The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - February 24, 2026


FREEMIUM: Brokenomics | Advice to Nigel Farage


Episode Stats

Length

57 minutes

Words per Minute

129.0227

Word Count

7,405

Sentence Count

2

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

11


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome to the intro of Brokernomics because in the last Brokernomics I filmed
00:00:29.020 I gave advice to Nigel Farage and it was actually before Rupert Lowe came out and launched Restore
00:00:37.620 and what I did in the Brokernomics you're about to see is I thought long and hard about
00:00:43.180 you know because I don't like Nigel Farage and I think he's weak and duplicitous and cunning and
00:00:52.560 backstabbing and anyway all the rest of it but at the time of the recording he was the best we had
00:00:59.000 and therefore okay I thought well what I'm going to do is I'm going to give him the best advice
00:01:03.100 that I can give him on how to message how to talk about it how to perceive the political situation
00:01:08.800 so I thought long and hard about it and I prepared the Brokernomics that you're about to see
00:01:12.540 now I'm still going to put it out but the thing I would note is that I shortly after that was filmed
00:01:22.240 in fact the evening after that was filmed Rupert Lowe then came out with his video and he hit
00:01:30.300 every single point that I made in that video without needing the memo he got all of it and
00:01:38.800 everything that I'm saying in the video that you're about to watch is stuff that Farage couldn't get to
00:01:45.980 after 35 years in politics and whatever it is now a year or 18 months at the top of the poll
00:01:52.220 he could not understand all those points I was making and Rupert nailed it first time so I'm sure
00:02:01.020 you've seen the Rupert video watch the Brokernomics that you're about to watch right and then go and
00:02:06.660 watch the Rupert Lowe thing and see how Rupert nailed it but anyway the advice stands the advice is good
00:02:13.180 it's still important it's still necessary to understand the mechanisms behind it so without
00:02:18.160 further ado here follows the actual Brokernomics. Hello and welcome to Brokernomics now in this
00:02:25.540 episode I wanted to make this one basically a direct video to Nigel Farage because it looks like Nigel
00:02:35.340 Farage is going to be the Prime Minister in a very short period of time and so I kind of wanted to
00:02:42.760 take this opportunity to give him my well wishes and actually some practical advice and that begins
00:02:50.500 with this that Britain is not a democracy in the way that you think it is Nigel the situation you are
00:02:57.700 actually inheriting you will enter office with a democratic mandate for change but you will not
00:03:03.300 inherit a system that is capable of delivering it Britain no longer operates as a democracy in the
00:03:09.160 sense that elections are determined by policy directions elections are now determined by who
00:03:14.740 administers a fixed set of constraints you are not taking control of a sovereign decision making
00:03:21.520 apparatus you are stepping into a credential weighted compliance system whose primary function
00:03:27.500 is risk management and not national direction and that distinction is going to define your premiership
00:03:33.320 you will quickly discover that decisive power flows through institutions that own the downside risk
00:03:39.680 are insulated from electoral punishment and can veto actions without appearing to be political
00:03:46.320 these are things like the treasury because they are fiscally legible they own market confidence
00:03:52.720 they're the regulators they're courts they're the crazy NGOs now these bodies they don't need consent to block you
00:04:03.320 but you do need their consent to act and they're not going to oppose you publicly what they will do is
00:04:11.000 they will render your proposals unworkable or irresponsible or non-compliant
00:04:15.620 you will be presented with clear pathways and each pathway will be validated against things like legal risk
00:04:24.820 and compliance cost and international alignment and reputational safety
00:04:29.240 you get to choose which pathway you may not redefine the constraint set without triggering institutional resistance
00:04:39.480 anything outside those boundaries will not be argued against they will simply fail to proceed
00:04:45.260 this is how veto power hides behind deniability
00:04:49.460 this system does not arise from conspiracy or malice
00:04:54.820 it arose because the state adapted to survive complexity
00:04:59.200 and over the decades the policy chains have lengthened and attribution becomes opaque
00:05:05.640 being wrong became career ending
00:05:08.780 being inert became safe
00:05:11.860 and the institutions they responded rationally to that
00:05:16.720 judgment was replaced by process
00:05:19.280 decisions by compliance and responsibility by auditability
00:05:24.880 independence was introduced to stabilize market and expectations
00:05:29.720 and it gradually evolved into veto without ownership
00:05:34.220 the result is a state that is that persists by shedding blame but not solving problems
00:05:41.380 you are not necessarily facing bad actors
00:05:44.340 you're facing hardened incentives
00:05:46.900 what your mandate will and won't let you do
00:05:51.860 you will be able to change rhetoric
00:05:55.680 and you will be able to change personnel
00:05:57.740 and you'll be able to signal priorities
00:06:00.080 and you'll be able to absorb public anger
00:06:02.480 but you will not automatically be able to override treasury constraints
00:06:06.900 you won't be able to reverse judicial interpretations
00:06:12.000 or violate international treaties
00:06:14.580 so the first mistakes that you need to avoid
00:06:18.360 do not interpret this resistance as sabotage
00:06:22.820 drawing competence or lack of will
00:06:24.520 if you treat this as a loyalty problem you're going to lose
00:06:28.060 this is a structural problem
00:06:30.020 structures do not respond to speeches or pressure
00:06:33.860 they respond to incentive change
00:06:36.420 if you govern as it still as if it still operates
00:06:42.260 as a preference aggregation democracy
00:06:45.020 you will burn political capital without seeing results
00:06:49.220 stop asking what the voters want
00:06:51.580 and start asking what actions are currently impossible
00:06:55.780 regardless of what they want
00:06:58.040 and these impossibilities define the real constitution
00:07:03.340 that Britain operates by
00:07:04.600 your job is not to argue with them
00:07:06.380 your job is to move the boundaries of what is actually permissible
00:07:09.380 if you try this change
00:07:10.940 understand it
00:07:12.800 be clear-eyed
00:07:13.920 markets will react
00:07:15.220 legal challenges will multiply
00:07:17.420 the press will frame everything as recklessness
00:07:20.580 institutional actors will brief against you anonymously
00:07:25.100 you will be accused of undermining norms
00:07:28.780 rather than being wrong
00:07:29.820 this is the price of reassigning downside risk
00:07:33.520 back to elected authorities
00:07:34.880 if you are not willing to pay that price
00:07:37.980 the system will continue unchanged
00:07:40.160 just under different management
00:07:41.940 the core reality you must internalize is this
00:07:45.020 you are not entering office to lead the system
00:07:48.360 you are entering office to renegotiate
00:07:51.660 who carries risk
00:07:53.480 until downside risk is reattached
00:07:56.840 to elected decision makers
00:07:58.560 and removed from processes
00:07:59.960 independence and abstraction
00:08:01.520 your mandate will be absorbed
00:08:03.640 diluted and neutralized
00:08:05.660 this is the rule
00:08:07.440 everything else follows
00:08:09.820 whether you choose to hit it
00:08:11.440 go around it
00:08:12.480 or pretend that it isn't there
00:08:14.320 this is the core insight you must internalize
00:08:16.560 the British state no longer governs
00:08:18.520 in the classic sense
00:08:19.400 every major institution optimizes
00:08:22.660 not for outcomes
00:08:23.640 but for minimizing legal exposure
00:08:26.380 minimizing reputational volatility
00:08:29.200 maximizing audit defensibility
00:08:32.280 this is not a culture failure
00:08:34.080 this is the rational end state of a system
00:08:37.280 in which being wrong is punished harder
00:08:40.020 than being ineffective
00:08:41.380 your mandate for change
00:08:44.200 will collide with this immediately
00:08:46.240 what this means in practice
00:08:49.100 is that you will encounter
00:08:50.900 endless consultation
00:08:52.300 procedural delays
00:08:54.280 requests for impact assessments
00:08:55.920 warning about unintended consequences
00:08:58.380 these are not stalling tactics
00:09:01.720 in the normal sense that we think of them
00:09:03.280 they are risk elevation mechanisms
00:09:05.920 within the system
00:09:07.700 action creates personal downside
00:09:10.320 and delay distributes it
00:09:12.800 and inaction eliminates it
00:09:15.140 the safest move for any official
00:09:16.880 is to ensure that nothing traceable to them
00:09:19.520 causes harm
00:09:20.560 even if that means nothing improves
00:09:22.620 no one is allowed to be right too early
00:09:25.660 one of the least understood dynamics you will face
00:09:28.560 is that in risk-crossing states such as Britain
00:09:31.540 early correctness is indistinguishable from recklessness
00:09:35.600 if someone acts early and is right
00:09:37.660 the counterfactual
00:09:38.960 what if you were wrong
00:09:40.620 is unknowable
00:09:41.540 the risk appears unjustified
00:09:43.840 the personal exposure is absolute
00:09:46.120 but if someone waits and it is wrong
00:09:49.460 blame is diffused
00:09:51.180 circumstances are cited
00:09:52.900 process and compliance will shield them
00:09:56.080 this is why innovation is dying inside the state
00:09:58.900 and why your most capable people will hesitate
00:10:02.120 the moral language trap is this
00:10:04.680 as outcomes weaken
00:10:06.500 the state that
00:10:07.680 the system substitutes moral language
00:10:11.420 for performance
00:10:12.500 compassion replaces capacity
00:10:16.000 fairness replaces effectiveness
00:10:18.340 and inclusion replaces delivery
00:10:21.060 this is not ideological
00:10:23.280 it's defensive
00:10:24.460 moral claims cannot be audited
