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Westminster Insider

How to prepare for opposition

Mar 1, 2024
44:07

By now, surely everyone in Westminster knows how to get ready for government — but have enough considered how to prepare for opposition?

In this week's episode, host Aggie Chambre tackles the conundrum of how to prepare for the one job in politics no one wants. 

She speaks to former opposition leader Neil Kinnock about his time in charge, including the advice his children gave Tony Blair's kids. 

Conservative peer George Young, who has been around since 1974, talks about all the times his party has gone from government to opposition. 

Tories Robert Buckland and Charles Walker consider what their fellow MPs are thinking about life after polling day as they teeter on the edge of opposition.

Labour MP Diana Johnson, who has spent the last 14 years on the opposition benches, explains how best to make an impact while you're out of government. 

Academic Nigel Fletcher runs through the history of the formalization of opposition — dating all the way back to 1937. 

And Cath Haddon from the Institute for Government tells Aggie the hardest thing about going from government to opposition. 


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