The reinvigoration of the democrats in the US has been fascinating to watch. It feels like the ‘when they go low, we go high’ tone of the Obamas has been replaced by something rougher, tougher, more honest perhaps, and more exciting - and the country (or at least some of it!) is ready for it. Harris and Walz (and Shapiro, Buttigieg, AOC etc) make Keir Starmer seem very dull. Are there equivalent people in UK politics hiding in the wings that we don’t know about that might emerge over the next few years…? And if not, why not?
Disagree that being "exciting" is a necessary quality in a politician. Amongst Democrats, Deb Haaland, the US Secretary of the Interior would be top on my list as an interesting new leader within the Democratic Party. Haaland has quietly gone about her job, working away on addressing long standing issues of indigenous people in the US, making significant efforts at salmon habitat recovery, and making tough choices about offshore oil drilling.
That being said, I agree that honesty is a great quality in a politician.
I wouldn't say that Kamala Harris is a particularly honest politician.
Dear Sam, I served in the Inland Revenue (IHT) 1977-2012. When I joined, the Board of IR (now HMRC) was made up entirely of career civil servants (admittedly all male) who worked their way up and thoroughly knew their business. In the early 2000's it was decided to bring in some outsiders to add wider expertise - probably not a bad idea. Now, the Board contains only one tax professional hence the appalling problems faced by David Hartnett over the Google / Amazon scandals (if they were) before the PAC a few years ago. From the report on the Prison Service I suspect this is replicated across the Public Sector ie the Sector is largely run not by career technicians by careerists who possess no expertise in their field or interest in the organisations they 'serve' but bounce around getting gongs and cash for 'performance'. Is this indeed the case and if so does the Civil Service require radical reform to get it back on track?
Hi both. Can you please share your views on how the government might approach immigration and national identity and particularly communication around it. I find the discussion tends to veer off into claim and counter claim about racism, but believe there are important underlying questions about the workforce needs of our economy, national identity and cohesion, education and how our governments might communicate with our diverse public to help us all get behind a sensible plan.
One for Sam that I admit is a bit off topic but couldn’t resist given his recent tweeting.
What is the future for the Olympics? I’ve adored every day of them but it seems like cities are increasingly reluctant to put in bids and the winter games in particular risk turning into a plaything for autocracies. Could Paris and then LA showing it can be done (relatively) cheaply reinvigorate interest or is a bigger shakeup (hosting in multiple cities etc.) required
Hi Sam. What actions do you think the government can/will take to resist the far right and right wing populism? Whilst the riots will hopefully fizzle out, the political and media landscape that has pushed a lot of the divisive and (often) xenophobic narrative will remain very much intact and it's role should not be forgotten if the news cycle simply moves on.
Slightly tongue in cheek…(and as a thought experiment ignoring any treaties…) why don’t we give back “some” nuclear weapons to Ukraine (after making them give them up…). Whilst we are at it…why don’t we give some to the Baltics…and Taiwan…
What are the top items you'd want a more informed electorate to know/understand about politics or how the world really works? Realistically, only a relatively small proportion of the electorate will read Failed State - but I suspect that there are a few common misconceptions that it would be valuable to correct.
As one example mentioned by Dan Neidle on a podcast recently, a huge number of people don't understand that going into a higher tax bracket doesn't immediately mean that all your income is taxed at that level. Presumably that has a significant impact on what people think about possible changes to tax policies. I don't know how hard it is to "fix" that one - but I'm hoping you've got some examples of misunderstandings that would be relatively simple to correct if certain key people chose to do so.
(I'd be interested in answers from both Sam and Lawrence, although I *suspect* it's more topical for Sam.)
For education, in particular for our school system, (especially drawing on your DfE experience) for the Department for Education in the years ahead: What can we best learn from improving school systems around the world? Particularly on teacher attraction and retention?
I would add the increasing emphasis at school on STEM subjects to the exclusion of creative subjects - such as art, music, drama, and DT. The reality is that any success we have in (say) design/manufacturing or in video and film is because of the interplay between the creative and the engineering. I see an increasing narrowing of the school syllabus - and the danger is eventually there won’t be students going on to study creative subjects in higher education and the courses will be forced to close. Do you agree - and if so, what should be done?
Great question! I wish politicians would again embrace the *whole child* idea wherein the humanities + STEM produce much more well-rounded, productive people who are capable of critical thinking.
My eldest has just finished his GCSE, and should do well, but I’m really disheartened by the grind of education from ages 4-16. So much crammed in but with no real development of a love for life long learning, and skills for life.
Those that find a passion or interest usually do so through their parents or the luck of finding an individual teacher to inspire them. Is there a better way than our current structure?
The government says it wants closer cooperation with the EU, but won't rejoin. What realistic options are there for a closer relationship, which might have an actual effect on our economy, our defence, or our influence in the rest of the world?
Imagine the Conservatives have just broken the transfer fee record for political advisors in Britain and signed up the Freedmans. They want to win the next election. What would your advice be to them?
The reinvigoration of the democrats in the US has been fascinating to watch. It feels like the ‘when they go low, we go high’ tone of the Obamas has been replaced by something rougher, tougher, more honest perhaps, and more exciting - and the country (or at least some of it!) is ready for it. Harris and Walz (and Shapiro, Buttigieg, AOC etc) make Keir Starmer seem very dull. Are there equivalent people in UK politics hiding in the wings that we don’t know about that might emerge over the next few years…? And if not, why not?
