What on earth is the national interest?

Should we be sceptical when politicians claim to act in "the national interest"? The phrase is frequently trotted out to elevate policy and actions as unimpeachably serving us all. But what does it actually mean? So far the Oxford English Dictionary has steered clear of pinning down this "slippery" term.

Mark Damazer digs up its historical roots and talks to politicians, prime-ministerial speechwriters and policymakers to define a term that can obscure as much as it elucidates. Is its use just cynical high grounding or does it speak of a sincere effort to disentangle policy from personal or party interests? Is the national interest best served by a strong civic landscape where differing visions of “the national interest” are free to battle it out? Presenter: Mark Damazer

Producer: David Reid

Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors:

Michael Gove, Minister for Levelling up, Housing and Communities

Angela Rayner, shadow deputy prime minister and shadow levelling up secretary

Phil Collins, former prime-ministerial speechwriter

Munira Mirza, former Director of the No10 Policy Unit

Dame Linda Colley, Professor of History at Princeton

Fiona McPherson, Senior Editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, specialising in new words