00:10:27.180 but outcomes can
00:10:28.540 expect every failure to be reframed
00:10:31.780 as virtue under pressure
00:10:33.340 and the walls that you will hit
00:10:35.320 first of all legal risk
00:10:36.460 this is going to expose us
00:10:39.180 to judicial review prime minister
00:10:41.220 translation being
00:10:43.300 no one wants to own the downside of this
00:10:45.880 and the reputational risk
00:10:48.340 this will damage trust prime minister
00:10:51.020 and the translation is
00:10:52.640 few blame
00:10:54.500 future blame
00:10:55.540 is being priced in
00:10:57.080 and audit risk
00:10:59.580 this isn't best practice prime minister
00:11:01.800 in translation
00:11:03.160 it cannot be defended later
00:11:05.560 now these are vetoes without veto language
00:11:08.360 and you might be tempted to think
00:11:12.260 issue stronger directives
00:11:14.060 demand pace
00:11:15.220 or replace personnel
00:11:16.280 this will fail if the risk structure remains unchanged
00:11:20.780 officials will comply procedurally
00:11:23.600 while neutralizing the substance of what you're trying to do
00:11:26.740 the system is very good at performing obedience
00:11:30.380 while preserving inertia
00:11:31.740 if you want outcomes
00:11:34.380 you must reroute risk
00:11:36.140 not demand effort
00:11:37.960 this means
00:11:39.640 you've got to shorten decision chains
00:11:41.400 you've got to
00:11:41.920 force explicit trade-offs
00:11:43.760 you've got to make
00:11:45.380 non-decision
00:11:46.280 carry downside
00:11:48.260 protecting those who act early
00:11:51.140 when they're authorised
00:11:52.300 and removing safe harbours
00:11:54.360 that reward delay
00:11:55.220 and until that happens
00:11:56.500 you are going to be pushing water uphill
00:11:58.060 and again be clear-eyed
00:11:59.640 about what this is going to cost you
00:12:00.980 accused of recklessness
00:12:02.540 failures will be personalised to you
00:12:05.780 successes will be normalised as inevitable
00:12:08.680 and institutional warnings
00:12:10.940 will leak out to the press
00:12:13.160 the system is signalling
00:12:15.920 that you are absorbing risk
00:12:17.760 that it previously shed off
00:12:19.480 and if you're not willing to take that exposure
00:12:22.100 nothing changes
00:12:23.500 the practical implications
00:12:26.220 you cannot fix this by motivating
00:12:28.220 or messaging or loyalty
00:12:29.700 you must decide whether you want to control
00:12:33.220 without consequence
00:12:35.880 which is the default
00:12:37.060 or consequences with control
00:12:40.600 which is the only path to change
00:12:42.940 one produces stability without purpose
00:12:45.620 the other produces visible risk
00:12:47.540 potentially real outcomes
00:12:50.380 the operating rule that you should carry forward
00:12:52.980 is every time the system tells you something is impossible
00:12:56.220 ask who avoids owning the downside risk
00:12:59.400 if this goes wrong
00:13:00.260 the question will reveal
00:13:02.640 where the block is
00:13:04.140 who benefits from inaction
00:13:06.000 and what must change if you want movement
00:13:08.520 also this
00:13:09.820 you need to understand that
00:13:10.980 parliament no longer functions
00:13:13.300 as a primary decision-making body
00:13:15.020 it functions as a signalling
00:13:17.160 and shock absorption layer
00:13:18.840 the job of parliament
00:13:21.340 the real job of parliament
00:13:22.420 is to transmit
00:13:24.060 acceptable norms
00:13:25.340 and convert system decisions
00:13:27.060 into public narratives
00:13:28.300 and absorb anger
00:13:30.180 that would otherwise
00:13:31.360 target the institutions
00:13:32.940 that really do have power
00:13:34.380 and this isn't so much
00:13:36.100 a failure of MPs as individuals
00:13:37.680 this is the role
00:13:39.280 that parliament
00:13:39.980 has structurally been reassigned
00:13:42.440 in the British system
00:13:43.820 if you properly understand
00:13:45.820 what is going on
00:13:46.760 so legislative debate
00:13:48.760 is not about persuasion or discovery
00:13:50.760 it's about record creation
00:13:52.940 what matters is not
00:13:55.640 what is said to change minds
00:13:57.680 or even what passes on the date
00:13:59.360 but what exists on the record
00:14:02.600 that can be used later
00:14:04.380 by courts and regulators
00:14:06.560 and inquiries
00:14:07.340 and compliance bodies
00:14:08.580 in practice
00:14:09.780 speeches become future citations
00:14:12.520 and amendments
00:14:13.180 become legal tripwires
00:14:14.600 and ambiguity
00:14:15.360 becomes leverage
00:14:17.180 parliament is supplying
00:14:20.080 the downstream veto
00:14:21.360 raw material
00:14:22.900 that they can use
00:14:24.100 the trap that you are going
00:14:25.560 to be pushed into
00:14:26.260 you will be encouraged
00:14:28.180 to win the argument
00:14:29.320 in parliament
00:14:29.860 or deliver powerful speeches
00:14:31.320 or pass
00:14:32.600 declaratory legislation
00:14:34.940 and it feels like governing
00:14:38.840 but it's not
00:14:40.200 the system is comfortable
00:14:42.780 in letting you say
00:14:43.760 almost anything
00:14:44.980 provided it can later
00:14:46.800 reinterpret
00:14:47.600 narrow and neutralize
00:14:49.200 whatever it is you said
00:14:50.240 parliamentary victory
00:14:52.020 without control
00:14:53.100 of interpretation
00:14:53.980 produces symbolic wins
00:14:56.020 and in all practice
00:14:57.600 status
00:14:58.100 so you've got to understand
00:14:59.620 that this configuration
00:15:00.420 solves
00:15:01.100 three problems
00:15:02.560 for the administrative state
00:15:03.760 first is legitimacy
00:15:05.260 parliament provides
00:15:07.640 democratic cover
00:15:08.980 without requiring
00:15:10.020 transfer control
00:15:11.140 blame management
00:15:12.560 MPs absorb
00:15:13.920 public anger
00:15:15.100 while unelected
00:15:16.580 institutions
00:15:17.260 remain insulated
00:15:18.940 and continuity
00:15:20.620 policy direction
00:15:22.400 persists regardless
00:15:23.580 of electoral churn
00:15:24.660 parliament stabilizes
00:15:26.320 this system
00:15:26.900 by decoupling
00:15:27.900 voice
00:15:28.480 from consequence
00:15:30.100 so if you treat
00:15:31.620 parliament as a
00:15:32.340 debating chamber
00:15:33.040 you lose
00:15:33.820 if you treat it
00:15:35.320 as a constraint
00:15:36.260 shaping tool
00:15:37.480 you gain leverage
00:15:38.900 the three rules
00:15:40.420 that you should
00:15:40.720 internalize for this
00:15:41.680 is first of all
00:15:42.980 legislate for hierarchy
00:15:44.420 and not aspiration
00:15:45.440 replace
00:15:47.220 have regard
00:15:48.580 to
00:15:49.040 with explicit
00:15:50.780 priority ordering
00:15:52.620 ambiguity
00:15:54.460 in powers
00:15:55.260 courts
00:15:55.640 and regulators
00:15:56.680 but not ministers
00:15:57.980 second
00:15:58.840 you've got to
00:15:59.400 force explicit
00:16:00.540 trade-offs
00:16:01.120 onto the record
00:16:02.060 make downstream
00:16:03.800 bodies
00:16:04.360 understand
00:16:05.200 and you've got
00:16:06.760 to say to them
00:16:07.520 state which
00:16:08.740 outcomes
00:16:09.340 they are choosing
00:16:10.460 not to pursue
00:16:12.100 not just the ones
00:16:13.540 that they're choosing
00:16:14.140 to pursue
00:16:15.180 and you've got to
00:16:16.160 bind interpretation
00:16:17.360 early
00:16:17.780 you've got to
00:16:19.260 draft
00:16:19.940 judicial
00:16:20.760 use
00:16:21.600 in mind
00:16:22.520 if it can
00:16:24.600 be read
00:16:25.000 two ways
00:16:26.320 it will be
00:16:27.360 read two ways
00:16:28.040 so the key
00:16:29.140 mistakes
00:16:29.460 to avoid
00:16:29.860 don't rely
00:16:30.840 on speeches
00:16:31.440 or moral
00:16:31.880 appeals
00:16:32.280 or popular
00:16:32.860 majorities
00:16:33.400 to force
00:16:33.800 compliance
00:16:34.400 parliament
00:16:35.780 parliamentary
00:16:36.980 theatre
00:16:37.700 satisfies
00:16:38.800 public
00:16:39.340 expectation
00:16:40.020 while leaving
00:16:41.420 real
00:16:42.000 machinery
00:16:43.280 of power
00:16:43.980 untouched
00:16:44.820 your task
00:16:46.800 is not to
00:16:47.280 speak louder
00:16:47.820 in parliament
00:16:48.420 it's to reduce
00:16:49.700 how much
00:16:50.100 interpretive
00:16:50.840 freedom
00:16:51.800 parliament
00:16:52.280 leaves behind
00:16:53.140 now let's
00:16:54.020 look at
00:16:54.360 what your
00:16:54.960 first
00:16:55.320 hundred
00:16:56.520 day
00:16:56.800 strategy
00:16:57.220 might be
00:16:57.820 remembering
00:16:59.000 that you've
00:16:59.440 got to
00:16:59.760 force
00:17:00.300 risk
00:17:00.880 back into
00:17:02.160 the system
00:17:02.720 understood
00:17:05.140 risk
00:17:05.660 and this isn't
00:17:06.920 so much
00:17:07.240 of a revolution
00:17:07.880 this is a
00:17:08.400 rerouting
00:17:08.880 exercise
00:17:09.320 to make
00:17:09.660 the system
00:17:10.060 work
00:17:10.380 you've got
00:17:11.360 to create
00:17:11.780 a single
00:17:12.480 doctrine
00:17:13.280 which is
00:17:14.160 decision
00:17:14.820 ownership
00:17:15.600 you've got
00:17:17.280 to issue
00:17:17.660 prime ministerial
00:17:18.520 instructions
00:17:19.200 back it by
00:17:20.420 statute
00:17:20.880 whenever you
00:17:21.300 can of
00:17:21.600 course
00:17:21.840 that advice
00:17:23.420 is advisory
00:17:24.780 decisions
00:17:27.140 are ministerial
00:17:28.740 and outcomes
00:17:31.480 attached
00:17:32.100 to named
00:17:33.220 office holders
00:17:34.340 make this
00:17:35.660 boring
00:17:36.200 procedural
00:17:37.280 but universal
00:17:38.720 you've got
00:17:41.320 to pick
00:17:41.820 one narrow
00:17:43.760 domain
00:17:44.180 and concentrate
00:17:46.100 risk there
00:17:46.800 don't fight
00:17:48.420 on all fronts
00:17:49.020 choose one
00:17:50.560 area
00:17:50.920 with clear
00:17:51.960 public
00:17:52.320 mandate
00:17:52.860 measurable
00:17:54.000 outcomes
00:17:54.620 and visible
00:17:55.360 failures
00:17:55.840 my preference
00:17:56.520 would of course
00:17:56.920 be remigration
00:17:57.720 but nevertheless
00:17:58.880 I'm providing
00:17:59.580 the best
00:17:59.980 advice I can
00:18:00.740 to you
00:18:01.100 and you've
00:18:02.140 got to force
00:18:02.640 a single
00:18:03.360 accountable
00:18:03.940 minister
00:18:04.400 you've got
00:18:04.920 to force
00:18:05.380 a single
00:18:06.160 delivery
00:18:06.960 check
00:18:07.320 a single
00:18:08.880 published
00:18:09.620 counterfactual
00:18:10.600 you've got to
