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Episode details

Radio 4,03 Oct 2022,28 mins

Back Seat Drivers

Available for over a year

The historian Steven Fielding explores one of the most rarified jobs in British politics: ex-Prime Minister. As Boris Johnson joins the five other former premiers, at the age of 58, Steve asks politicians, journalists, advisers and historians what ex-PMs should do - and how they actually approach this strange role in public life. Since the Second World War, former Prime Ministers have engaged in Long Sulks, made Occasional Decisive Interventions and - in Margaret Thatcher's famous phrase - tried to be Back Seat Drivers. Only one - the man who was PM when Johnson was born - has ever returned as a minister. But, as Steve explores, the early twentieth century offers some more surprising precedents. So could Johnson ever return - and if not, what positive roles are open to him and his select band of colleagues, with their unique depth of experience at the top of British politics? With: Laura Beers, Ken Clarke, Jon Davis, Leo McKinstry, Iain Duncan Smith, Nick Timothy, Stewart Wood Producer: Phil Tinline

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