👑 Give people a story to believe in

Give people a story to believe in

A few weeks ago, significant numbers of this country, indeed, significant numbers across the world, were watching absolutely rapt to see who the next pope would be. Thousands upon thousands flock to the Vatican every Sunday to listen to an old man on a balcony deliver a sermon. Why do they go to listen to an old man delivering parables? Because they want something to believe in. The Pope is telling stories that explain the world and explain what people's lives are all about. The successful politician does the same.

Don’t pretend to be something that you’re not

We are now in an era where inauthenticity gets smoked out within nanoseconds, so don't pretend to be something you are not. People can smell bullshit a mile off these days, and frankly, I think the public is slightly more forgiving of you even if you are a bit unpolished and a bit rough around the edges so long as you are genuine.

If people have low attention spans, why is it that…

People think we're in an era of low attention spans, an era of people not wanting to look in depth into things. I challenge that. Why is the most popular podcast in the UK two Oxbridge historians talking for an hour about something that happened 150 years ago? People are looking for explanations. People are looking for an understanding of where you are coming from, what you are about, and why you have landed on a particular policy.

A strong Treasury is a good Treasury

I was very fortunate to work in the Treasury for Gordon Brown many years ago as one of his special advisors. And I still think that the Treasury ought to be a big policymaking machine across government, as certainly was the case under Gordon. We were very proud that many of the big social policy agendas when it came to employment policy, welfare reform policy, pensions policy, child policy, and international development were driven from Gordon's Treasury. Look, if the Treasury just becomes an abacus-style accounting body, policing departments for spend, but not engaging seriously in creative policymaking, then it is a drag on the government's agenda. It should be engaging seriously in a debate about how to stimulate growth in the economy.

Yes, relationships matter, but good ideas matter more