The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook, with Robert Peston (Part One)

**Mia Sorrenti** (0:00)
Hello, Intelligence Squared members, senior producer Mia Sorrenti here.
Can Britain's next Prime Minister restore confidence in an increasingly uncertain world? Today's members episode is the full recording of our recent live event with journalist, broadcaster and author, Robert Peston. Peston joined us at Smith Square Hall to discuss Britain's political and economic future under Andy Burnham.
As Labour enters this new era under Burnham, Peston examines the challenges facing Britain's next government, from sluggish growth and fragile public finances to geopolitical instability and shifting global markets. He also reflects on the themes of his latest novel, The Kill Switch, and what the intersection of media, money and political power can tell us about the state of modern Britain. This episode is part of the Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook created in partnership with Guinness Global Investors. Guinness Global Investors applies the same spirit of inquiry behind Intelligence Squared to the search for investment success for your portfolio. With funds in the regions and themes driving future growth, Guinness Global Investors uses discipline and conviction to help you achieve your investment goals. To find out more, just head to guinnessgi.com or see the link in the episode description. But now, let's join the conversation hosted by Jonny Dymond, live at Smiths Square Hall.

**Jonny Dymond** (1:18)
Welcome to this Intelligence Squared event. It's part of the Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook, a series that explores the forces shaping global markets, politics and business. I'm Jonny Dymond and it's great to be with you. It is particularly good to be here with Robert. I won't go into a huge introduction. You know who he is. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here.
He is, of course, the Politics Editor for ITN, the presenter of ITV, I should say, the presenter of the politics show Peston, the co-host of The Rest is Money podcast. He was a colleague of mine up until, what, 2015 as economics and business editor. In the 90s, he was all over the place in very senior positions at the Financial Times. His shelves groan with awards, enviable awards, including Scoop of the Year, Journalist of the Year from the Royal Television Society. And he is also the author of a rather fine crime fiction series, the latest of which is The Kill Switch, which I hope will get time to do a little bit of chatting about at the end of this evening. A quick word on format. He and I will talk for about 40 minutes as he paces up and down. We want to get your questions and questions from those who are watching also online. I think considerable numbers have stayed in air-conditioned offices to do exactly that. But your questions online, you can send them in. There's a mechanism you can see to use that and I'll get them in front of me here and we'll plug those in. We'll talk, do about 15 minutes. We have an audience poll which we will do about a third of the way through. But I want to start with politics because this is a hugely important moment.
It feels like part of a regular carousel of Prime Ministers but it remains very important. Keir Starmer is about to leave No. 10 Andy Burnham is about to become Prime Minister. The questions mount up, of course. Can Labour restore confidence and in a world shaped by war and fragile energy markets and nervous investors, what kind of leadership does Britain now need? Robert, can we discuss the political moment? Keir Starmer, as I know you know very well, is leaving, what, just under two years from a landslide victory.
What does the fact, and I suppose to some degree the manner of his leaving, tell us about British politics and the nation?

**Robert Peston** (3:46)
Gosh, a nice easy one to start. We better get on to the matter in hand. I mean, there are so many ways of unpicking this moment. I mean, I want to keep it relatively simple. I think the big mistake that Keir Starmer made, and it's a very interesting question whether Andrew D. Burnham is about to repeat that mistake, was not to recognize the significant gravity of the challenges that we as a nation face, and therefore not to take a whole series of very difficult but important decisions early in order to revive, in particular, the stagnation of the economy. And I fear that one of the reasons, it's only one of the reasons he's gone, is because the British people were hoping for better. One of the things that's really odd, I mean, really odd, is how hated Keir Starmer is. I mean, when MPs, his own MPs, would tell me this after they were campaigning, I just wouldn't believe them. And then when I went up to Makerfield and spoke to people there and also we did a focus group, it was just staggering, the dislike and mistrust of him.