How To Win An Election

How To Win An Election is a weekly political analysis podcast from The Times, published since October 2023.^[1] It is hosted by the Times columnist Hugo Rifkind alongside Daniel Finkelstein of the Conservative Party, Sally Morgan of the Labour Party^[2] and Polly Mackenzie formerly of the Liberal Democrats and the Women's Equality parties.^[3] It is released on Thursdays, and partially broadcast on Times Radio, within Hugo Rifkind's daily show on Times Radio.^[4]

How To Win An Election
Presentation
Hosted by	Hugo Rifkind Matt Chorley
Starring	Sally Morgan Peter Mandelson Daniel Finkelstein Polly Mackenzie
Genre	Politics
Format	Talk
Language	English
Updates	Thursdays
Length	45 minutes
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Publication
Original release	October 2023
Provider	The Times
Related
Website	On The Times's site

It was initially hosted by political comedian and broadcaster Matt Chorley, until he left the Times in 2024, and Peter Mandelson was part of the team until January 2025 when was appointed UK Ambassador to the United States.

It was listed by The Week as one of the best political podcasts,^[5] and later one of the best podcasts overall of 2023.^[6]

Controversies

In December 2023, when discussing political donations, Mandelson said that Tony Blair's government had taken £1 million in donations from an animal rights group and later banned fox hunting.^[7]

In March 2024, when discussing how appearance mattered in politics, Mandelson was criticised for commenting on the show that Keir Starmer "needs to shed a few pounds".^[8] Starmer, who became Prime Minister in July of that year, nevertheless appointed Mandelson as British Ambassador to the United States in December.^[9]