Transcript
A (0:00)
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BBC Sounds Music Radio podcasts I've just been talking to the Prime Minister for political thinking at the end of his first year in office. It began so well for Sakhir, that landslide election, win a huge parliamentary majority, but it's ended with that majority evaporating. So our agenda for this conversation. What's gone right, what's gone wrong? Zakiyyah, thank you very much for having us here into Downing Street.
B (1:07)
Thank you for coming in. I know you know it well, but it's good to have you in here, particularly for our anniversary. Indeed.
A (1:12)
And it's been quite a year, hasn't it? It began with an election, Lands died, a huge parliamentary majority, a promise of change and hope, and it's drawing to a close with a majority vanishing. And has Labour MPs refused to back your proposals to cut the ballooning benefit bill in a series of awkward u turns? When we planned this interview, which, let's be clear, was weeks ago, my first question was going to be congratulations. I'm not sure that feels quite right anymore, does it?
B (1:38)
Well, the first thing I'd say, Nick, in reflection, is I obviously came into politics late in life, did other things beforehand, and I came in to change lives. Having had nine long years in opposition, frustrated that we weren't in opposition, able to change lives, I wouldn't swap a single day of the last year with opposition. And we've done some fantastic things, you know, really driven down the waiting lists in the nhs, really done loads of improvements in schools and the stuff that we can do for children, whether that's rolling out school uniform projects, whether it's school meals, breakfast clubs, you name it, and got huge amount of investment into the country. And of course, we've been busy getting three trade deals, which I can remind people through you, these were trade deals where other governments weren't able to get. And so there's a lot that we can look back on. I won't do a long list. We'd probably use up the whole 40 minutes if we did, of the various things we've done. But I'm really proud of what we've achieved because we've changed the lives of people and that's in the end, that's why I came into politics and being in a position to do it. There are tough days and there are less tough days, of course, but having the opportunity to change the lives of people for the better, that's why I came into it. And I wouldn't swap that for going into a position any day of the week.