Joining Substack
A first post
Writing a first sentence is always challenging. But I haven’t forgotten the advice of my NCTJ course director from 20 years ago: Just start writing.
Hello and a very warm welcome to my Substack. Whatever your politics, I hope you’ll find it thought-provoking. If you watch me on TV, listen to me on the radio or follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I’m not short of an opinion.
Right now, and for the first time as a political commentator, I’m experiencing life when a party that I’ve broadly supported is actually in power. Last time Labour was in government, I was a BBC journalist and adhered strictly to rules of impartiality and balance.
Just as the Labour government is discovering that it is easier to be in opposition than to be in power, I’m discovering that criticising Tory administrations was less challenging than assessing the progress of this new Labour team. Apart from anything else, I’ve come across several members of Keir Starmer’s cabinet in person. I’ve interviewed the now Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Health Secretary on stage and, in the case of David Lammy, we are on friendly terms, having met socially as well as professionally. Lammy, Yvette Cooper and Wes Streeting all follow me on Twitter. As does, by the way, Jeremy Corbyn (whose leadership I did not support).
It’s important that all this doesn’t have a chilling effect on my commentary. And resisting the temptations of social media algorithms and supportive echo chambers is also key if one aspires to being a respected voice in the mix of our public discourse. At the same time, I do believe that our country is better served by a Labour government than a Tory government, and I am not inclined to join the ranks of those determined to tear it down at its inception.
So that’s a little insight into where I’m at after three and a half months of Labour rule. Following 14 years of Tories in Number 10, a pandemic, and ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, we are at a crossroads in our country’s journey. With some of our public services on their knees, Britain is in desperate need of growth. As we await Rachel Reeves’s Budget, day to day as well as capital investment are at a premium.
While the Tories struggle with an existential crisis after winning only 121 seats in the summer, and Reform UK growing but still reduced to shouting from the sidelines, the pressure is nonetheless on for a Labour government that achieved a soberingly shallow landslide. Are Starmer and his team up to the task? We had better all hope so.