Michael Sheen and Tony Blair discuss the roots of his desire to change Britain.
Blair: "Take the best qualities of Britain - open-mindedness, tolerance, innovation - and try to give Britain a different narrative that would allow it to think its best days are ahead of it.”
Do you think Britain is stuck in the past?
The idea for aspiration was key for New Labour’s vision for Britain. But due to the Iraq war, many have felt their record on social mobility was misrepresented. What did Britain achieve under Blair’s government?
How did New Labour balance the needs from across society? Michael Sheen and Tony Blair discuss being the party of social justice and a fairer economy.
Many argue that the lines between left and right are becoming blurred. Are the concepts of left and right still valid?
Do you still think the concepts of right and left exist in British politics?
Keir’s Labour party is very different to that of his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn. Michael Sheen and Tony Blair discuss the future of Labour under the current leadership.
From George Washington fighting for the Americas to today’s hero, Zelensky, leaders continue to rise from the ashes of history. newstatesman.com/ideas/2022/03/…
Zelensky, a leader on the periphery of Europe, fighting against impossible odds with Western commentators comparing him to legendary figures of the past with some even willing to risk global war to support him. He is the essence of charisma.
🟥But charisma is a more complicated phenomenon than is often realised. Charisma always resides, at least in part, in the eye of the beholder.
With Putin engaged in ominous nuclear sabre rattling since the eve of his invasion of Ukraine, a debate has been raging among nuclear experts over whether and when he might make good on his threats. newstatesman.com/security/2022/…
Although most experts agree that the overall risk of nuclear weapons being used in this conflict remains low, one of these scenarios appears more likely than the other.
If Putin’s objective is the occupation of at least some parts of Ukraine, it is hard to see how the use of a nuclear weapon on the country serves his interests.
Neither the House of Commons dramatics, nor the political theatre of a promised tax cut, saved Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement from being savaged by right, left and centre.
First, says @AndrewMarr9, if you are going to pull a rabbit from a hat, make sure it’s a real, live and twitching rabbit, and not the airy promise of a possible bunny in two years’ time.
National character is a slippery eel; the moment you think you have a grip on it, it’s gone. Its essence is fleeting; its shape shifts constantly and yet you know it when you see it, even if each person sees something different. newstatesman.com/politics/a-dre…
That is true of all nations and yet feels particularly true of Britain.
In the absence of a constitution or a bill of rights we have no foundational documents to refer to, beyond the Magna Carta, which was not even written in English.
Rishi Sunak states that "disruptions to global supply chains" and the "economic response to Putin's aggression" have led to increases in projected inflation. - #SpringStatement