Jimmy's Jobs of the Future

Podcast Host: Jimmy McLoughlin (Boxlight Creative Studio)
Guest: Sir Tony Blair
Episode: Tony Blair | Classic Episode
Original Recording Date: December 2024 (aired March 17, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this award-winning episode, Jimmy McLoughlin interviews former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair about the evolving nature of jobs, the challenges and responsibilities of government leadership, the profound impact of AI, and lessons for both current and future leaders. The discussion is wide-ranging, covering Blair’s time in office, the clarity needed between politics and government, the AI revolution, public sector innovation, and personal reflections on ambition and life after Downing Street.

Main Themes & Key Discussion Points

1. The Role and Mindset of a Former Prime Minister

• Making Use of Experience (01:37 - 02:53)
  • Blair discusses the strange arc of political careers: “You start at your least capable and most popular and you end often… at your least popular but most capable.”
  • On what former PMs can offer: “They can talk to leaders in a language the leaders understand because they’ve done the job.”
• Writing for the Next Leaders (02:53 - 04:03)
  • Blair's book is aimed at both those in government and leadership roles broadly: “The lessons are the same… The actual lessons of leadership are pretty much the same.”

2. Governing vs. Politics: The Leadership Gap

• Why No Real ‘MBA for Government’? (04:03 - 05:41)

  • Blair critiques the assumption that politics and governance are one and the same.
  • Key insight: “The governing part of it is really about executive capability… The hardest thing about government is getting anything done.”
  • On Downing Street's power versus effectiveness: “I’d sit in Downing street at the beginning… and after a time you realize nothing happens.”

• Delivering on Decisions (06:01 - 06:29)

  • The importance of an “implementation focus” and the creation of the ‘Delivery Unit’: “Take your key priorities and just track their implementation… feedback as to what you said would happen, what is happening, and what needs to bridge the gap.”

3. AI & the Future of Work

• Defining AI and Its Impact (07:00 - 09:44)

  • Blair on AI: “It is the ability to accumulate large amounts of data and to make sense of that data.”
  • The revolutionary parallel: “This is the 21st century equivalent of the industrial revolution.”
  • Report finding: AI’s impact on employment should be “the central mission” of government.

• Why Governments Lag on AI (09:44 - 12:35)

  • Governments struggle with narrative: “They struggle, I think, with how do you turn it into a political narrative?” (10:09)
  • Blair argues technology is the solution to developed world challenges (“taxing a lot, spending a lot, poor outcomes”): “Technology is the answer to that for sure.”
  • Developing world lesson: Modern economies can leapfrog “legacy systems” using technology.

4. AI, Jobs, and Public Anxiety

• Forecasting Job Displacement (12:35 - 15:35)

  • Blair explains the “tailwind” scenario of AI-driven change is most probable, but “you can’t really tell” (13:31).
  • Emphasizes that AI will often be a “co-worker not necessarily a displacer.”
  • Notable quote: “Our basic experience with technology over the years is that some jobs get displaced and others get created completely.” (14:44)

• On Political Certainty and Uncertainty (15:18 - 15:43)

  • Blair: “One of the advantages of being outside frontline politics is you’re able to say, I don’t know the answer to that.” (15:35)
  • Highlighting the difficulty of honest uncertainty in politics.

5. The UK's Employment Challenge

• Post-Pandemic Work Drop (15:43 - 17:31)
  • The UK has “close to a million more people not in work now than pre the pandemic.” (15:43)
  • Blair points to possible factors: focus on mental health, self-diagnosis, and the need for a “proper public conversation”—“We need also to be helping people to understand that there are… going to be problems. Right now you’ve got to be careful of translating those into a mental health condition…” (17:34)

6. Government Innovation & Learning from Business

• Learning from Innovators like Elon Musk (18:37 - 21:41)

  • On Musk’s government role: “It’ll be interesting to see what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object.” (19:06)
  • Blair's ‘Reimagined State’ program: “How do you use technology to create a state that’s probably significantly smaller but much more strategic?”
  • Critical of Western bureaucracy versus China in Africa: “We are hopelessly bureaucratic… they go to us, and three years later nothing’s happened.” (20:52)
  • On aligning with disruption: “If you’re simply operating a status quo state, you’re going to find yourself in trouble.” (21:32)

• Bringing Business Leaders Into Government (21:41 - 23:44)

  • “We should be getting a lot more business skill and capability into government.”
  • Risk aversion in civil service: “You can get punished for taking a risk, but you’ll never get punished for not taking a risk.” (23:33)
  • The need to bring in ‘outside innovators’.

7. Keeping Up with Technology as a Leader

• Advising Tomorrow’s PMs (23:44 - 26:35)

  • Leaders must bring in top tech talent: “Bring the capability into government… We’ve got DeepMind, we’ve got probably one of the finest, if not the finest artificial intelligence company in the world.” (24:07)
  • Leaders need to carve out time for strategic thinking—even in rapidly shifting environments.
  • Blair’s own tech learning journey: “I spent an entire holiday, much to the irritation of my family, just pouring over…” (26:35)

• Blair’s Approach to Understanding AI (26:35 - 28:01)

  • “Once you’ve got the mobile phone and the Internet and the two are joined up, then you’re creating this vast amount of data… The more data you create, then the better your artificial intelligence becomes.”