00:18:11.860 introduce
00:18:12.380 on most of
00:18:13.560 the stuff
00:18:13.900 you do
00:18:14.320 automatic
00:18:15.680 sunsets
00:18:16.380 outcome
00:18:18.160 tests
00:18:18.580 for new
00:18:18.940 regulations
00:18:19.560 and
00:18:20.920 expiry
00:18:21.760 and less
00:18:22.480 renewed
00:18:22.900 and apply
00:18:24.600 that retroactively
00:18:25.360 to existing
00:18:26.240 regulations
00:18:27.060 expiry
00:18:28.500 and less
00:18:29.140 renewed
00:18:29.800 and renewal
00:18:31.760 conditions
00:18:32.260 are based on
00:18:32.880 outcomes
00:18:33.500 not
00:18:34.280 intentions
00:18:34.900 and what that
00:18:37.020 will do
00:18:37.320 is we'll start
00:18:37.880 cleaning up
00:18:38.720 the drift
00:18:39.340 that has loaded
00:18:42.000 up our system
00:18:42.660 to the point
00:18:43.140 of ineffectuality
00:18:44.060 you've got to
00:18:45.680 explicitly protect
00:18:47.100 early movers
00:18:47.880 written
00:18:49.360 issue
00:18:51.000 written
00:18:52.140 indemnities
00:18:53.120 and career
00:18:54.460 protections
00:18:55.020 for officials
00:18:55.760 acting under
00:18:56.780 ministerial
00:18:57.560 instructions
00:18:58.120 and if you
00:18:59.080 don't do that
00:18:59.840 they won't
00:19:00.400 move
00:19:00.700 make non
00:19:01.820 decisions
00:19:02.420 visible
00:19:03.640 require
00:19:06.060 departments
00:19:06.720 to publish
00:19:07.480 when decisions
00:19:08.780 are deferred
00:19:09.380 why
00:19:10.240 and who
00:19:11.140 signed off
00:19:11.660 on that
00:19:11.920 delay
00:19:12.220 you've got
00:19:14.260 to get to
00:19:14.700 the point
00:19:15.020 where delay
00:19:15.760 acquires
00:19:17.180 reputational
00:19:18.360 cost
00:19:19.200 and this
00:19:20.360 won't fix
00:19:21.080 the system
00:19:21.480 in 100
00:19:21.840 days
00:19:22.220 but you
00:19:23.560 can change
00:19:24.340 expectations
00:19:24.980 about where
00:19:25.540 risk sits
00:19:26.200 and once
00:19:27.280 the pocket
00:19:27.760 of the state
00:19:28.260 operates
00:19:29.040 under real
00:19:29.780 downside
00:19:30.320 others are
00:19:30.940 going to
00:19:31.200 notice
00:19:31.620 you're
00:19:33.260 changing
00:19:33.860 the incentive
00:19:35.460 structure
00:19:36.000 not just
00:19:37.020 when you
00:19:37.380 get criticised
00:19:38.080 so
00:19:38.560 parliament
00:19:39.320 gives you
00:19:39.700 legitimacy
00:19:40.260 the administrative
00:19:41.480 state
00:19:42.200 manages risk
00:19:43.220 if you want
00:19:44.520 outcome
00:19:44.960 you've got to
00:19:45.520 use parliament
00:19:46.460 to constrain
00:19:47.400 interpretation
00:19:48.220 use
00:19:50.060 executives
00:19:51.060 the executive
00:19:52.140 your part of
00:19:53.080 the government
00:19:53.360 the ministers
00:19:53.940 to reassign
00:19:55.920 downside
00:19:56.480 and accept
00:19:58.560 that resistance
00:19:59.360 is the signal
00:20:00.460 that you're
00:20:00.860 touching on
00:20:01.460 something real
00:20:02.360 you've got to
00:20:03.580 understand
00:20:03.920 Nigel
00:20:04.200 that Britain
00:20:04.920 is governed
00:20:05.360 less by
00:20:06.320 explicit rules
00:20:07.300 than by a
00:20:08.840 whole bunch
00:20:09.200 of inherited
00:20:09.660 assumptions
00:20:10.160 about what
00:20:11.840 is allowed
00:20:12.340 what is
00:20:13.340 suspicious
00:20:13.740 and what
00:20:14.140 must be
00:20:14.420 justified
00:20:14.820 and these
00:20:17.120 assumptions
00:20:17.560 that you're
00:20:17.980 going to
00:20:18.200 inherit
00:20:18.480 they're not
00:20:19.360 written down
00:20:19.900 and they're
00:20:20.940 rarely defended
00:20:21.640 and they
00:20:22.420 operate as
00:20:23.000 default priors
00:20:24.080 inside the
00:20:24.800 institutions
00:20:25.440 effectively
00:20:26.960 what I'm
00:20:27.280 saying is
00:20:27.580 that they
00:20:27.800 shape policy
00:20:28.500 long before
00:20:29.000 any vote
00:20:29.440 is taken
00:20:29.880 historically
00:20:31.040 these
00:20:31.400 assumptions
00:20:31.940 naming
00:20:32.440 these
00:20:32.760 assumptions
00:20:33.160 were
00:20:33.380 dangerous
00:20:33.780 because
00:20:35.120 elites
00:20:37.200 kind of
00:20:38.300 still remember
00:20:38.780 choosing
00:20:39.120 them
00:20:39.380 they were
00:20:40.860 actively
00:20:41.320 policed
00:20:42.300 and enforcement
00:20:44.000 was confidential
00:20:44.760 and that's
00:20:47.220 no longer
00:20:47.560 fully true
00:20:48.160 many of
00:20:49.280 these assumptions
00:20:49.860 have become
00:20:50.560 embedded
00:20:51.660 where they're
00:20:52.380 no longer
00:20:53.120 consciously
00:20:53.800 held
00:20:54.280 and so
00:20:55.520 expansive
00:20:56.180 that they're
00:20:56.640 just colliding
00:20:57.300 with reality
00:20:57.980 and that
00:20:59.820 creates an
00:21:00.260 opening
00:21:00.560 expose
00:21:03.160 them
00:21:03.600 name them
00:21:04.720 and show
00:21:05.340 them
00:21:05.520 and show
00:21:06.260 how far
00:21:07.080 they have
00:21:07.440 drifted
00:21:08.020 force a
00:21:09.240 recalibration
00:21:10.000 and this
00:21:11.640 only
00:21:11.920 and this
00:21:12.520 only works
00:21:13.160 when free
00:21:13.940 conditions
00:21:14.420 hold
00:21:14.780 and in
00:21:15.680 Britain
00:21:16.380 increasingly
00:21:17.320 they do
00:21:17.840 the assumptions
00:21:19.460 that you can
00:21:20.640 name
00:21:20.940 and name
00:21:21.720 them directly
00:21:22.300 is that
00:21:23.620 economic growth
00:21:24.780 was never
00:21:25.320 visibly
00:21:26.040 advantaged
00:21:26.640 the native
00:21:27.040 population
00:21:27.620 and that
00:21:29.260 was once
00:21:29.640 a guardrail
00:21:30.280 put in
00:21:30.820 for best
00:21:31.140 intentions
00:21:31.700 but now
00:21:32.940 it's a
00:21:33.180 distortion
00:21:33.740 that suppresses
00:21:34.560 wages
00:21:34.920 and productivity
00:21:36.260 it's
00:21:38.040 especially
00:21:38.840 true
00:21:39.280 of young
00:21:40.340 white men
00:21:40.840 who are
00:21:41.420 getting the
00:21:41.740 rawest deal
00:21:42.240 in all of
00:21:42.600 this
00:21:42.780 name it
00:21:44.200 explicitly
00:21:45.260 other
00:21:45.880 implicit
00:21:47.120 assumptions
00:21:47.700 cultural
00:21:48.940 continuity
00:21:49.640 is inherently
00:21:51.500 suspect
00:21:52.040 and again
00:21:54.180 that was
00:21:54.500 brought in
00:21:55.140 by people
00:21:56.880 with best
00:21:57.840 meaning
00:21:58.220 I guess
00:21:58.680 as a
00:22:00.320 check on
00:22:00.740 chauvinism
00:22:02.940 but it's
00:22:03.920 become warped
00:22:04.540 name it
00:22:05.220 another one
00:22:07.440 international
00:22:09.120 legibility
00:22:10.060 outranks
00:22:10.780 domestic
00:22:11.320 coherence
00:22:11.980 the
00:22:13.440 adherence
00:22:14.680 to
00:22:14.920 international
00:22:15.620 agreements
00:22:16.460 or charters
00:22:17.580 or
00:22:18.460 whatever
00:22:20.300 deal has
00:22:21.140 been made
00:22:21.620 at the
00:22:21.860 international
00:22:22.300 level
00:22:22.700 always
00:22:24.160 outranks
00:22:24.780 domestic
00:22:25.520 coherence
00:22:26.180 so say
00:22:27.360 it plainly
00:22:28.080 admit it
00:22:29.780 and it
00:22:31.740 was once
00:22:32.220 a source
00:22:32.620 of
00:22:32.860 strategy
00:22:34.240 I suppose
00:22:34.680 a survival
00:22:35.280 strategy
00:22:35.760 but now
00:22:36.760 it's a source
00:22:37.240 of democratic
00:22:37.900 paralysis
00:22:38.720 bring it
00:22:39.420 into the
00:22:39.760 open
00:22:40.040 and they
00:22:41.120 also assume
00:22:41.700 that stability
00:22:42.300 means consensus
00:22:43.540 but not
00:22:44.180 outcomes
00:22:44.740 again
00:22:46.540 name it
00:22:47.480 now these
00:22:48.880 were all
00:22:49.480 originally
00:22:49.900 trade-offs
00:22:50.480 and they've
00:22:51.800 hardened
00:22:52.360 into
00:22:52.800 defaults
00:22:53.860 not case
00:22:55.020 by case
00:22:55.460 trade-offs
00:22:55.960 that's a
00:22:57.180 vulnerability
00:22:57.560 so and
00:23:00.440 this is
00:23:00.700 this is the
00:23:01.240 crucial tactical
00:23:01.920 distinction
00:23:02.420 you don't
00:23:04.240 name them
00:23:04.620 as accusations
00:23:05.280 you name
00:23:07.420 them as
00:23:07.800 unexamined
00:23:09.140 inheritances
00:23:10.140 the correct
00:23:12.300 move is
00:23:12.720 not to
00:23:13.360 say this
00:23:14.460 assumption
00:23:14.820 is wrong
00:23:15.360 you could be
00:23:17.720 softer you can
00:23:18.320 say this
00:23:18.680 assumption may
00:23:19.300 have gone
00:23:19.540 too far
00:23:20.100 is it still
00:23:20.900 the right
00:23:21.260 balance
00:23:21.700 get people
00:23:22.980 discussing what
00:23:23.800 the balance
00:23:24.580 is what
00:23:24.960 those trade-offs
00:23:25.860 are
00:23:26.200 and that
00:23:28.220 reframes the
00:23:29.080 issue from
00:23:29.520 morality to
00:23:30.720 calibration
00:23:31.200 so you're not
00:23:32.460 attacking the
00:23:33.120 values
00:23:33.540 you're
00:23:34.380 questioning the
00:23:35.580 parameter
00:23:36.060 setting
00:23:36.500 so state
00:23:38.560 it as an
00:23:38.860 axiom
00:23:39.260 state it
00:23:41.320 plainly
00:23:41.720 we are
00:23:42.580 currently
00:23:43.040 operating as
00:23:43.920 if x is
00:23:45.140 always
00:23:45.480 preferable to
00:23:46.780 y
00:23:47.020 show its
00:23:49.720 justification
00:23:50.140 you can say
00:23:50.800 look this
00:23:51.480 made sense
00:23:52.220 when conditions
00:23:52.880 a b c
00:23:53.580 relevant
00:23:54.800 and you can
00:23:56.160 demonstrate
00:23:56.660 drift
00:23:56.980 you can say
00:23:57.380 those conditions
00:23:58.700 no longer
00:23:59.700 hold
00:24:00.120 but the
00:24:01.080 rule remains
00:24:01.660 and you can
00:24:03.260 pose balancing
00:24:04.060 questions
00:24:04.660 should we
00:24:05.840 rebalance
00:24:06.400 or continue
00:24:07.300 by inertia
00:24:07.940 and as soon
00:24:10.280 as you start
00:24:10.760 framing it
00:24:11.340 like this
00:24:11.760 resistance
00:24:12.240 is going to
00:24:12.780 look irrational
00:24:14.380 rather than
00:24:15.140 righteous
00:24:15.560 and why this
00:24:19.940 works now
00:24:20.520 even though it
00:24:22.000 didn't before
00:24:22.520 free structural
00:24:24.800 shifts have
00:24:25.400 made this
00:24:25.920 powerful today
00:24:27.160 institutional
00:24:29.460 memory loss
00:24:30.340 many officials
00:24:32.140 are enforcing
00:24:33.260 assumptions
00:24:33.800 that they
00:24:34.740 cannot explain
00:24:35.940 and can't
00:24:37.460 justify those
00:24:38.060 trade-offs
00:24:38.460 anymore
00:24:38.820 and outcome
00:24:39.880 pressure
