Geoff Norcott: It's OK to Change Your Mind

Don't worry, Geoff hasn't suddenly become a raging Socialist. But one consequence of Covid is that the right wing comedian, like many people, has had his most solid convictions challenged repeatedly by events. A lot of Geoff's long-held beliefs have been challenged by a politically and culturally turbulent twelve months; it can be confusing to have a supposedly right-wing government locking us at home and getting cheered on by large parts of the left, and it's a lot harder for Geoff to explain why he believes in a small state when the government is in the process of successfully rolling out a vaccine. People ask Geoff if he regrets voting for a Conservative government but, looking at the casual attitude to debt, he says he now regrets not getting one! It’s not just politics. Has the police's main role become to question why people are sitting down on benches while standing back from actual riots? As beliefs get challenged, statues fall and breakfast TV presenters get cancelled, Geoff pauses to take it all in. This show is his attempt to get to grips with what happens to convictions and ideology when a pandemic comes along and turns everything on its head. Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Sound Engineer: David Thomas Production Co-ordinators: Sarah Tombling, Sarah Wright, Jacob Tombling A Pier production for BBC Radio 4