8. Real-World AI Uses and Challenges

• ChatGPT in Practice (28:01 - 29:44)

  • Blair uses ChatGPT for information and compares its speeches to a real president’s, finding the AI version “much more interesting, much better, much more informative.”
  • “ChatGPT, at the moment, it’s a toy, but it will ultimately develop into something much, much more powerful.” (29:08)
  • Public sector process revolution: “Think how much of our planning system is tied up in analysis of masses and masses of detail… which take months and months.”

• Business Building vs. Regulating (29:49 - 32:03)

  • Blair: “In government… you just get this structure given to you… when you’re building a business, you… have to try and prevent yourself becoming bureaucratic… government can often be a problem rather than a solution.”
  • On AI risks: “Bad actors can use artificial intelligence as well as the good actors… in some cases… organized crime, they’re doing it much better at the moment than law enforcement agencies.”

9. Career Advice and Leadership Qualities

• Private Sector Experience Matters (32:03 - 32:45)

  • Blair would advise aspiring politicians to “spend some time in the private sector first.”

• What He Looks for When Hiring (32:45 - 34:11)

  • Key traits: “Capability obviously… talent, real commitment, being a team player… the capability again to get something done.”

• Culture in Not-for-Profit Sector (34:20 - 35:10)

  • “I want the spirit of enterprise to run through what we do… even as a not-for-profit.”

• Leadership’s Four P's (35:20)

  • Blair: “If you’re leading a government, you’ve got to have a clear strategic objective and direction… you’ve got to prioritize, you’ve got to get the policy right, you’ve got to get the people right, and you’ve got to performance manage the result.”

10. Personal Reflections on Ambition, Vocation, and Life After Office

• Sources of Ambition (36:05 - 37:45)

  • Blair credits his father’s ambition and life’s fragility, but the key to ambition is “finding something you’re passionate about… there’s a difference between a job and a vocation.”

• Advice for Former PMs (37:45 - 39:13)

  • “Do something that, again, is going to interest you… If you are someone of strong motivation, you don’t want that suddenly to cease…”

• Quickfire Answers:

  • If he could have done another cabinet role: “Apart from the obvious one, which is Treasury, I think Education.” (39:37)
  • First job: “Working on a building site… carrying the bricks and having to stay out of trouble.” (41:27)
  • Would he study law again? “No, I don’t think so… I would have probably studied history. If my results had been better, I might have studied science.” (42:01)
  • Grandkid nickname: “They call me grandpa… It is… the one thing… is actually true. It is fantastic.” (40:42)

Notable Quotes

• On government learning:
  “You start at your least capable and most popular and you end often… at your least popular but most capable.”
  — Tony Blair (01:37)

• On AI’s revolutionary power:
  “This is the 21st century equivalent of the industrial revolution.”
  — Tony Blair (08:13)

• On implementation and delivery units:
  “You need an actual implementation focus… take your key priorities and just track their implementation so that all the time you’re getting feedback…”
  — Tony Blair (06:01)

• On the complexity of change in government:
  “In government… you just get this structure given to you… when you’re building a business, you… have to try and prevent yourself becoming bureaucratic.”
  — Tony Blair (30:12)

• On uncertainty in politics:
  “One of the advantages of being outside frontline politics is you’re able to say, I don’t know the answer to that.”
  — Tony Blair (15:35)

• On advice for emerging leaders:
  “Spend some time in the private sector first.”
  — Tony Blair (32:44)

Key Timestamps

• 01:37 Tony Blair on the job of a former PM and experience of leadership.
• 04:22 Comparing government to an MBA, difference between politics and executive delivery.
• 07:00 Blair defines AI, its potential, and the challenge for government.
• 12:35 Blair on AI-driven job displacement scenarios.
• 15:35 The importance and rarity of admitting uncertainty in politics.
• 18:37 Blair on Elon Musk’s role and the need to disrupt Western bureaucracy.
• 23:44 Advice on keeping up with technology as a leader.
• 28:01 Blair discusses practical uses of ChatGPT and the long-term AI trajectory.
• 32:03 Importance of private sector experience for public servants.
• 35:20 The “four P’s” of effective leadership.
• 39:37 Quickfire questions on career milestones and lessons.

Summary

This classic interview with Tony Blair is a masterclass in leadership, adaptability, and innovation at the intersection of government and technology. Blair urges leaders—political and corporate alike—to embrace technological change, cultivate teams with diverse experience, and stay focused on delivery and implementation. He is candid about the difficulties and uncertainties ahead, especially around AI and employment disruption. The conversation provides invaluable insight for policymakers, business leaders, and anyone interested in the future of work and governance.