00:24:40.300 assumptions
00:24:41.400 that once
00:24:42.160 reduced risk
00:24:43.240 now generate
00:24:44.700 visible failure
00:24:46.100 and legitimacy
00:24:48.580 fragmentation
00:24:49.660 the system
00:24:50.640 the system
00:24:50.660 can no longer
00:24:51.260 rely on
00:24:51.820 trust us
00:24:52.900 as a response
00:24:53.800 there is no
00:24:54.460 trust left
00:24:55.060 if you name
00:24:57.140 these actions
00:24:57.820 you force
00:24:59.680 the defenders
00:25:00.420 to re-own
00:25:01.860 it
00:25:02.120 and re-litigate
00:25:03.680 the trade-offs
00:25:04.360 and the assumptions
00:25:05.340 that came with
00:25:06.040 it
00:25:06.300 and that's going
00:25:07.860 to be very
00:25:08.180 uncomfortable
00:25:08.580 for them
00:25:09.020 it is often
00:25:10.100 going to be
00:25:10.460 fatal to their
00:25:11.220 authority
00:25:11.720 that's how
00:25:12.340 you can use
00:25:13.180 this
00:25:13.580 you've got to
00:25:15.100 think about
00:25:15.340 how this system
00:25:15.820 is going to
00:25:16.100 respond to this
00:25:16.720 when you name
00:25:18.700 an assumption
00:25:19.240 directly
00:25:19.880 expect accusations
00:25:21.900 of tone
00:25:22.960 rather than
00:25:23.560 substance
00:25:23.940 or claiming
00:25:25.000 that you're
00:25:25.420 changing the
00:25:25.980 subject
00:25:26.260 or reframing
00:25:28.040 calibration
00:25:28.680 as extremism
00:25:29.540 but that's
00:25:31.080 not refuting
00:25:31.680 you
00:25:31.980 that's boundary
00:25:33.480 defence
00:25:34.040 under exposure
00:25:35.480 the moment
00:25:37.260 the defenders
00:25:37.860 stop saying
00:25:38.640 why the
00:25:39.300 assumption
00:25:39.720 exists
00:25:40.560 and start
00:25:41.400 saying how
00:25:41.980 you should
00:25:42.380 speak
00:25:42.780 that means
00:25:43.900 you're winning
00:25:44.340 and these
00:25:45.820 assumptions
00:25:46.340 they collapse
00:25:48.320 when they are
00:25:48.920 just stated
00:25:50.080 clearly
00:25:50.640 and linked
00:25:51.480 to cost
00:25:52.260 and forced
00:25:53.120 into explicit
00:25:54.060 trade-offs
00:25:54.680 and once an
00:25:55.900 axiom is visible
00:25:56.840 it can be
00:25:57.980 debated
00:25:58.340 and it can be
00:25:59.580 limited
00:25:59.940 and it can be
00:26:01.220 partially reversed
00:26:02.260 unspoken rules
00:26:04.320 are absolute
00:26:05.040 spoken rules
00:26:06.440 are negotiable
00:26:07.660 so
00:26:09.400 the strategic
00:26:11.060 takeaway for you
00:26:11.940 is there are
00:26:12.360 two kinds of
00:26:13.260 constraints
00:26:13.720 in the British
00:26:14.240 system
00:26:14.580 those that
00:26:16.600 are actively
00:26:17.020 defended
00:26:17.560 and those
00:26:19.660 that are
00:26:20.380 enforced
00:26:20.780 out of habit
00:26:21.500 those especially
00:26:23.400 you need to
00:26:24.100 name early
00:26:25.060 and your
00:26:26.460 advantage
00:26:26.820 is that
00:26:27.400 many of the
00:26:28.580 most damaging
00:26:29.080 assumptions
00:26:29.540 now fall
00:26:30.140 into the
00:26:30.520 second category
00:26:31.200 you're not
00:26:32.620 proposing a
00:26:33.220 new ideology
00:26:33.940 what you're
00:26:35.100 asking is
00:26:35.880 if the old
00:26:36.560 defaults
00:26:37.260 still serve
00:26:38.300 in the modern
00:26:38.740 world
00:26:39.120 and that's
00:26:39.960 not radical
00:26:40.500 that's
00:26:41.360 governance
00:26:41.820 every system
00:26:45.300 runs on
00:26:46.060 assumption
00:26:46.500 and the
00:26:48.500 danger is
00:26:49.400 not
00:26:50.040 choosing
00:26:50.820 used carefully
00:26:54.020 naming the
00:26:54.900 invisible
00:26:55.360 is no longer
00:26:56.840 a provocation
00:26:57.620 it's a way
00:26:58.220 of restoring
00:26:59.040 your agency
00:27:00.020 axioms
00:27:02.100 that you must
00:27:02.520 name directly
00:27:03.140 Britain has
00:27:05.860 been governed
00:27:06.740 for decades
00:27:08.080 now by
00:27:09.180 an unnamed
00:27:10.540 but decisive
00:27:11.140 axiom
00:27:11.780 that population
00:27:13.800 inflow is
00:27:15.260 preferable to
00:27:16.400 economic
00:27:17.000 adjustment
00:27:17.700 but that
00:27:19.940 assumption
00:27:20.320 was never
00:27:20.700 voted on
00:27:21.260 and it
00:27:22.700 was adopted
00:27:23.200 quietly
00:27:23.880 as a stable
00:27:24.580 option
00:27:24.920 it meant
00:27:26.560 that whenever
00:27:26.920 the system
00:27:27.720 faced
00:27:28.220 labour
00:27:29.300 scarcity
00:27:29.740 or wage
00:27:30.320 pressure
00:27:30.740 or fiscal
00:27:32.340 strain
00:27:32.860 from demographic
00:27:33.900 ageing
00:27:34.480 or debt
00:27:35.180 sustainability
00:27:35.800 the response
00:27:37.980 was not
00:27:38.560 reform or
00:27:39.140 repricing
00:27:39.840 or retrenchment
00:27:41.140 it was
00:27:41.940 importing
00:27:42.560 more
00:27:43.360 people
00:27:44.100 the axiom
00:27:46.320 solved
00:27:47.060 short-term
00:27:47.760 problems
00:27:48.240 it created
00:27:49.680 very big
00:27:50.380 long-term
00:27:50.800 ones
00:27:51.120 and your
00:27:52.280 first task
00:27:53.180 is to
00:27:54.120 say it
00:27:54.780 out
00:27:55.400 loud
00:27:56.240 look
00:27:58.100 this is
00:27:58.480 this axiom
00:27:59.420 of just
00:28:00.480 import me
00:28:01.020 people
00:28:01.380 rather than
00:28:01.860 deal with
00:28:02.160 economic
00:28:02.540 consequences
00:28:03.140 it's drifted
00:28:04.900 far beyond
00:28:05.980 its original
00:28:06.680 justification
00:28:07.360 it began
00:28:09.120 as a
00:28:09.440 pressure
00:28:09.940 release
00:28:10.300 mechanism
00:28:10.780 and it
00:28:11.900 has become
00:28:12.340 the default
00:28:13.120 growth
00:28:13.600 model
00:28:13.920 that suppresses
00:28:15.280 wages
00:28:15.640 and props
00:28:16.640 up weak
00:28:17.220 productivity
00:28:17.760 and inflates
00:28:18.600 housing demand
00:28:19.380 and delays
00:28:20.060 fiscal reckoning
00:28:20.900 and it erodes
00:28:21.740 democratic
00:28:22.820 consent
00:28:23.320 if you name
00:28:25.280 it plainly
00:28:26.100 you will force
00:28:26.980 the real
00:28:27.400 question
00:28:27.940 is permanent
00:28:29.880 population growth
00:28:31.020 still the right
00:28:32.440 substitute
00:28:33.120 for hard
00:28:34.360 economic
00:28:35.020 choices
00:28:35.560 and that
00:28:37.380 question alone
00:28:38.240 gets you to
00:28:39.120 reorder the
00:28:39.820 debate
00:28:40.160 and do be
00:28:41.400 explicit about
00:28:42.000 the trade-offs
00:28:42.500 don't even
00:28:43.320 try and soften
00:28:44.080 them
00:28:44.340 if you intend
00:28:46.300 to reduce
00:28:46.880 immigration
00:28:47.340 materially
00:28:48.040 you must
00:28:49.020 pre-commit
00:28:50.040 to the
00:28:50.560 consequences
00:28:51.240 and the
00:28:52.540 public will
00:28:53.000 tolerate pain
00:28:53.720 if it is
00:28:54.780 named
00:28:55.260 honestly
00:28:55.700 and linked
00:28:56.540 to purpose
00:28:57.200 here are
00:28:59.940 some of the
00:29:00.240 unavoidable
00:29:00.700 trade-offs
00:29:01.120 that you can
00:29:01.500 talk about
00:29:01.980 wages
00:29:03.520 will rise
00:29:04.220 and margins
00:29:05.640 for businesses
00:29:06.320 will fall
00:29:07.120 labour
00:29:08.820 scarcity
00:29:09.840 will reassert
00:29:11.040 itself
00:29:11.440 wages
00:29:13.000 will increase
00:29:13.760 in care
00:29:14.660 hospitality
00:29:15.340 logistics
00:29:16.080 and agriculture
00:29:17.260 and corporate
00:29:18.480 margins
00:29:19.080 will be
00:29:19.740 compressed
00:29:20.280 and a number
00:29:22.120 of low
00:29:22.480 productivity
00:29:22.940 firms
00:29:23.480 will fail
00:29:24.380 this isn't
00:29:25.520 a bug
00:29:25.860 it's a mechanism
00:29:27.340 by which the
00:29:28.000 economy
00:29:28.480 adjusts
00:29:29.920 second
00:29:30.860 debt
00:29:31.900 assumptions
00:29:32.300 will be
00:29:33.220 strained
00:29:33.700 just come
00:29:34.820 out and say
00:29:35.280 it
00:29:35.500 slower population
00:29:37.040 growth means
00:29:37.760 slower headline
00:29:38.780 GDP growth
00:29:39.920 debt to GDP
00:29:41.620 projections are
00:29:42.540 built on
00:29:42.980 perpetual inflows
00:29:44.400 they will break
00:29:45.920 and it will
00:29:47.260 force
00:29:47.780 spending
00:29:49.160 constraints
00:29:49.780 and reprioritisation
00:29:51.780 and visible
00:29:52.940 cuts
00:29:53.440 immigration
00:29:56.400 mass immigration
00:29:57.600 has been
00:29:58.720 masking this
00:29:59.680 fiscal reality
00:30:00.460 for years
00:30:01.340 expose it
00:30:04.360 and reveal
00:30:06.460 the bill
00:30:06.940 third
00:30:08.240 the population
00:30:09.520 is going
00:30:09.820 to age
00:30:10.240 without
00:30:11.780 inflows
00:30:12.500 of
00:30:12.780 lots of
00:30:14.080 young men
00:30:14.460 from north
00:30:14.880 africa
00:30:15.260 the median
00:30:17.480 age is going
00:30:18.080 to rise
00:30:18.520 and dependency
00:30:20.380 ratios that the
00:30:21.480 OBR rely on
00:30:22.320 will get worse
00:30:23.460 and any
00:30:26.220 increase in
00:30:26.880 native birth
00:30:27.520 rate will
00:30:27.860 take 20
00:30:28.500 years to
00:30:29.140 show up
00:30:29.620 say it
00:30:31.120 explicitly
00:30:31.700 demographic
00:30:33.560 repair will
00:30:34.640 not mature
00:30:35.480 while I am
00:30:36.480 prime minister
00:30:37.040 make it clear
00:30:39.220 you're playing
00:30:39.840 the long
00:30:40.300 game
00:30:40.540 and when I
00:30:41.820 put it like
00:30:42.120 that it's
00:30:42.460 obvious why
00:30:43.040 previous
00:30:43.440 governments
00:30:43.740 never did
00:30:44.140 this
00:30:44.440 every previous
00:30:47.220 government
00:30:47.580 tried to
00:30:47.980 reduce
00:30:48.420 immigration
00:30:49.000 without
00:30:49.760 affecting
00:30:50.260 wages
00:30:50.760 control
00:30:52.040 borders
00:30:52.520 without
00:30:53.240 touching
00:30:53.700 debt
00:30:53.940 assumptions
00:30:54.440 signalling
00:30:55.900 toughness
00:30:56.580 without
00:30:57.260 accepting
00:30:57.900 economic
00:30:58.500 slowdown
00:30:59.040 and they
00:30:59.560 all
00:30:59.760 failed
00:31:00.140 they
00:31:01.740 treated
00:31:02.160 immigration
00:31:02.620 as a
00:31:03.080 moral
00:31:03.400 problem
00:31:03.880 or an
00:31:04.400 enforcement
00:31:04.880 problem
00:31:05.340 when actually
00:31:06.960 it was
00:31:07.520 functioning as
00:31:08.500 a prosthetic
00:31:09.980 arm on the
00:31:10.600 economy
00:31:10.980 and you
00:31:12.160 can't
00:31:12.660 remove this
00:31:14.620 prosthetic
00:31:15.240 without having
00:31:16.160 to learn
00:31:16.800 your skills
00:31:17.980 over again
00:31:18.860 and readjusting
