On today's episode of Leading, Rory and Alastair are joined by long-serving Labour minister, Alan Johnson, to discuss: - How much have the “bleak” post-war years shaped modern Britain? - How did growing up parentless and in poverty inspire Alan Johnson’s life choices? - What Keir Starmer can do to fix the NHS? - Could he have been prime ministerial material? TRIP Plus Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. TRIP TOUR To buy tickets for our October Tour, just head to www.therestispolitics.com 00:00 Intro 01:24 The world Alan grew up in 04:44 Alan's relationship with his parents 10:36 Alan's relationship with his sister 19:20 Political awakenings 20:44 Trade union politics 24:40 Harold Wilson 31:30 The culture of Parliament 35:39 Alan's faults 38:37 1970s political culture 41:20 Ranking Labour leaders 43:45 Alan's time as an MP 49:19 1980s Labour factionalism 50:40 Tony Blair 52:50 How he stopped the privatisation of the Post Office 53:50 Becoming an MP 55:30 Becoming a minister 59:11 Running the NHS 1:07:52 Immigration 1:10:14 The Brexit referendum 1:11:59 What makes a good politician 1:13:42 Alan’s own weaknesses 1:15:30 The 2010 leadership campaign 1:17:20 Good books by politicians Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Assistant Producer: India Dunkley Video Editor: Teo Ayodeji-Ansell Social Producer: Harry Balden Producer: Nicole Maslen and Fiona Douglas Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport