For young people in the UK, ‘political stability’ is an oxymoron. Our generation has grown up alongside a series of so-called ‘once-in-a-generation’ crises, and many hear the phrase ‘British Government’ and immediately think of a controversial policy choice, frontline politician or a scandal which is dominating the news. 

This series, however, takes the long view of British politics and aims to gain a clearer understanding of how and why it has changed in the 21st century by interviewing 4 people who have each worked in and around the heart of Government during this time. 

In the final episode, Tom talks to ex-Cabinet Secretary Lord Simon Case about his career in the civil service and time working for Prince William as his Private Secretary. We conducted the interview as the then-cabinet secretary had been fired by Keir Starmer, and a major theme of the interview became the transition of power, a theme that has only grown more relevant in recent weeks. It was a fascinating discussion about the nature of power and influence and hard decisions needing to me made by any Prime Minister

(00:00) - (03:12): Intro

(03:12) - (08:54): Simon’s time at university, culminating in a PhD at Queen Mary University. ‘If I hadn’t switched to study the history of government, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have worked in government.’ 

(08:54) - (12:12): Simon’s hesitant entry into the Civil Service and what kept him on. 

(12:12) - (15:25): Early projects: Trident and the London 2012 Olympics. 

(15:25) - (19:34): Inside No. 10 Downing Street and working for David Cameron. 

(19:34) - (23:12): The team around the Prime Minister: the role of PPS, and the relevance of this work for becoming Cabinet Secretary.  

(23:12) - (28:57): Inside Kensington Palace and working for Prince William. The difference between politicians and members of the royal family.

(28:57) - (31:08): Back to No. 10: leading on the government’s Covid response. 

(31:08) - (35:17): Becoming Cabinet Secretary: ‘a very, very, very reluctant applicant’.

(35:17) - (38:43): The role of Cabinet Secretary

(38:43) - (40:54): How the role changes with a change of prime minister. 

(40:54) - (43:16): Attributes of a prime minister that are particularly helpful for the Civil Service.

(43:16) - (47:13): Describing Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer’s styles of working. 

(47:13) - (48:30): Why No. 10 is not conducive to a Prime Minister being able to make decisions effectively.

(48:30) - (50:10): Behind the scenes of transition talks. 

(50:10) - (53:33): The biggest strength and greatest weakness of the British Civil Service. 

(53:33) - (54:39): Book recommendation

(54:39): Outro.

Fion Cudmore - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionnuala-cudmore-293089269/

Tom Turner - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomturner04/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For young people in the UK, ‘political stability’ is an oxymoron. Our generation has grown up alongside a series of so-called ‘once-in-a-generation’ crises, and many hear the phrase ‘British Government’ and immediately think of a controversial policy choice, frontline politician or a scandal which is dominating the news. 

This series, however, takes the long view of British politics and aims to gain a clearer understanding of how and why it has changed in the 21st century by interviewing 4 people who have each worked in and around the heart of Government during this time. 

In this episode, Tom speaks to newly appointed member of the House of Lords, Baroness Catherine MacLeod, about her career as a journalist and how it influenced her experience as political adviser to Alistair Darling during the financial crisis.

This episode was recorded a few weeks ago before recent developments in Number 10.

(00:00) - (04:28) Intro

(04:28) - (08:18) Parliament’s Lobby – being a political journalist in the noughties

(08:18) - (11:43) The most memorable media trips with prime ministers.

(11:43) - (13:00) From the Lobby to the Treasury

(13:00) - 1(5:17) How a change of Chancellor leads to a change of dynamic within the Treasury. 

(15:17) - (17:33) Inside the Treasury during the Financial Crisis

(17:33) - (22:39) Catherine’s role in the Treasury – adding perspective to policymaking

(22:39) - (24:38) What it was like working during crisis

(24:38) - (26:22) Advising the Chancellor on communications + Darling’s way of working

(26:22) - (27:5): Darling’s legacy and reputation

(27:57) - (30:07) The relationship between Gordon Brown and Alastair Darling

(30:07) - (32:31) The long shadow of the financial crisis

(32:31) - (34:37) Evaluating Starmer’s Government’s communications, some even better ifs… 