00:31:19.880 to it
00:31:20.320 so you're
00:31:23.520 not necessarily
00:31:24.600 even arguing
00:31:25.480 you can do
00:31:26.300 if you want
00:31:26.740 but you don't
00:31:27.100 even need to
00:31:27.900 argue
00:31:28.320 that population
00:31:29.320 inflows are
00:31:29.960 always wrong
00:31:30.500 you're arguing
00:31:32.740 that they've been
00:31:33.600 overused
00:31:34.580 to avoid
00:31:35.620 necessary
00:31:36.400 adjustments
00:31:37.060 framing
00:31:39.480 matters
00:31:40.080 the calibration
00:31:41.740 position is
00:31:42.740 immigration
00:31:44.240 is a tool
00:31:45.240 not a growth
00:31:47.100 model
00:31:47.360 it's not
00:31:48.860 a waste
00:31:49.420 a wage
00:31:50.400 suppression
00:31:51.000 device
00:31:51.860 it's not
00:31:53.280 a debt
00:31:53.820 management
00:31:54.240 strategy
00:31:54.760 and as soon
00:31:56.820 as you say
00:31:57.240 it out loud
00:31:57.740 the reduction
00:31:58.940 becomes rational
00:31:59.880 rather than
00:32:00.460 punitive
00:32:00.920 and the order
00:32:02.140 matters
00:32:02.620 name the
00:32:03.880 axiom
00:32:04.380 publicly
00:32:05.580 explain what
00:32:07.640 immigration has
00:32:08.400 been compensating
00:32:09.440 for
00:32:09.840 state clearly
00:32:11.880 that the balance
00:32:12.680 has gone too
00:32:13.340 far
00:32:13.620 get people
00:32:14.280 debating it
00:32:15.040 and pre-commit
00:32:17.180 to the costs
00:32:17.920 that you're
00:32:18.280 going to face
00:32:18.680 yes there will
00:32:19.800 be wage
00:32:20.200 pressure
00:32:20.540 yes there will
00:32:21.820 be fiscal
00:32:22.280 tightening
00:32:22.700 yes there will
00:32:23.680 be slower
00:32:24.140 growth
00:32:24.480 yes the
00:32:24.980 population
00:32:25.440 will age
00:32:25.960 the short
00:32:27.420 term pain
00:32:28.560 to long
00:32:29.840 term sovereignty
00:32:30.760 that's what
00:32:32.840 you've got to
00:32:33.200 sell
00:32:33.420 higher wages
00:32:35.420 fewer people
00:32:37.120 competing for
00:32:37.740 households
00:32:38.240 the institutions
00:32:40.800 need to be
00:32:41.320 forced to
00:32:41.780 adapt
00:32:42.100 and it's
00:32:43.880 a demographic
00:32:44.580 strategy which
00:32:45.400 is rooted in
00:32:46.080 citizens
00:32:46.720 not migrants
00:32:48.540 and then
00:32:51.480 tighten
00:32:51.740 immigration
00:32:52.200 people will
00:32:53.640 support you
00:32:54.180 if they
00:32:55.060 understand why
00:32:55.600 you're doing
00:32:55.920 it and they
00:32:56.900 understand there
00:32:57.440 will be costs
00:32:57.980 you disarm
00:32:58.600 your opponents
00:32:59.240 now when you
00:33:00.600 do this
00:33:01.200 expect treasury
00:33:02.920 warnings about
00:33:03.540 growth and
00:33:04.120 business backlash
00:33:05.400 over margins
00:33:06.180 and media
00:33:07.320 focusing on
00:33:08.320 closures and
00:33:09.260 price rises
00:33:10.020 and oh this
00:33:11.240 80 year old
00:33:12.800 firm has just
00:33:13.360 gone out of
00:33:13.780 business because
00:33:14.340 they can't hire
00:33:15.080 people or
00:33:15.860 meaning that
00:33:17.180 they're not
00:33:17.420 prepared to pay
00:33:17.900 the wages or
00:33:18.580 the business
00:33:19.060 was insufficiently
00:33:20.320 productive in
00:33:21.100 order to pay
00:33:21.600 the correct
00:33:22.560 level of wages
00:33:23.260 it's a moral
00:33:26.660 reframing of
00:33:27.800 economic adjustment
00:33:29.120 as cruelty
00:33:29.720 that is what
00:33:30.240 they will go
00:33:30.660 with
00:33:30.940 right and
00:33:33.120 this is not
00:33:34.260 opposition to
00:33:35.220 immigration
00:33:35.640 control
00:33:36.240 it's resistance
00:33:37.600 to losing the
00:33:38.780 adjustment buffer
00:33:39.860 that immigration
00:33:41.200 provided the
00:33:42.220 prosthetic that
00:33:42.980 it was providing
00:33:43.580 the economy
00:33:44.220 if you have
00:33:45.200 already named
00:33:45.880 the trade-offs
00:33:46.540 all of this
00:33:47.720 resistance is
00:33:48.400 going to lose
00:33:48.900 its force
00:33:49.440 you shouldn't
00:33:51.400 be afraid to
00:33:52.020 say yes
00:33:52.920 prices will rise
00:33:53.780 some firms
00:33:55.140 will fail
00:33:55.600 debt assumptions
00:33:57.120 will have to
00:33:57.640 adjust and the
00:33:58.980 demographic payoff
00:34:00.180 will come after
00:34:01.580 this parliament
00:34:02.200 once I'm out of
00:34:03.560 losses and the
00:34:04.860 cost of building
00:34:05.660 an economy that
00:34:06.440 works without
00:34:07.140 importing people
00:34:08.340 if you can do
00:34:09.280 that you'll get
00:34:10.880 the backing
00:34:11.380 make it clear
00:34:12.800 people will
00:34:14.200 understand and
00:34:15.600 accept
00:34:15.920 so the key
00:34:17.340 takeaway is that
00:34:18.040 immigration policy
00:34:19.300 cannot succeed
00:34:20.340 unless it's
00:34:21.000 subordinated to
00:34:22.040 labour repricing
00:34:23.000 to fiscal realism
00:34:25.200 and demographic
00:34:26.040 honesty
00:34:26.500 once you expose
00:34:28.900 the axiom
00:34:29.540 recalibrate it
00:34:30.740 openly
00:34:31.220 the debate shifts
00:34:32.060 from are you
00:34:33.600 anti-immigrant
00:34:34.360 to what kind of
00:34:36.380 economy do we
00:34:37.020 want to run
00:34:37.520 that is a
00:34:39.260 fight that you
00:34:39.680 can win if
00:34:40.940 you are willing
00:34:41.540 to own the
00:34:42.040 costs
00:34:42.420 also future
00:34:44.720 prime minister
00:34:45.240 Nigel Farage
00:34:46.060 the British
00:34:48.780 constitution you've
00:34:49.620 got to understand
00:34:50.060 at this point
00:34:50.500 it's statistical
00:34:51.380 metrics are the
00:34:54.560 law at this
00:34:55.380 point the
00:34:56.200 core reality
00:34:56.780 that you've
00:34:57.200 got to
00:34:57.440 internalize
00:34:58.100 is that
00:34:59.440 Britain is
00:34:59.920 not ultimately
00:35:00.520 governed by
00:35:01.120 statute or
00:35:02.600 votes
00:35:02.980 it's governed
00:35:03.900 by a series
00:35:04.520 of metrics
00:35:05.100 what
00:35:07.260 constrains
00:35:07.860 action in
00:35:08.380 practice is
00:35:09.140 not parliamentary
00:35:10.120 arithmetic or
00:35:11.100 manifesto
00:35:12.000 commitments or
00:35:12.760 or even legal
00:35:13.960 formalities
00:35:14.640 but bond
00:35:15.840 yields
00:35:16.260 GDP
00:35:18.020 trajectories
00:35:18.760 credit
00:35:19.180 ratings
00:35:19.760 regulatory
00:35:21.140 benchmarks
00:35:21.940 international
00:35:23.540 legal
00:35:24.700 NGOs
00:35:25.800 indices
00:35:27.440 all of these
00:35:28.580 are operating
00:35:29.120 as a shadow
00:35:29.920 constitution
00:35:30.540 and they're
00:35:31.860 powerful
00:35:32.420 precisely because
00:35:33.840 they're presented
00:35:34.540 as technical
00:35:35.560 and apolitical
00:35:37.460 and inevitable
00:35:38.180 they're none of
00:35:39.180 those things
00:35:39.640 so the axiom
00:35:41.400 you must name
00:35:41.940 here
00:35:42.380 markets
00:35:43.700 and institutional
00:35:45.400 legibility
00:35:46.300 outranks
00:35:47.800 demographic choice
00:35:49.340 and this is
00:35:52.160 something that has
00:35:52.620 emerged gradually
00:35:53.380 to stabilize
00:35:55.240 borrowing costs
00:35:56.180 and reassure
00:35:56.960 investors and to
00:35:57.960 embed Britain
00:35:58.800 into an
00:35:59.560 international
00:36:00.020 system
00:36:00.560 but it is
00:36:02.460 hardened into
00:36:03.220 a rule
00:36:03.720 and if
00:36:05.520 policy disturbs
00:36:07.020 these metrics
00:36:07.860 it is considered
00:36:09.040 irresponsible
00:36:09.980 regardless of
00:36:11.040 how much of a
00:36:11.580 mandate you have
00:36:12.360 regardless of
00:36:13.880 how many votes
00:36:14.460 you win in
00:36:14.880 parliament
00:36:15.180 so naming
00:36:16.100 these axioms
00:36:17.120 matter
00:36:17.760 because you
00:36:18.980 have to
00:36:19.440 reverse the
00:36:20.160 hierarchy
00:36:20.720 numbers now
00:36:22.240 discipline
00:36:22.700 politics
00:36:23.500 politics no
00:36:24.960 longer disciplines
00:36:25.760 numbers
00:36:26.340 the left
00:36:27.980 has tried
00:36:29.300 to grapple
00:36:29.980 with this
00:36:30.320 idea
00:36:30.660 but they
00:36:31.020 can never
00:36:31.540 they often
00:36:32.860 say things
00:36:33.400 like why
00:36:33.860 are we
00:36:34.060 dominated
00:36:34.540 by the
00:36:34.940 bond
00:36:35.140 markets
00:36:35.620 they're
00:36:36.700 trying to
00:36:37.160 grapple
00:36:37.460 with this
00:36:37.740 without
00:36:37.960 understanding
00:36:38.640 really the
00:36:39.180 mechanism
00:36:39.580 of what's
00:36:39.980 going on
00:36:40.500 they don't
00:36:42.200 they haven't
00:36:42.900 seen how
00:36:43.460 we've been
00:36:43.820 lulled into
00:36:44.420 this
00:36:44.720 and actually
00:36:45.620 they're addressing
00:36:46.140 the right
00:36:47.560 question
00:36:47.920 because none
00:36:48.500 of the
00:36:48.700 trade-offs
00:36:49.100 have ever
00:36:49.360 been faced
00:36:49.880 so you're
00:36:50.600 going to
00:36:50.780 recognise
00:36:51.240 these
00:36:51.480 constraints
00:36:51.900 when you
00:36:52.200 come up
00:36:52.480 against them
00:36:52.900 because the
00:36:53.300 treasury
00:36:53.600 will come to
00:36:54.380 you and
00:36:54.580 they say
00:36:55.040 sorry but
00:36:55.640 this is
00:36:55.900 unaffordable
00:36:56.360 or the
00:36:58.000 markets will
00:36:58.780 react before
00:36:59.480 the legislation
00:37:00.140 is even
00:37:00.540 passed
00:37:00.960 and credit
00:37:01.520 agencies
00:37:02.540 they're going
00:37:02.960 to issue
00:37:03.920 warnings based
00:37:04.960 on expectations
00:37:05.980 not outcomes
00:37:07.600 they just go
00:37:08.580 straight out there
00:37:09.260 what they
00:37:09.600 expect the
00:37:10.320 policy to
00:37:10.800 do
00:37:11.020 and legal
00:37:13.120 and NGO
00:37:13.560 frameworks
00:37:14.300 will be
00:37:15.040 cited as
00:37:15.800 immovable
00:37:16.620 facts
00:37:17.140 none of
00:37:18.800 this is going
00:37:19.160 to get
00:37:19.320 framed as
00:37:19.760 opposition to
00:37:20.340 you from
00:37:20.680 within the
00:37:21.060 system
00:37:21.360 it will be
00:37:23.040 framed as
00:37:23.600 reality
00:37:24.020 asserting
00:37:24.460 itself
00:37:24.880 and this
00:37:26.440 is the
00:37:26.720 moment
00:37:26.980 that most
00:37:27.560 leaders
00:37:28.060 retreat
00:37:29.280 every Labour
00:37:30.640 and Tory
00:37:31.440 Prime Minister
00:37:32.020 have always
00:37:32.800 retreated
00:37:33.440 when they
00:37:33.700 got to
00:37:34.040 this point
00:37:34.500 and you
00:37:35.920 need to
00:37:36.240 understand
00:37:36.580 what is
00:37:36.900 actually
00:37:37.360 happening
00:37:37.640 these metrics
00:37:39.600 have power
00:37:40.060 because they
00:37:40.500 concentrate
00:37:41.100 risk
00:37:41.660 you know
00:37:42.460 a small
00:37:43.060 movement
00:37:43.380 in yields
00:37:44.020 can cause
00:37:44.560 a cascade
00:37:45.000 through the
00:37:45.880 entire
00:37:46.180 system
00:37:46.580 they shift
00:37:48.400 blame
00:37:48.800 decisions
00:37:49.600 are framed
00:37:50.260 as what
00:37:50.620 the market
00:37:51.100 requires
00:37:51.720 not political
00:37:52.280 choice
00:37:52.720 and they
00:37:53.620 preempt
00:37:54.140 debate
00:37:54.580 because by
00:37:55.100 the time
00:37:56.320 parliament
00:37:56.780 speaks
00:37:57.460 it's already
00:37:59.020 been priced
00:37:59.620 in
00:37:59.860 and this
00:38:01.640 allows
00:38:01.900 institutions
00:38:02.520 to veto
00:38:03.060 policy
00:38:03.600 without
00:38:04.120 appearing
00:38:04.480 to choose
00:38:04.980 it
00:38:05.220 so don't
00:38:07.160 deny the
00:38:07.600 power of
00:38:08.020 markets
00:38:08.400 don't pretend
00:38:09.240 these metrics
00:38:09.860 don't matter
00:38:10.440 or posture
00:38:12.200 against global
00:38:12.960 finance
00:38:13.480 you know
00:38:13.920 the typical
00:38:14.780 silly left
00:38:15.360 wing idea
00:38:15.860 of how to
00:38:16.220 handle this
00:38:16.760 because that
00:38:18.180 path leads
00:38:19.340 immediately
00:38:20.060 into a loss
00:38:20.980 of credibility
00:38:21.600 and control
00:38:22.240 equally don't
00:38:24.840 surrender policy
00:38:25.700 to metrics
00:38:26.400 as if they
00:38:26.980 were laws
00:38:27.440 of nature
00:38:28.060 your task
00:38:29.640 is re-ranking
00:38:30.740 not denial
00:38:31.920 so the correct
00:38:33.460 framing is
00:38:34.020 metrics are
00:38:35.440 tools not
00:38:35.960 masters
00:38:36.360 and they
00:38:37.780 inform those
00:38:38.900 trade-offs
00:38:39.620 that you've
00:38:40.000 always got to
00:38:40.480 be thinking
00:38:40.860 about and
00:38:41.260 articulating
00:38:42.060 they don't
00:38:43.280 dictate values
00:38:44.160 and this
00:38:45.140 reframes the
00:38:46.240 issue from
00:38:46.760 reckless
00:38:47.620 politics to
00:38:48.460 responsible
00:38:49.160 economics
00:38:49.780 talk about
00:38:51.220 which cost
00:38:52.100 do we
00:38:52.400 accept
00:38:52.900 and which
00:38:54.440 do we
00:38:54.780 reject
00:38:55.220 and as
00:38:56.500 soon as
00:38:56.760 you frame
00:38:57.660 it like
00:38:57.960 that
00:38:58.260 democratic
00:38:58.820 choice is
00:38:59.380 going to
00:38:59.580 re-enter
00:38:59.900 the system
00:39:00.440 and again
00:39:01.180 be explicit
00:39:01.800 about the
00:39:02.140 trade-offs
00:39:02.600 bond yields
00:39:03.740 may rise
00:39:04.460 temporarily
00:39:04.940 growth may
00:39:05.940 slow
00:39:06.300 fiscal
00:39:07.460 headroom
00:39:07.880 may
00:39:08.280 tighten
00:39:08.620 spending
00:39:11.040 plans built
00:39:11.920 on these
00:39:12.700 optimistic
00:39:13.300 assumptions
00:39:13.900 are going
00:39:14.580 to need
00:39:14.880 revision
00:39:15.240 and you
00:39:16.980 must also
00:39:17.420 state why
00:39:18.440 you are
00:39:18.800 bearing the
00:39:19.260 cost because
00:39:19.740 it restores
00:39:20.540 policy
00:39:22.180 sovereignty
00:39:22.700 it forces
00:39:24.480 honest budgeting
00:39:25.740 it ends
00:39:27.900 the illusion
00:39:28.400 of cost-free
00:39:28.980 governance
00:39:29.540 short-term
00:39:31.620 pain is the
00:39:33.380 price for
00:39:33.760 long-term
00:39:34.080 control
00:39:34.580 and again
00:39:35.260 I believe
00:39:35.720 the British
00:39:36.060 public would
00:39:36.480 be willing
00:39:36.880 to accept
00:39:37.560 it if you
00:39:38.160 make it
00:39:38.460 explicit
00:39:39.000 and clear
00:39:39.680 so you've
00:39:41.340 got to
00:39:41.480 require the
00:39:42.060 treasury and
00:39:43.100 regulators to
00:39:43.780 show which
00:39:44.760 assumptions
00:39:45.400 drive their
00:39:46.600 projections
00:39:47.040 and which
00:39:48.360 outcomes are
00:39:48.940 prioritized
00:39:49.620 and what
00:39:50.760 alternatives
00:39:51.740 were rejected
00:39:52.460 and you've
00:39:53.720 got to
00:39:53.960 time-bind
00:39:54.800 market
00:39:55.840 discipline
00:39:56.300 make clear
00:39:57.580 which risks
00:39:58.460 you accept
00:39:58.920 now to
00:39:59.380 reduce
00:39:59.880 larger future
00:40:01.300 risks
00:40:01.800 but the
00:40:03.200 markets will
00:40:03.840 respond to
00:40:04.380 credible
00:40:04.720 narratives
00:40:05.200 not just
00:40:05.980 austerity
00:40:06.900 and you've
00:40:08.220 got to
00:40:08.360 create
00:40:08.560 political
00:40:08.960 ownership
00:40:09.480 again
00:40:10.200 keep going
00:40:11.000 back to
00:40:11.340 that
00:40:11.460 political
00:40:12.000 ownership
00:40:12.460 stop
00:40:13.460 pretending
00:40:13.860 that these
00:40:14.180 forecasts are
00:40:14.820 neutral
00:40:15.160 named
00:40:17.000 ministers
00:40:17.740 get
00:40:19.220 attached to
00:40:19.840 them
00:40:20.080 assumptions
00:40:20.900 and revisions
00:40:21.640 and sequence
00:40:23.480 the reforms
00:40:24.160 do not go
00:40:25.380 after every
00:40:25.820 metric at once
00:40:26.520 pick battles
00:40:27.960 where you can
00:40:28.840 where it's
00:40:29.400 visible
00:40:29.840 you've exposed
00:40:31.060 it and
00:40:31.740 you've won
00:40:32.780 the debate
00:40:33.260 which you
00:40:33.880 will if you
00:40:34.520 frame the
00:40:35.240 axiom
00:40:35.660 correctly
00:40:36.220 and again
00:40:37.760 here the
00:40:38.340 resistance is
00:40:39.240 going to look
00:40:39.580 about warnings
00:40:41.620 about confidence
00:40:42.300 or accusations
00:40:43.560 of responsibility
00:40:44.420 you'll get
00:40:46.400 anonymous briefings
00:40:47.500 to the press
00:40:48.080 sudden
00:40:49.580 reference for
00:40:50.400 the norms
00:40:51.640 and that's not
00:40:53.340 economic speaking
00:40:54.180 that's authority
00:40:55.120 defending itself
00:40:56.140 through a series
00:40:56.780 of abstractions
00:40:57.680 if you have
00:40:59.400 already named
00:41:00.360 the axiom
00:41:01.000 and the
00:41:02.480 trade-offs
00:41:03.040 this resistance
00:41:05.120 is going to
00:41:05.680 lose all
00:41:06.260 of its
00:41:06.500 power
00:41:06.840 metrics
00:41:08.160 became
00:41:08.620 dominant
00:41:09.140 because they
00:41:09.860 were the
00:41:10.100 only thing
00:41:10.600 left
00:41:11.140 that could
00:41:12.300 discipline
00:41:12.940 a state
00:41:13.900 as complicated
00:41:14.880 as the
00:41:16.820 British state
00:41:17.280 is today
00:41:17.740 and your
00:41:19.060 goal is not
00:41:19.560 to abolish
00:41:20.180 them
00:41:20.420 you've got to
00:41:21.120 re-embed them
00:41:22.160 within political
00:41:23.440 judgment
00:41:23.840 because a system
00:41:25.160 that is governed
00:41:26.800 only by numbers
00:41:27.800 loses legitimacy
00:41:29.500 that is exactly
00:41:30.400 what we see
00:41:30.960 now
00:41:31.280 a system
00:41:32.820 that ignores
00:41:33.600 numbers
00:41:34.040 loses
00:41:34.800 sovereignty
00:41:35.740 that's where
00:41:36.660 we are now
00:41:37.260 you've got to
00:41:38.840 explicitly choose
00:41:40.360 the balance
00:41:40.920 not just inherit
00:41:42.020 whatever you get
00:41:42.920 your line should be
00:41:45.120 something like
00:41:45.620 we will be judged
00:41:47.800 not just on what
00:41:49.020 the numbers say
00:41:49.680 this quarter
00:41:50.260 but on whether
00:41:51.020 those numbers
00:41:51.660 reflect a country
00:41:52.600 that still governs
00:41:53.640 itself
00:41:54.040 and that's telling
00:41:55.500 markets that you're
00:41:56.260 serious
00:41:56.740 not naive about
00:41:57.800 the decisions
00:41:58.520 that you're making
00:41:59.200 and again
00:42:00.660 name the assumptions
00:42:02.500 name the trade-offs
00:42:04.200 pick
00:42:05.700 and explain
00:42:07.340 that you're doing
00:42:07.840 it for the long-term
00:42:08.700 health
00:42:09.040 once you start
00:42:10.820 recalibrating
00:42:11.560 immigration and
00:42:12.340 wages and fiscal
00:42:13.200 assumptions
00:42:13.680 the statistical
00:42:15.800 constitution will
00:42:16.900 become your main
00:42:17.640 battlefield
00:42:18.120 if you pretend
00:42:20.320 it isn't there
00:42:20.820 it's going to
00:42:21.180 stop you
00:42:21.680 and if you submit
00:42:23.280 to it entirely
00:42:24.020 it's going to
00:42:24.620 hollow out your
00:42:25.180 mandate
00:42:25.620 name it
00:42:26.860 contextualize it
00:42:27.880 and own the
00:42:28.600 trade-offs
00:42:29.160 then you can
00:42:30.500 move
00:42:30.820 this is where
00:42:32.660 most reformed
00:42:33.440 projects die
00:42:34.100 and it's also
00:42:35.940 where the first
00:42:36.700 real shift in
00:42:37.780 incentives can occur
00:42:38.940 so let's consider
00:42:41.140 what your failure
00:42:43.200 mode looks like
00:42:44.000 coming into
00:42:44.720 coming into
00:42:45.680 Downing Street
00:42:46.300 the core danger
00:42:48.880 the greatest risk
00:42:49.800 that you face
00:42:50.240 is not overreach
00:42:51.220 it's absorption
00:42:52.380 into this system
00:42:54.380 that I'm describing
00:42:55.160 the British
00:42:57.120 system is
00:42:57.600 extremely good
00:42:58.700 at taking
00:42:59.220 leaders like
00:42:59.860 you
00:43:00.100 elected for
00:43:01.040 change
00:43:01.500 with a mandate
00:43:03.740 and converting
00:43:05.100 them into
00:43:05.480 caretakers
00:43:06.240 of inherited
00:43:07.080 constraints
00:43:07.780 while ensuring
00:43:09.900 that you own
00:43:11.020 the disappointment
00:43:11.720 of your
00:43:12.500 supporters
00:43:13.040 for not
00:43:13.960 delivering
00:43:14.360 and this
00:43:16.580 happens
00:43:16.920 it happens
00:43:17.400 all the time
00:43:18.120 it's happened
00:43:18.420 my entire life
00:43:19.280 it happens
00:43:20.100 quietly
00:43:20.840 and procedurally
00:43:22.000 and it does
00:43:23.600 it more to
00:43:24.160 the point
00:43:24.440 with your
00:43:24.880 apparent
00:43:25.500 consent
00:43:26.240 the first
00:43:27.460 invisible wall
00:43:28.160 will be
00:43:28.420 something like
00:43:28.840 this is not
00:43:30.140 how things
00:43:30.520 are done
00:43:30.780 Prime Minister
00:43:31.320 early in your
00:43:33.740 term
00:43:34.040 your civil
00:43:34.980 servants
00:43:35.440 are going to
00:43:36.180 be saying
00:43:36.600 that your
00:43:36.860 proposed
00:43:37.220 actions
00:43:37.680 are
