A FORMER Taunton reporter who now spends his days in Parliament trying to work out what is going on in British politics is returning to the town - to admit nobody has a clue.

Matt Chorley, 37, who grew up on the Somerset Levels and studied at Richard Huish College, is bringing his new stand-up show This. Is. Not. Normal to the Brewhouse Theatre on Tuesday, October 22.

Having started his journalistic career on the now defunct Taunton Times, he now works for The Times based in the Houses of Parliament.

He said his foray into stand-up comedy is born out of a desire to make politics more accessible.

"Whatever you think of Brexit, the last three and a half years have not been a great advert for politics or politicians," said Matt.

"People are always asking me what on earth is going on. It is quite refreshing to be able to say nobody has got a clue."

As editor of The Times Red Box political e-mail and podcast, Matt takes readers and listeners behind the scenes of life in Westminster.

He said: "I started using this phrase 'this is not normal' to reassure people that all of this mad stuff was, well, mad, and we shouldn’t just shrug it off.

"Theresa May dancing is not normal. Jeremy Corbyn being vaguer on Brexit than on antisemitism is not normal. Boris Johnson spending half of his time facing questions about whether he has got his pants on, and the other half about why they are on fire - none of this is normal."

Matt last performed in Taunton with his sketch comedy group Big Day Out in 2007, but this is his first solo tour.

He has been praised by political journalist Andrew Marr for his "acid wit and music hall timing", while impressionist Rory Bremner said: "Engaging, funny, entertaining - you’d think he’d done it before. He hasn’t."