.com/shows/61ba0ebd1a8cbe463c3cf145/episodes/new" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">whether police should attend mental health cases</a>, and <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/have-you-joined-the-khaki-crowd-yet-you-soon-will-l577kk8wm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">why khaki is the new black</a> - and what it's got to do with President Zelensky. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Hugo Rifkind unpacks the the politics of the day - and the stuff that's even more important - with the brightest brains from the Times and Sunday Times. You can listen to Hugo on DAB, smart speaker or app 10am-1pm Monday to Friday. If you like what you hear, then read more at <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.thetimes.com/</a> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.