Michael Gove, author and political critic, discusses the moral vacuum in Starmerism, warning that a Labour government needs a clear mission to avoid a fate akin to John Major’s era. John McTernan adds insights into this ideological struggle. Revd Dr Jamie Franklin addresses the Church of England's misuse of sacred spaces for modern events, while Quentin Letts shares his manifesto for the next Archbishop. Finally, Dr Anya Lucas and Gillian Darley debate the controversial restoration of Clandon Park, weighing historical preservation against modern techniques.
50:51
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Starmerism's Moral Vacuum
Kier Starmer's Labour government lacks a clear ideology, unlike Clement Attlee's.
This vacuum allows the Treasury to dictate policy, often leading to cuts that disproportionately affect the poorest.
insights INSIGHT
Domestic Policy Vacuum
While Starmer's international leadership seems grounded in progressive realism, his domestic agenda lacks reform principles.
The Labour party needs to define its core values, especially regarding welfare reform and its impact on vulnerable populations.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Gove's Hypothetical Resignation
Michael Gove claims he would have resigned if a Conservative government had pursued Labour's current welfare reforms.
He contrasts Labour's approach with the Conservative's austerity measures, which aimed to distribute pain across society.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
‘Governments need a mission, or they descend into reactive incoherence’ writes Michael Gove in this week’s cover piece. A Labour government, he argues, ‘cannot survive’ without a sense of purpose. The ‘failure of this government to make social justice its mission’ has led to a Spring Statement ‘that was at once hurried, incoherent and cruel – a fiscal drive-by shooting’.
Michael writes that Starmer wishes to emulate his hero – the post-war Prime Minister Clement Atlee, who founded the NHS and supported a fledgling NATO alliance. Yet, with policy driven by Treasury mandarins, the Labour project is in danger of drifting, as John Major’s premiership did. Starmerism’s policy vacuum is being filled so rapidly by HMT that we are embarking on an era of ‘cruel Labour’.
Michael joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside John McTernan, former private secretary to Tony Blair. (1:37)
Next: have the Church’s sacred spaces become community clubs? From yoga classes to drag shows, and even a helter-skelter, the Revd Dr Jamie Franklin, host of the podcast Irreverentand author of The Great Return, writes in the magazine this week about what he argues is the ‘tragic misuse of its sacred spaces’ by the Church of England. This new reality may be symptomatic of a wider issue with the leadership of the Church, currently pondering its future. The journalist Quentin Letts provides his own manifesto for the next Archbishop of Canterbury in this week’s diary.
So do diverse uses of space broaden the Church’s appeal or does it run the risk of diluting its holiness? Quentin, whose new book NUNC! Is out now, joined the podcast alongside Jamie to discuss. (20:52)
And finally: is Clandon Park a visionary restoration or a catastrophic precedent?
Calvin Po addresses the ‘conundrum of conservation’ in the Arts lead for the magazine this week: how much of a building can be restored before it becomes a different building entirely?
Plans have moved forward for the 18th century Palladian mansion Clandon Park, managed by the National Trust, to be preserved in a half-charred form, following its gutting by fire in 2015. The Trust says this ‘approach combines careful conservation, scholarly restoration and sensitive contemporary design’. And The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), founded by William Morris, has hailed the plans, arguing that a full restoration would amount to a ‘feeble and lifeless forgery’ and the ‘Clandon of the future will offer a markedly different visitor experience to that of the past, but one that will have its own interest’.
Calvin, however, worries that this sets a ‘catastrophic precedent’ for restorations of the future, and The Georgian Group actively opposed the Trust’s proposal, arguing that the building’s merit comes in its original design ‘not in burnt bricks’.
To discuss further we were joined by The Georgian Group’s director Dr Anya Lucas, and the architectural historian – and former Chair of SPAB – Gillian Darley. (35:17)
Best of the Spectator 