(34:37) - (36:44) How social media is impacting political communication

(36:44) - (39:52) Catherine’s route into the ‘ludicrous’ Lords

(39:52) - (43:32) Catherine’s evaluation of the Lords as it stands

(43:32) - (46:03) A brief explanation of the Lords and how it works

(46:03) - (47:02) Book recommendation (“read as much as you can”)

(47:02) Outro

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Tom talks to John Rentoul, the Chief Political Commentator at The Independent. Rentoul enjoyed a front row seat to the New Labour project, writing one of the very first biographies of Tony Blair, co-authoring an analysis of Blair’s premiership with Prof. Jon Davis, and teaching on the ongoing ‘New Labour Years’ module at King’s College London.

During the interview, Rentoul points out that, in just 4 years, Keir Starmer tried to do what Neil Kinnock, John Smith and Tony Blair did over 14 years: rebrand the Labour Party

and prepare it for government. As a leadership election looms, this is crucial food for thought. If we keep changing prime minister every 2 years (let alone 49 days), is it any wonder that the newcomer struggles to implement their agenda (assuming they have one)?

(00:00) - (02:45) | Introduction 

(02:45) - (08:34) | John’s time at uni and his route into journalism.

(08:34) - (10:18) | Comparing the British press at the beginning of John’s career and now.

(10:18) - (16:30) | Why Tony Blair? And the process of writing a biography.

(16:30) - (20:18) | Why John progressively became more of a fan over time. 

(20:18) - (21:20) | On a spectrum from Corbyn to Blair, where would Keir Starmer be? 

(21:20) - (23:10) | Rebranding the Labour Party. Why the New Labour brand was more successful than the post-Corbyn brand change.

(23:10) - (25:23) | Starmer and Blair’s similar majorities, but different power. Could Starmer learn any lessons from Blair’s leadership of the party?

(25:23) - (26:19) | Starmer has tried to do what Kinnock, Smith and Blair did over 14 years in just 4. 

(26:19) - (27:18) | The consequence: Starmer was not focused on preparing for government. 

(27:18) - (28:47) | Will there be a party with a stable political base again? Why John thinks MPs should choose their party’s leader.

(28:47) - (30:04) | Of Blair’s successors, whose reputation will grow over time?

(30:04) - (33:49) | What being a Chief Political Commentator involves and advice for budding political journalists. 

(33:49) - (35:34) | “Questions to which the answer is no.”

(35:34) - (37:28) | Book recommendation to aid understanding of New Labour. Perhaps unsurprising: Blair’s memoir, A Journey.

(37:28) | Outro

Fion Cudmore - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionnuala-cudmore-293089269/

Tom Turner - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomturner04/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For young people in the UK, ‘political stability’ is an oxymoron. Our generation has grown up alongside a series of so-called ‘once-in-a-generation’ crises, and many hear the phrase ‘British Government’ and immediately think of a controversial policy choice, frontline politician or a scandal which is dominating the news. 

This series, however, takes the long view of British politics and aims to gain a clearer understanding of how and why it has changed in the 21st century by interviewing 4 people who have each worked in and around the heart of Government during this time. 

In this episode, Tom speaks to ex-Shadow Chancellor and King's College London Professor Ed Balls about the nature of crisis, the Treasury, and the changing media landscape.

(00:00) - (03:05) | Introduction

(03:05) - (07:32) | Ed’s own university days and how he ended up at KCL.

(07:32) - (11:06) | KCL’s module partnered with HM Treasury.

(11:06) - (16:50) | Crises: the 21st century’s reinforcing turbulence.

(16:50) - (23:30) | No.10 and the Treasury: searching for the right dynamic.

(23:30) - (26:20) | How the media makes political lifespans shorter – ‘bad decisions get found out faster’.

(26:20) - (29:30) | Modern governments are too short term-ist. Why long term messaging and narrative is more important than ever in a faster-paced media environment.

(29:30) - (33:45) | Improving government communication: the media round as a case study.

(33:45) - (39:00) | Ed talks drumming in the Centrist Dad band.

(39:00) - (41:51) | Book and TV series recommendations.

(41:51) > | Outro.

Fion Cudmore - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionnuala-cudmore-293089269/

Tom Turner - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomturner04/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.