Tim Smith
17 episodes listed below
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This podcast tells the story of classic British General Elections. Starting in the 1950s the podcast introduces the main participants, traces the progress of the campaign, discusses how the election was covered by the press, isolates and explains the key issues and analyses the results. What can the experience of past general elections teach today's politicians, and voters? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Tim Smith connects British election history with the mechanics of polling, seat forecasts and campaign strategy.
British General Elections podcast treats an election as a system to be understood, not merely a result to be announced. Tim Smith moves between campaign history and electoral mechanics, explaining how first past the post can turn votes into sharply different seat totals and how…
Attlee's election timing meets the 2 a.m. count: your very specific election-night obsession has company.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Polling, seat maths, and Conservative messaging are handled with dry, methodical clarity.
Tim Smith frames this special edition around three clear threads: the Conservatives' slump after Liz Truss, how first-past-the-post may tilt the field toward Labour, and why MRP polling should be treated with care.
A calm, detailed guide to a night that may still move slowly.
The British Elections Podcast's final pre-election special works as a steady guide for the night before the 2024 vote, laying out what to watch, when results are likely to arrive, and where Scotland and Wales could still produce a surprise.
A careful run-up to 1951 that explains Attlee's timing, not just the outcome.
Tim Smith's 1951 episode keeps its attention on why Attlee chose that election moment and why, in hindsight, the timing looks so poor. It moves from a quiet August into the build-up to conference season and the Persian dispute that soon takes over the campaign.
A careful election briefing that keeps pressing on the numbers instead of treating them as settled.
Tim Smith's fourth special looks ahead to the 2024 election just days before polling, revisiting why the Conservatives remain so unpopular on the economy, how Liz Truss still hangs over the party, and why first-past-the-post may help Labour turn votes into seats more efficiently…
A clear look at how a surprise 1951 election was shaped by a short campaign and an ailing king.
The episode opens with Attlee's surprise call, the short campaign, and the king's worsening health before moving into the parties' manifestos.
Combative civics for an unstable political moment.
Homespun conservative reactions to public disorder.
Antiwar interviews without institutional politeness.
Georgia politics, climbing fast.
Practical tech, local questions, plain answers.
Campaign mechanics, without the polish.
Host Tim Smith analyzes the opening weeks of Britain's surprise October 1951 general election, where campaign messaging on housing and the cost of living competed with daily news about King George VI's deteriorating health.
Ten days remain before polling day.
The 4th of July arrives with a slow count.
August 1951 is where the story tightens.
Late polling is shifting, but not settling.