Disagree that being "exciting" is a necessary quality in a politician. Amongst Democrats, Deb Haaland, the US Secretary of the Interior would be top on my list as an interesting new leader within the Democratic Party. Haaland has quietly gone about her job, working away on addressing long standing issues of indigenous people in the US, making significant efforts at salmon habitat recovery, and making tough choices about offshore oil drilling.
That being said, I agree that honesty is a great quality in a politician.
I wouldn't say that Kamala Harris is a particularly honest politician.
Dear Sam, I served in the Inland Revenue (IHT) 1977-2012. When I joined, the Board of IR (now HMRC) was made up entirely of career civil servants (admittedly all male) who worked their way up and thoroughly knew their business. In the early 2000's it was decided to bring in some outsiders to add wider expertise - probably not a bad idea. Now, the Board contains only one tax professional hence the appalling problems faced by David Hartnett over the Google / Amazon scandals (if they were) before the PAC a few years ago. From the report on the Prison Service I suspect this is replicated across the Public Sector ie the Sector is largely run not by career technicians by careerists who possess no expertise in their field or interest in the organisations they 'serve' but bounce around getting gongs and cash for 'performance'. Is this indeed the case and if so does the Civil Service require radical reform to get it back on track?
Hi both. Can you please share your views on how the government might approach immigration and national identity and particularly communication around it. I find the discussion tends to veer off into claim and counter claim about racism, but believe there are important underlying questions about the workforce needs of our economy, national identity and cohesion, education and how our governments might communicate with our diverse public to help us all get behind a sensible plan.
I'd like to know what you are both most optimistic about in the world in the next few years.
One for Sam that I admit is a bit off topic but couldn’t resist given his recent tweeting.
What is the future for the Olympics? I’ve adored every day of them but it seems like cities are increasingly reluctant to put in bids and the winter games in particular risk turning into a plaything for autocracies. Could Paris and then LA showing it can be done (relatively) cheaply reinvigorate interest or is a bigger shakeup (hosting in multiple cities etc.) required
Hi Sam. What actions do you think the government can/will take to resist the far right and right wing populism? Whilst the riots will hopefully fizzle out, the political and media landscape that has pushed a lot of the divisive and (often) xenophobic narrative will remain very much intact and it's role should not be forgotten if the news cycle simply moves on.
How effective do you think Mazzucato’s mission-led approach to government be? Might there be institutional resistance to it?
Slightly tongue in cheek…(and as a thought experiment ignoring any treaties…) why don’t we give back “some” nuclear weapons to Ukraine (after making them give them up…). Whilst we are at it…why don’t we give some to the Baltics…and Taiwan…
What are the top items you'd want a more informed electorate to know/understand about politics or how the world really works? Realistically, only a relatively small proportion of the electorate will read Failed State - but I suspect that there are a few common misconceptions that it would be valuable to correct.
As one example mentioned by Dan Neidle on a podcast recently, a huge number of people don't understand that going into a higher tax bracket doesn't immediately mean that all your income is taxed at that level. Presumably that has a significant impact on what people think about possible changes to tax policies. I don't know how hard it is to "fix" that one - but I'm hoping you've got some examples of misunderstandings that would be relatively simple to correct if certain key people chose to do so.
(I'd be interested in answers from both Sam and Lawrence, although I *suspect* it's more topical for Sam.)
For education, in particular for our school system, (especially drawing on your DfE experience) for the Department for Education in the years ahead: What can we best learn from improving school systems around the world? Particularly on teacher attraction and retention?
I would add the increasing emphasis at school on STEM subjects to the exclusion of creative subjects - such as art, music, drama, and DT. The reality is that any success we have in (say) design/manufacturing or in video and film is because of the interplay between the creative and the engineering. I see an increasing narrowing of the school syllabus - and the danger is eventually there won’t be students going on to study creative subjects in higher education and the courses will be forced to close. Do you agree - and if so, what should be done?
Great question! I wish politicians would again embrace the *whole child* idea wherein the humanities + STEM produce much more well-rounded, productive people who are capable of critical thinking.
I’m with BusyBusyBee, I think this a great theme to explore. The merging or interplay of skills, knowledge and learning..
My eldest has just finished his GCSE, and should do well, but I’m really disheartened by the grind of education from ages 4-16. So much crammed in but with no real development of a love for life long learning, and skills for life.
Those that find a passion or interest usually do so through their parents or the luck of finding an individual teacher to inspire them. Is there a better way than our current structure?
A counterfactual contemporary history question: what if Prigozhin had continued his advance on to Moscow?
What do you think Ukraine aims to gain by the Kursk attack?
For Sam, or both if Lawrence has a view too: what were your highlights from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games?
The government says it wants closer cooperation with the EU, but won't rejoin. What realistic options are there for a closer relationship, which might have an actual effect on our economy, our defence, or our influence in the rest of the world?
Imagine the Conservatives have just broken the transfer fee record for political advisors in Britain and signed up the Freedmans. They want to win the next election. What would your advice be to them?