Alastair Campbell is a self-described pessimist, and the past decade of UK political turmoil certainly hasn't helped.
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decade → describe → turmoil
Over a coffee at an old gastropub in north London, the former Labour Party strategist turned podcaster told me the last time he felt really good about Britain's place in the world was in 2012.
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he → turn → 2012
"When we had the Olympics, that's the last time when I really feel that the country felt strong, powerful, confident, at ease with itself," he said.
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he → have → itself
"Since then, we've had Brexit — disaster, economically, strategically, politically — we've had COVID … and we've had political instability leading to now seven prime ministers in just over a decade."
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we → have → decade
He also despairs at the levels of inequality fuelling voter disillusionment and distrust in politics.
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He → despair → politics
"We see phenomenal wealth, but we see phenomenal inequality.
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we → see → inequality
Why isn't it more equally shared?" he said.
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he → share → ?
"My kids' generation, and the generation below them, are probably the first two generations in the history of Britain where you can't say, 'We're going to be better off than our parents were.'"
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parents → say → Britain
As Tony Blair's former spin doctor and now co-host of the popular The Rest Is Politics podcast, Campbell has a keen ear for political messaging.
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Campbell → have → messaging
It's little wonder, he said, the "broken Britain" slogan has been so successful for right-wing political parties such as Nigel Farage's Reform UK and the MAGA movement in the US.
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slogan → say → US
"Those people who maybe feel their life isn't great, and that's quite a lot of people, they're wide open to messaging like that," he said.
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he → feel → that
And yet, despite all of this, Campbell is feeling "moderately" hopeful at the moment under the leadership of UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
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Campbell → feel → Burnham
"It's early days, and there's some very, very, very big challenges coming down the track," he said.
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he → be → track
"But I think he's giving a sense of optimism, positivity.
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he → think → optimism
I think he's desperate to try to change the kind of sense of what the country's for, what its values are.
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values → think → what
If you want to get a real temperature check of the nation, the humble British cab is often a good place to start.
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cab → want → nation
My most recent cabbie, who was driving me to the UK Labour conference in Liverpool last week, had a long list of grievances: illegal immigration, inequality, the health system.
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who → drive → grievances
It's an all-too-familiar narrative and one the UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is desperate to turn around.
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Burnham → turn → ?
His new slogan "Hope Again" was plastered all over the Liverpool conference venue where the cabbie dropped me off.
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cabbie → hope → me
Here, Burnham delivered an emotional hour-long speech to the party faithful, in which he urged Britain to stop "doomscrolling" itself and start believing again.
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he → deliver → itself
Burnham, who took the premiership from Sir Keir Starmer in a bloodless coup just 10 weeks ago, promised to "put Britain on a new path".
"I am ready to do things my predecessors wouldn't," he said.
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he → take → things
"I will make a break with the direction of the past 40 years."
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I → make → years
Despite winning a big majority in 2024, Labour took a dive in the polls under Sir Keir.
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Labour → win → Keir
Now under Andy Burnham — the soft-left former Manchester mayor and talented orator — things are starting to look up.
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things → leave → Burnham
Recent polls, if you are to take them seriously, have Burnham as the UK's most popular leader since Boris Johnson's COVID-era peak in 2020.
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you → take → 2020
Burnham is promising a different approach to his predecessors, including by shifting more control away from Westminster and into the hands of England's regional councils.
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Burnham → promise → councils
He's also pledged to fix the country's "broken" adult social care system, which looks after the nation's elderly, as well as people with disabilities and dementia.
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which → pledge → disabilities
Unlike the NHS, social care isn't free in England, but means-tested, leaving some people with huge bills.
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care → test → bills
Successive governments have tried and failed to fix the system, partly because it would be expensive.
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it → try → system
"What an indictment of my generation of politicians, myself included," Burnham said.
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Burnham → include → politicians
"Too cowardly to fix something as basic as the care we give to each other.
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we → fix → other
Is it any wonder people are giving up on politics?"
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people → give → politics
For Burnham, fixing the system is personal.
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fixing → fix → system
His father had been in longtime care with Alzheimer's and unable to comprehend that his son had become prime minister, up until he died a few weeks ago.
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he → comprehend → Alzheimer
Burnham's proposed solution is to create a new NHS-style care system that would be paid for in part by making the state pension system less generous, but not until after the next election (due in 2029).
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system → propose → 2029
It's a risky move Burnham acknowledges could backfire.
uncertain
Burnham → acknowledge → ?
"I accept I may pay a political price," he said.
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he → accept → price
"I will do it in memory of my dad and out of complete respect for everyone who cared for him.
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who → do → him
Not far from the Labour conference, I met one of Burnham's best mates, Steve Rotheram, at his office overlooking the River Mersey.
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I → meet → Mersey
Rotheram, who is the Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor, served as an MP alongside Burnham in the 2010s, during which time Burnham had two unsuccessful tilts at the Labour leadership.
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Burnham → serve → leadership
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia