Episode Details

Can Boris Johnson get the country to stick to his plans for a Compact Christmas – or has he already blown the comms challenge? What has a year of lockdown and surveillance done to Britain’s liberal instincts? Plus, with the Brexit saga at least reaching the end of the beginning, how can Britain build a robust industrial strategy for the future without just throwing money about? Ed Conway, economics editor at Sky News and Times columnist, is this week’s special guest.

• “Whatever happens with Brexit, we’re really going to need our Christmas to deal with what’s coming up next year.” – Ed Conway
• “The mixed messages are too much for the public to take. You can’t say ‘go outside’ one day and ‘stay inside’ the next.” – Giles Wilkes
• “Everyone wants everyone else to be restricted, but not themselves…” – Cath Haddon
• “If these industrial tools for government weren’t a good idea last time, why would they be a good idea this time?” – Giles Wilkes
• “Trying to impose policies that nobody is going to follow is a question of realpolitik and I don’t envy anyone making that decision.” – Ed Conway
• “Politicians like to point at things and say ‘We should be better at that!’ But they seldom answer the question of how.” – Giles Wilkes

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Giles Wilkes. Audio production by Alex Rees

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