00:43:38.140 you know
00:43:39.540 they might
00:43:41.680 be popular
00:43:42.260 and they might
00:43:43.600 be electorally
00:43:44.600 mandated
00:43:45.040 and they might
00:43:45.560 be superficially
00:43:46.660 straightforward
00:43:47.200 so they won't
00:43:49.640 be rejected
00:43:50.100 outright
00:43:50.520 instead you'll
00:43:51.260 hear this
00:43:51.820 raises
00:43:52.200 concerns
00:43:52.740 we need
00:43:54.560 to be
00:43:54.800 careful
00:43:55.160 there are
00:43:56.980 legal and
00:43:57.800 reputational
00:43:58.540 risks
00:43:58.940 Prime Minister
00:43:59.500 and you're
00:44:01.420 going to be
00:44:01.640 offered slightly
00:44:02.380 modified versions
00:44:03.400 of your
00:44:03.740 proposals
00:44:04.240 that protect
00:44:07.240 these existing
00:44:08.160 assumptions
00:44:08.620 and they
00:44:10.100 defer the
00:44:10.760 real costs
00:44:11.400 and that they
00:44:13.460 leave vetoed
00:44:14.400 power we've
00:44:15.100 talked about
00:44:15.640 untouched
00:44:16.780 and if you
00:44:19.140 accept these
00:44:19.980 reasonable
00:44:20.780 compromises
00:44:21.540 promises you
00:44:22.380 have already
00:44:23.340 lost you
00:44:24.220 are being
00:44:24.640 absorbed into
00:44:25.320 the system
00:44:25.820 and understand
00:44:28.180 look you are
00:44:28.740 going to be
00:44:29.060 praised when
00:44:30.740 you respect
00:44:32.060 independent
00:44:32.680 institutions and
00:44:33.860 soften rhetoric
00:44:34.680 and you defer
00:44:35.540 to their
00:44:35.940 process and
00:44:37.680 you accept
00:44:38.340 treasury
00:44:39.120 constraints
00:44:40.140 when you
00:44:41.800 avoid the
00:44:42.560 rocking the
00:44:43.000 boat
00:44:43.240 right and
00:44:44.800 this praise
00:44:45.640 when you get
00:44:46.340 it from
00:44:46.920 within the
00:44:47.320 system that's
00:44:48.600 a warning
00:44:49.000 signal it
00:44:50.540 means that
00:44:51.200 you are
00:44:51.540 governing in
00:44:52.020 a way that
00:44:52.520 the system
00:44:53.200 considers safe
00:44:54.340 and what
00:44:55.040 safe means
00:44:55.820 here is no
00:44:56.960 reallocation of
00:44:57.760 risk no
00:44:59.000 exposure of the
00:44:59.780 axioms no
00:45:01.060 forced trade-offs
00:45:01.940 and you're going
00:45:02.900 to be called
00:45:03.380 grown-up and
00:45:05.500 you will also be
00:45:06.680 neutralized in that
00:45:07.980 same process
00:45:08.700 capture by
00:45:10.800 advisors not
00:45:12.760 enemies is
00:45:13.300 something you need
00:45:13.700 to be aware of
00:45:14.400 you're not
00:45:15.780 going to end up
00:45:16.200 getting captured
00:45:16.660 by ideological
00:45:17.260 opponents you
00:45:19.660 will be captured
00:45:20.620 by competent
00:45:22.180 well-meaning
00:45:23.480 insiders and
00:45:26.000 they will appear
00:45:27.460 to share your
00:45:28.180 goals and they
00:45:29.480 just warn you
00:45:30.060 about feasibility
00:45:30.840 and suggest
00:45:32.240 sequencing later
00:45:33.260 to help you
00:45:34.920 avoid early
00:45:35.640 failure but
00:45:36.900 everything is
00:45:38.220 they're probably
00:45:38.660 sincere they
00:45:40.360 are also the
00:45:41.160 system's immune
00:45:41.880 response and
00:45:43.460 each concession is
00:45:44.480 going to feel
00:45:44.840 small but the
00:45:45.820 cumulative effect
00:45:46.720 is going to be
00:45:47.440 total you'll have
00:45:49.540 the illusion of
00:45:50.100 progress you'll be
00:45:52.180 at a point if you
00:45:52.820 go down this path
00:45:53.620 to legislation
00:45:55.580 passed and
00:45:56.380 speeches made
00:45:57.280 and task force
00:45:58.100 launched and
00:45:59.020 enforcement
00:46:00.000 announced and
00:46:01.680 the public will
00:46:02.260 see motion
00:46:02.940 the outcomes
00:46:05.220 will not change
00:46:06.280 and why because
00:46:08.440 immigration numbers
00:46:09.500 will remain
00:46:09.860 structurally high
00:46:10.660 wages will remain
00:46:12.180 suppressed housing
00:46:13.380 remains scarce
00:46:15.040 debt assumptions
00:46:16.520 remain untouched
00:46:17.760 you will discover
00:46:18.940 that activity is
00:46:20.880 not leverage
00:46:22.240 the system in this
00:46:23.960 case still has the
00:46:24.800 leverage and then
00:46:26.920 the blame will be
00:46:27.440 transferred to you
00:46:28.140 once it has become
00:46:28.900 clear that the
00:46:29.540 outcomes have not
00:46:30.340 shifted the system
00:46:31.900 executes its final
00:46:33.140 move which it
00:46:33.860 always does
00:46:34.660 failures are
00:46:35.960 personalized
00:46:36.500 constraints are
00:46:38.320 forgotten
00:46:38.660 your mandate is
00:46:40.760 reinterpreted as
00:46:41.620 incompetence
00:46:42.280 this has happened
00:46:43.420 to again all of
00:46:46.540 the politicians in
00:46:47.280 my lifetime
00:46:47.860 increasingly more
00:46:49.120 so with the last
00:46:50.600 three or four and
00:46:53.240 then they start
00:46:53.740 saying things like
00:46:54.300 he promised too
00:46:54.880 much and he
00:46:55.940 didn't understand
00:46:56.500 complexity and
00:46:57.420 populism doesn't
00:46:58.560 work the
00:47:00.280 institutions that
00:47:01.080 block you will
00:47:02.240 present themselves as
00:47:03.300 stabilizers who
00:47:04.320 prevented much
00:47:05.860 worse damage and
00:47:07.780 it's the oldest move
00:47:08.460 in the book and
00:47:10.420 then you're going to
00:47:10.880 end up hated like
00:47:11.780 everybody else like
00:47:12.800 Keir Starmer is
00:47:13.780 right now and from
00:47:15.580 the public's
00:47:16.160 perspective nothing
00:47:17.060 will have improved
00:47:17.840 and the costs
00:47:19.040 continue rising and
00:47:20.580 trust erodes further
00:47:21.660 and from the
00:47:22.940 system's perspective
00:47:23.920 continuity has been
00:47:25.560 preserved risk
00:47:27.020 remains externalized
00:47:28.980 the blame has been
00:47:30.640 successfully
00:47:31.380 reassigned to you
00:47:33.480 and you will become
00:47:35.880 completely indistinguishable
00:47:37.900 from any late stage
00:47:39.440 conservative government
00:47:40.440 or technocratic
00:47:41.640 labor administration
00:47:42.860 different language
00:47:44.340 same outcomes
00:47:45.300 that is how
00:47:46.880 mandate decay
00:47:48.480 happens again
00:47:49.740 and again
00:47:50.360 and in the end of
00:47:52.680 the term the failure
00:47:53.420 will look like
00:47:54.020 you're accused of
00:47:55.400 betraying your
00:47:56.380 supporters
00:47:56.800 and dismissed as
00:47:58.620 reckless by your
00:47:59.440 opponents
00:47:59.900 but you will be
00:48:01.920 quietly respected
00:48:03.280 by the institutions
00:48:04.340 for not breaking
00:48:05.200 anything
00:48:05.560 and nothing
00:48:07.120 fundamental will
00:48:07.920 have changed
00:48:08.380 and this is not
00:48:10.300 an accident
00:48:10.800 this is the
00:48:12.480 default outcome
00:48:13.720 for leaders
00:48:14.440 who make the
00:48:15.340 mistake of
00:48:15.880 operating skill
00:48:17.240 for structural
00:48:18.800 leverage
00:48:19.340 and the key
00:48:22.100 mistake that
00:48:22.680 produces all of
00:48:23.400 this is confusing
00:48:24.380 governing well
00:48:25.720 inside the system
00:48:26.700 with governing
00:48:27.820 at all
00:48:28.720 the system
00:48:30.780 rewards leaders
00:48:31.880 who manage
00:48:32.580 expectations downwards
00:48:33.840 and absorb
00:48:35.360 blame upwards
00:48:36.140 and leave incentives
00:48:38.600 untouched
00:48:39.400 those leaders
00:48:41.140 are praised
00:48:41.940 as mature
00:48:42.480 and they are
00:48:44.040 also replaced
00:48:45.020 and forgotten
00:48:46.680 so the warnings
00:48:49.120 you should take
00:48:49.660 seriously
00:48:50.240 is if six months
00:48:52.140 into office
00:48:52.800 the treasury
00:48:53.920 is comfortable
00:48:54.520 regulators are calm
00:48:57.000 markets are
00:48:58.220 reassured
00:48:58.740 the press
00:48:59.840 is bored
00:49:00.280 but the outcomes
00:49:02.800 are unchanged
00:49:03.780 that doesn't mean
00:49:05.100 that you're winning
00:49:05.560 time
00:49:06.000 that means that
00:49:06.760 you are being
00:49:07.360 processed into the
00:49:08.300 system
00:49:08.620 failure does not
00:49:11.960 look like chaos
00:49:12.760 it looks like
00:49:14.460 smooth continuity
00:49:16.180 new party branding
00:49:18.040 the danger is not
00:49:19.960 that the system
00:49:20.540 fights you
00:49:21.340 the danger is that
00:49:22.700 it will accept you
00:49:23.680 on its own terms
00:49:24.960 and that's how
00:49:26.060 every recent
00:49:27.140 government has
00:49:27.660 lost its mandate
00:49:28.400 without even
00:49:29.080 realising that
00:49:30.200 it happened
00:49:30.700 and then you see
00:49:31.980 like we have
00:49:32.780 the last three or
00:49:33.440 four prime ministers
00:49:34.320 with a silly look
00:49:35.940 on their face
00:49:36.520 wondering what
00:49:37.380 happened
00:49:37.840 it's because they
00:49:39.540 got absorbed
00:49:40.060 into the system
00:49:40.860 that I'm trying
00:49:41.360 to describe to you
00:49:42.240 so let's turn it
00:49:44.760 around now
00:49:45.200 and look at
00:49:45.860 what would your
00:49:47.580 success actually
00:49:48.620 look like
00:49:49.200 well first
00:49:50.620 and this is
00:49:51.460 completely non
00:49:52.100 renegotiable
00:49:52.820 you redefine success
00:49:54.440 if you define
00:49:56.780 success as
00:49:57.800 immediate delivery
00:49:58.720 or rapid
00:49:59.680 material improvement
00:50:00.620 or visible
00:50:01.780 transformation in
00:50:02.660 one term
00:50:03.200 you will fail
00:50:04.440 even if you do
00:50:05.480 everything else
00:50:05.920 perfectly
00:50:06.340 the success
00:50:08.880 condition of these
00:50:09.820 constraints is
00:50:10.440 different
00:50:10.940 success means
00:50:12.480 shifting incentives
00:50:13.900 and timelines
00:50:15.340 and expectations
00:50:17.280 so that improvement
00:50:18.720 becomes structurally
00:50:20.560 likely
00:50:21.340 even if it's not
00:50:22.540 yet visible
00:50:23.040 but you are
00:50:25.100 not here
00:50:25.800 to finish
00:50:26.880 the repair
00:50:27.400 you are here
00:50:28.980 to make sure
00:50:29.580 that repair
00:50:30.120 is unavoidable
00:50:31.180 the core move
00:50:33.320 change the time
00:50:35.280 horizon of politics
00:50:36.500 Britain has been
00:50:38.100 governed for too
00:50:38.820 long
00:50:38.980 most western nations
00:50:39.860 are on artificially
00:50:41.440 short time
00:50:42.440 horizons
00:50:43.040 immediate reassurance
00:50:46.460 cost defer
00:50:47.260 permanent drift
00:50:48.100 success requires
00:50:50.620 you to stretch
00:50:51.500 the public
00:50:52.080 time horizon
00:50:52.860 not pretend
00:50:53.860 those costs
00:50:54.420 don't exist
00:50:55.020 and it's not
00:50:56.080 pessimism
00:50:56.640 it's the
00:50:57.360 restoration of
00:50:58.140 credibility
00:50:58.620 the public
00:50:59.980 doesn't need
00:51:00.700 perfection
00:51:01.660 they need to
00:51:03.300 believe that
00:51:04.180 tomorrow can be
00:51:05.180 better than
00:51:05.740 today
00:51:06.240 because somebody
00:51:07.280 is finally
00:51:07.960 telling the truth
00:51:09.080 about the
00:51:09.800 trade-offs
00:51:10.360 so what
00:51:12.400 success
00:51:13.220 actually looks
00:51:14.180 like
00:51:14.480 is by the
00:51:15.560 end of one
00:51:16.000 parliamentary
00:51:16.700 term
00:51:17.120 success is
00:51:17.660 going to
00:51:17.860 look like
00:51:18.320 constraints
00:51:19.380 are visible
00:51:20.340 and they're
00:51:22.700 contested
00:51:23.220 but not
00:51:23.620 hidden
00:51:23.880 and that
00:51:25.380 treasury
00:51:25.780 assumptions
00:51:26.340 are debated
00:51:26.980 openly
00:51:27.420 and trade-offs
00:51:28.720 are named
00:51:29.540 in public
00:51:30.080 documents
00:51:30.700 and that
00:51:32.020 unavoidable
00:51:32.780 decisions
00:51:33.240 are shown
00:51:33.880 to actually
00:51:34.660 be choices
00:51:35.700 and even
00:51:37.980 if outcomes
00:51:38.560 lag
00:51:38.900 the opacity
00:51:40.240 has ended
00:51:40.840 that alone
00:51:42.660 is going to
00:51:43.460 restore agency
00:51:44.340 that will put
00:51:45.240 Britain back
00:51:45.840 on the path
00:51:46.400 to being
00:51:46.820 restored
00:51:47.300 and the
00:51:48.340 downside risk
00:51:48.940 they need
00:51:49.300 to visibly
00:51:49.900 move upwards
00:51:50.820 ministers
00:51:51.980 need to be
00:51:52.540 clearly
00:51:52.980 accountable
00:51:53.500 for outcomes
00:51:54.260 delay
00:51:55.780 and non-decisions
00:51:56.980 need to carry
00:51:58.080 reputational
00:51:58.920 costs
00:51:59.460 and officials
00:52:01.760 act faster
00:52:02.860 because the
00:52:03.700 cover
00:52:04.120 that minister
00:52:05.320 is providing
00:52:05.980 is explicit
00:52:07.000 and sits
00:52:09.080 with them
00:52:09.480 and the state
00:52:10.900 begins to move
00:52:11.520 again
00:52:11.800 not smoothly
00:52:12.740 but it does
00:52:13.540 move decisively
00:52:15.160 you'll see
00:52:16.680 immigration falling
00:52:17.780 because an
00:52:18.780 adjustment is
00:52:19.700 happening
00:52:20.040 wage pressures
00:52:22.740 are rising
00:52:23.500 in tight
00:52:25.060 labour sectors
00:52:25.800 some low
00:52:28.000 productivity firms
00:52:28.980 are going to
00:52:29.700 fail
00:52:29.960 housing pressure
00:52:32.020 begins to
00:52:32.540 ease at the
00:52:32.940 margin
00:52:33.240 and population
00:52:35.320 growth slows
00:52:36.160 but it's
00:52:36.700 understood why
00:52:37.400 because it's
00:52:38.600 not being
00:52:38.900 propped up
00:52:39.260 by immigration
00:52:39.800 and what the
00:52:41.780 public will
00:52:42.240 see is
00:52:42.820 coherence
00:52:43.740 not cruelty
00:52:44.420 and yes
00:52:46.280 growth will be
00:52:46.860 slower
00:52:47.120 be honest
00:52:47.600 about it
00:52:48.140 headline
00:52:48.840 growth may
00:52:49.520 well soften
00:52:50.040 productivity
00:52:52.480 focus will
00:52:54.220 replace
00:52:54.760 population
00:52:55.620 fuelled
00:52:56.000 expansion
00:52:56.500 and the
00:52:58.720 fiscal
00:52:59.580 language
00:53:00.180 it will
00:53:00.560 shift
00:53:00.960 from
00:53:01.260 fantasy
00:53:02.280 to
00:53:02.540 prioritisation
00:53:03.580 and the
00:53:04.660 markets may
00:53:05.120 grumble
00:53:05.440 but they
00:53:06.400 will adapt
00:53:06.880 and quite
00:53:07.240 fast actually
00:53:07.940 to credibility
00:53:08.980 faster than
00:53:09.800 denial
00:53:10.220 they are very
00:53:11.460 long on
00:53:11.920 denial
00:53:13.500 if the bond
00:53:14.940 markets want to
00:53:15.580 invest in
00:53:16.280 denial
00:53:16.760 debt
00:53:17.700 they've got a
00:53:18.720 lot of
00:53:18.980 options
00:53:19.380 give them
00:53:20.640 credibility
00:53:21.140 and I think
00:53:21.880 you will be
00:53:22.280 pleasantly surprised
00:53:23.140 and the system
00:53:24.540 will resist you
00:53:25.280 if you're
00:53:26.160 succeeding
00:53:26.560 but if you
00:53:28.380 followed my
00:53:28.800 advice it will
00:53:29.480 fail to
00:53:30.120 neutralise you
00:53:30.940 and that's a
00:53:32.140 really important
00:53:32.780 success signal
00:53:33.540 legal challenges
00:53:37.120 will increase
00:53:37.820 and media
00:53:39.560 hostility from
00:53:40.400 the establishment
00:53:40.920 press will
00:53:41.900 intensify
00:53:42.740 and the
00:53:44.560 institutional
00:53:45.440 discomfort will
00:53:46.120 be obvious
00:53:46.600 yet
00:53:48.020 key reforms
00:53:50.280 will survive
00:53:50.900 your precedence
00:53:52.340 will be set
00:53:53.120 vetoes will
00:53:54.400 no longer
00:53:54.860 feel absolute
00:53:55.480 and this
00:53:58.080 resistance
00:53:58.640 without reversal
00:53:59.480 is progress
00:54:00.920 and the
00:54:02.460 public will
00:54:03.040 start to
00:54:03.400 recalibrate
00:54:04.020 their expectations
00:54:04.980 perhaps the
00:54:06.460 most important
00:54:06.940 outcome will
00:54:07.340 be fewer
00:54:08.960 promises but
00:54:09.880 more honesty
00:54:10.860 and less
00:54:12.240 theatre
00:54:12.700 more seriousness
00:54:14.100 people will
00:54:15.640 begin to
00:54:16.520 believe that
00:54:17.340 the state is
00:54:18.080 acting for
00:54:18.820 them
00:54:19.120 telling them
00:54:20.460 the truth
00:54:20.920 making choices
00:54:22.580 rather than
00:54:23.100 hiding behind
00:54:23.860 process
00:54:24.400 and that
00:54:26.520 belief is
00:54:27.280 the seed of
00:54:27.900 long-term
00:54:28.280 legitimacy
00:54:28.860 what success
00:54:31.300 does not
00:54:31.960 look like
00:54:32.620 and must not
00:54:34.340 be promised
00:54:34.880 be explicit
00:54:36.320 about what
00:54:36.840 will not
00:54:37.380 happen quickly
00:54:38.120 birth rates
00:54:39.360 will not show
00:54:40.020 up this
00:54:40.280 parliament
00:54:40.620 demographic
00:54:41.740 repair is
00:54:42.820 generational
00:54:43.740 debt reduction
00:54:45.100 is slow
00:54:45.600 institutional
00:54:47.120 culture and
00:54:49.220 change will
00:54:50.340 lag the
00:54:51.340 incentives
00:54:51.860 so say it
00:54:53.660 clearly
00:54:54.000 paradoxically
00:54:56.780 fewer promises
00:54:59.020 the more the
00:55:00.480 trust will
00:55:00.940 raise
00:55:01.220 and the
00:55:03.400 emotional
00:55:03.740 component of
00:55:04.400 this
00:55:04.600 people will
00:55:06.240 accept
00:55:06.640 sacrifice
00:55:07.200 if they
00:55:08.460 believe
00:55:08.900 three things
00:55:10.240 one the
00:55:12.020 pain is
00:55:12.400 real
00:55:12.640 don't deny
00:55:14.460 it or
00:55:14.680 sugar coat
00:55:15.140 it
00:55:15.400 pain is
00:55:17.020 shared
00:55:17.520 and the
00:55:18.900 elites are
00:55:19.580 not exempt
00:55:20.540 and the
00:55:22.260 pain has
00:55:22.700 direction
00:55:23.300 it leads
00:55:24.680 somewhere
00:55:25.160 your task
00:55:26.960 isn't so much
00:55:27.560 in this respect
00:55:28.080 economic
00:55:28.700 it's
00:55:29.420 psychological
00:55:30.160 hope does
00:55:32.300 not come
00:55:32.940 from comfort
00:55:33.620 it comes
00:55:34.560 from meaning
00:55:35.300 and trajectory
00:55:36.540 the line
00:55:38.980 that defines
00:55:39.540 success is
00:55:40.360 by the end
00:55:41.260 of the term
00:55:41.780 if the average
00:55:42.640 voter can say
00:55:43.580 sure things
00:55:45.060 are hard
00:55:45.540 but for the
00:55:46.060 first time
00:55:46.480 in decades
00:55:46.960 it feels
00:55:47.460 like the
00:55:48.040 country is
00:55:48.420 being run
00:55:49.000 for our
00:55:50.280 future
00:55:50.660 not just
00:55:52.220 managing to
00:55:53.300 get through
00:55:53.620 to the next
00:55:54.100 day
00:55:54.420 if that is
00:55:56.040 the common
00:55:56.400 sentiment
00:55:56.760 you have
00:55:57.100 succeeded
00:55:57.540 now it
00:55:59.340 doesn't
00:56:00.440 necessarily
00:56:01.160 mandate
00:56:02.080 or guarantee
00:56:03.220 electoral
00:56:03.700 success
00:56:04.200 but you
00:56:06.480 will have
00:56:06.780 put Britain
00:56:07.320 back on
00:56:08.140 civilizational
00:56:09.040 success
00:56:09.480 if you do
00:56:09.840 this
00:56:10.100 the deeper
00:56:10.980 truth is
00:56:11.380 that systems
00:56:12.100 like Britain's
00:56:13.040 do not
00:56:14.320 collapse
00:56:14.840 because leaders
00:56:16.040 take risks
00:56:16.760 they collapse
00:56:18.620 because leaders
00:56:19.560 refuse to
00:56:20.840 if you tell
00:56:23.060 the truth
00:56:23.480 about trade-offs
00:56:24.240 and reassign
00:56:26.620 risk honestly
00:56:27.300 and accept
00:56:29.180 slower
00:56:29.960 improvement
00:56:30.720 in exchange
00:56:31.720 for a real
00:56:32.540 direction
00:56:33.100 you will
00:56:34.540 not be
00:56:34.940 loved by
00:56:35.240 the
00:56:35.400 institutions
00:56:35.920 you may
00:56:37.280 not even
00:56:37.620 be
00:56:37.800 universally
00:56:38.280 popular
00:56:38.760 but you
00:56:39.980 will have
00:56:40.260 done the
00:56:40.760 rarest
00:56:41.280 thing
00:56:41.620 in British
00:56:42.600 politics
00:56:43.180 you'll have
00:56:44.780 given the
00:56:45.220 public
00:56:46.340 a credible
00:56:47.280 reason to
00:56:48.560 believe that
00:56:49.200 tomorrow can
00:56:49.920 be better
00:56:50.360 than today
00:56:50.960 and that
00:56:52.720 is what
00:56:53.060 success looks
00:56:53.720 like under
00:56:54.140 this constraint
00:56:54.860 Nigel I
00:56:56.280 have tried
00:56:56.720 to give
00:56:57.040 you the
00:56:57.360 most sincere
00:56:58.200 and helpful
00:56:58.860 advice I
00:56:59.620 possibly can
00:57:00.580 I don't
00:57:01.940 know if
00:57:02.180 you're going
00:57:02.360 to see
00:57:02.660 this
00:57:03.000 I put
00:57:03.880 a lot
00:57:04.140 of
00:57:04.260 thought
00:57:04.480 into
00:57:04.700 this
00:57:05.040 pretty
00:57:06.760 sure
00:57:07.180 this
00:57:07.800 is
00:57:07.940 exactly
00:57:08.820 right
00:57:09.760 please
00:57:11.200 hear
00:57:11.420 it
00:57:11.640 I
00:57:14.120 there
00:57:14.640 eyes
00:57:17.440 because
00:57:18.200 we
00:57:18.500 are
00:57:20.320 here
00:57:20.860 and
00:57:22.180 hi
00:57:23.080 you