Steve Richards is probably familiar to many – a well-known British journalist, frequently featuring on the TV, especially in the news and in previewing the papers.
This morning’ performance was the eighth in the run – but every show is different, focusing on a different and particular theme. So far, the sequence has looked at the ‘strange death of the Conservative party’ – another day focused on Scotland, particularly with reference to the upcoming 2026 elections, while last Thursday explored the so-called ‘special relationship’ with the States.
Today, we looked at the comparison between two Prime Ministers: Keir Starmer vs Harold Wilson. The former allegedly idolises the latter; but first, the audience was invited to vote on who might win the next election. Maybe a surprising majority decided that Labour would still, yet again, go on to win!
Steve, with his long-standing career in reporting British politics sensitively synthesised the range of the audience’s views, and pulled together the sometimes random threads into a coherent and clear summary.
He looked at the similarities and differences between Sir Kier and Blair, but also whether Keir’s early acceptance of a ‘title’ actually put him at a PR disadvantage.
Honing down particularly to the comparison with Wilson, it was noted that Wilson looked much older than he was at the time of retirement – expending so much energy on holding things together. Richards’ consistent impression of Wilson was highly amusing – almost evoking that style of a voice coming in distantly from the wireless.
Wilson was transparent, in acknowledging the authentic impact that personal influences made on his choices. Richards told us about the importance of telling stories – and being able to unashamedly show a good sense of humour. Amidst all of this, one main question posed was how, in politics, do we create a coherent narrative, and bring in people with grater expertise than our own.
There was time at the end for audience questions – these were thoughtful and focused (many of the assembled gathering were clearly political aficionados), and Steve respected the various perspectives. However, he was better with the set-pieces rather than the spontaneous comments, and one wonders if the honing-in on Wilson vs Starmer ultimately proved limiting.
The show finished at 12.00pm.
Rock & Roll Politics, Sunday 17th August 2025, Symposium Hall
Continues daily until Saturday 23rd August | 11.00am – 12.00pm | £14.50