As he takes up a new post at Radio 5 Live, political journalist Matt Chorley tells Kate Maltby what he’s learnt from 20 years of observing MPs close up - and why he loves his sideline doing stand-up
’s choice to hold a surprise summer election upset a lot of people’s plans this year. Few more so than Matt Chorley, one of the best-loved voices in political media. After four years as one of the breakout stars of, covering “politics without the boring bits” at the scrappiest start-up in News UK’s media stable, he had just signed on for a major new show at
When I caught his first stand-up show, back in 2019, it was clear he was crafting a new and relatable genre of political satire. In Chorley’s world, politicians are absurd, but rarely evil. Since then, he’s done two more stand-up tours – the most recent cheekily called Poll Dancer. Unlike many political acts, you don’t leave a Chorley stand-up feeling hopeless or angry: just comfortingly reassured that we voters are the sane ones.
The stakes are evident from the multiple members of the BBC PR team required to set up this interview, and the practised answers with which Chorley responds to even my slightest reference to ongoing BBC controversies. Chorley has, after all, spent years observing how other public figures keep themselves out of trouble.When we do speak, Chorley videos in from BBC Salford where he’s spending this week prepping with his new production team and getting “onboarded”.
“There were essentially alcoholics, functioning alcoholics working all around you, who would be at the bar when it opened and then come back to the office at, like, half 11 in the morning with red wine lips.” . That bar has since been turned into another office, to make space for the growing number of journalists from new and alternative outlets.Significant changes, however, have been few during Chorley’s years in Westminster.
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