The Rundown Podcast: What Can Keir Starmer Learn From Theresa May?

2 min read5 hr

This week marks nine years since Theresa May entered Downing Street, so this episode of The Rundown takes a look at whether her legacy extends beyond failing to get a Brexit deal through Parliament, and what current Prime Minister Keir Starmer might be able to learn from May's tumultuous few years in office.

Having unexpectedly won the Tory leadership after her rivals fell in a heap following David Cameron’s resignation the morning after the EU referendum, May's premiership came to be defined, and then scuppered, by Brexit.

Looking back now, should her time in office be remembered for more than just one issue?

So joining host Alain Tolhurst to take another look at what May’s time as PM achieved, and what Starmer can learn about dealing with a difficult inheritance and global headwinds — while also trying to get your own agenda implemented — is Baroness JoJo Penn, who was her deputy chief of staff throughout her administration.

Alongside her is Seema Kennedy, the former Tory MP who was May’s parliamentary private secretary, and now leads the Fair Civil Justice campaign, as well as the journalist and author Isabel Hardman, assistant editor of The Spectator.

Also appearing in the episode is Paul Harrison, who was May’s press secretary, to discuss the difficulties she faced getting her message across, and what her legacy is beyond Brexit.

The panel discusses May's commitment, even beyond her time in No 10, to causes like modern slavery, domestic violence and mental health, but how it was overshadowed by what one of her ministers Alan Duncan described as the "turbo-charged hospital pass" that was coming up with an agreement on how to exit the European Union.

They also cover the role of her key advisers: Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, the disastrous 2017 snap election campaign, and the parallels now faced by Starmer around party discipline, after he suspended the whip from several Labour MPs this week, and what it's like dealing with a Donald Trump White House.

The Rundown is presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot