The Political Party with Matt Forde and Tessa Jowell

24 September 2014

Matt Forde (as seen on Have I Got News For You, Russell Howard’s Good News & This Week) hosts a comedy night combining topical stand-up and a big interview with a political heavyweight. A celebration of politics with “a first-class comic” (The Guardian).

The guest this month is Tessa Jowell

Dame Tessa Jowell started life as a social worker and rose to serve in the Cabinets of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Universally popular, she has a major legacy: the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. Tessa was in charge of London’s bid from 2002, initially championing the idea with no support around the Cabinet table. Tessa eventually convinced the government to back the bid and in 2005 London beat Paris to host them. Politicians of all parties accept that without Tessa, London would not have hosted the games. Entering Parliament in 1992, Tessa was at the heart of Labour’s transformation to a party of government and served at the heart of it for new Labour’s time in office. A committed Blairite, she was once quoted as saying that she would “jump under a bus for him”. Having announced that she won’t stand at the next general election, many inside and outside of the party believe she would make an excellent London Mayor.

This is a unique opportunity to reflect on the Scottish referendum result and assess the the last conference season before the election with one of the biggest figures in British politics.

An unashamed political fan, Matt had a career in politics before becoming a stand-up comedian, radio presenter and writer. As well as hosting his own show on talkSPORT he has appeared on The Now Show and The News Quiz. He also writes for 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Stand Up For The Week and Russell Howard’s Good News.

The Political Party podcast is regularly in the Top 10 comedy podcasts on iTunes with over 30,000 subscribers.