The Rest is Politics and Alistair Campbell

I go through phases of finding it really good and then less so. I’ve enjoyed Rory’s spin off re AI as I think he dissects the issues quite well. I kind of like the US one but AS needs to STFU and let Katty Kay talk.

Perhaps war criminal adjacent ?

I did used to really like this podcast but it’s become quite self congratulatory without as much insight into issues as they used to share.

They also really lost my respect when Rory Stewart was talking about the Rotherham (and other) scandals & referred to “child prostitutes” or “these girls were having sex with men for money”. All of it is rape and CSA, irrespective of whether money changed hands.

Also, and this is extremely petty, but Rory drives me nuts with his affected pronunciation of foreign words. You can literally visualise him giving himself a little pat on the back.

Rory Stewart is completely out of touch on so many levels.

But no person is an island. It takes all sorts. Etc etc.

Ahhh that's all okay then if he wasn't elected. According to Google:

Alastair Campbell played a central role in drafting and promoting the British government's pre-war intelligence documents regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) ahead of the 2003 invasion. 1]

Key Actions and Controversy

Director of Communications: As Tony Blair's Director of Communications and Strategy from 1997 to 2003, Campbell oversaw the presentation of intelligence used to justify military action. 1, 2]

The September 2002 Dossier: Campbell helped shape the first government intelligence dossier, which famously featured the claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy WMD within 45 minutes of an order. Evidence later revealed that Campbell instructed changes to align certain British assessments more closely with U.S. claims. 1, 2, 3]

The "Dodgy Dossier" (February 2003): Campbell oversaw the release of the Iraq Dossier, which later faced intense public backlash and was dubbed the "dodgy dossier" after unacknowledged plagiarized material and inaccuracies came to light. Campbell later admitted the second dossier episode was a damaging

It all turned out to be a fabricated pack of lies. So nothing to see here then!!!!

Yes and he was a disappointment. Another extended love-in with Alastair.

Well that is simply changing the goal posts. You criticised them for not having Farage on. When you were told he’d been repeatedly invited, you said you weren’t surprised he didn’t want to go. Which is a completely separate issue.

Not quite sure of your point there.

Very funny!

Alistair Campbell is dodgy as F**k. Perhaps (if he wasn't a protected part of the British establishment) a war criminal. That's my point.

I thought we were right to invade Iraq so
I’m fine with Alistair Campbell.

Another one here who used to enjoy TRIP but turned off once their misogyny became clear and their smugness became unbearable.

I enjoy TRIPUS immensely, it's a great listen and very informative. I also listen to Political Fix from the FT, it's very balanced.

Beth Rigby and Ruth Davidson are good on Electoral Dysfunction, but HH just seems to stick to the party line, whatever that might be.

Really, an illegal war?

The %age of media outlets that have asked Farage to appear and been declined or ignored far exceeds the %age of media outlets that will not carry statements by Farage.

The only person "silencing" Nigel Farage is Nigel Farage.

I went off them for the reasons people have talked about. I moved to The Rest Is Politics US.
I've come across Rory Stewart in person twice, and on both occasions he was impolite in an up-himself kind of way. That doesn't put me off listening to him, because I'm in it for the insights, but Alistair Campbell is really annoying, and shows what he thinks of women by doing no research or thinking on women's issues, but just parroting the opinion of the daughter he is besotted with. That then makes me wonder how much he actually knows about the other issues they discuss.

"Dodgy as fuck" (which doesn't really get much pushback from me) does not equate with being responsible for a decision by elected politicians to go to war.

I don't have a massively high opinion of Tony Blair as it is. But if I am expected to believe that he just did what Alistair Campbell said, it would sink without trace.

I wonder what Dominic Cummings is up to these days ?

That’s a matter of opinion.

I know that was a rhetorical question, but here's what Wikipedia says:

"In May 2024, Cummings was reportedly preparing for a new political party that might replace the Conservative Party if the latter were to fall apart after the 2024 general election.[118][119] However, in December 2024 Cummings met Farage to discuss the way Britain is governed. In 2025 he dropped calls for the creation of a start-up party to replace the Tories and in a blog post in March talked up Reform UK.[120]"

But isn't TRIPUS all about US politics? So how is it a replacement for TRIP?

ETA: asking as someone genuinely interested in an alternative, not a criticism

I wish he’d do a better job of it.

Me too. Although he’s been pretty quiet in the last few days.

I used to love TRIP but I’m glad to see I’m not the only one increasingly turned off by them. Haven’t listened regularly for over a year. The smugness and lack of reflection on the parts they played - still play, I imagine in AC’s case - in the political system I find completely vomit inducing. i do wonder if they ever meet people earning less than £100k a year (though AC supports Burnley, he must do, it’s not a rich area of the country). Is Rory still jetting all over the world deploring the climate crisis? The episode he did this whilst saying he had just decided to take his sons to a football match a flight away is the point I realised how disconnected they were.

Because US politics has an enormous effect on us in the UK, and on the world, frankly. Obviously, I dont get the nitty gritty analysis of UK politics. One of the two presenters is British, in fact. I think she works or has worked for the BBC in Washington. They often bring Europe into the discussion.
I recommend it - they're very good at being knowledgeable, serious and entertaining at the same time.

Cummings is one of these people who stupid people think are clever. (Which explains why he was adviser to Boris Johnson).

If you are going to take a hit at the oldest and most successful political party that is the product of the oldest and most successful wealth retention schemes since antiquity ... well you had better not miss.

Much as I would crack open the bubbly when the Tory party dies, I am keeping it on ice for a while yet.