In Conversation With… Philip Collins, columnist and leader writer for The Times

After a brief summer hiatus, allowing us time to catch our collective breath and indulge in the media silly season, politics is back at the top of the agenda. As politicians decamp to Brighton, Glasgow, Liverpool and Birmingham for their respective party conferences, the chaos and uncertainty that has characterised the past two years remains. We were therefore delighted this morning to be able to call on the expertise of one of the most authoritative political observers to help guide us through the current political ‘mess’. 

Philip Collins has been shaping political discourse for decades having previously worked as chief speech writer for former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Now a columnist and leader writer at The Times, he is kept extremely busy providing commentary on the political issues of the day, of which there are many! The author of several books, he has also considered the power of speeches and speechmakers, looking at those that have changed the world, as in his recent book, ‘When They Go Low, We Go High’. His new book, Start Again, will be published in October and looks at a possible future roadmap for the key issues of our day including education, work, health and social inequality.

 Here our five key take-outs from the morning’s conversation:

1. Michael Gove could be the key to delivering a Brexit deal – with six months to go before the UK is set to leave the EU, the prospect of a deal remains far from certain. Michael Gove’s role in getting a deal through parliament could be pivotal. If he supports the PM's approach, he is seen as ‘a bridge within the Conservative Party’ who could bring colleagues with him and ensure that at least a ‘shell of a deal’ will get done. 
2. A breakaway party has a better chance now than ever before – with Brexit currently ‘holding the two main parties together’ the prospect of a new breakaway party forming once a deal has been agreed is a distinct possibility. The chances of any new party succeeding has increased with the move toward more ‘cultural voting preferences’. Once class was the principal determinant of the electorate’s voting motivations but this has now been replaced by values for the first time. The Brexit vote is the best example of people’s loosened affiliations. “Remainer” and “Leaver” now represents a whole range of views that cuts across traditional groupings such as class or party. Unlike in 1981, when the SDLP formed, these like-minded people, who agree on cultural issues and vote based on these preferences, are now ‘gathered’ in constituencies rather than spread disparately in pockets across the country. 12% of the vote, as was achieved by the SDLP in 1983, would translate to many more parliamentary seats today than in the past.
3. Boris really could be the next PM – The Tories might well gamble on Boris if they truly believe the age of populism is upon us. If, however, they think that the political landscape is likely to stabilise then someone more like Sajid Javid would be more likely. If Boris were to seize power, he wouldn’t be the extreme and divisive character he portrays, rather ‘London Mayor Boris’ that ‘didn’t do a lot’.
4. Speeches are still as important as they’ve always been – Theresa May has used set piece speeches as staging posts throughout the Brexit process e.g. Lancaster House, Mansion House or Florence speeches. Speeches are essential for setting strategic ideas and whilst the delivery methods have changed over time, the premise of a politician standing up delivering a vision, uninterrupted, is one of the only things that remains unchanged in the 21st century.
5. There are three common threads that run through all great speeches – Firstly, a great speech must accompany a great moment. Delivering soaring oratory means nothing if it’s not used at the appropriate moment. Secondly, the issue you define should be remedied in same way for the speech to be historic. If, for example, ‘the civil rights movement went the wrong way, ‘I Have a Dream’ would’ve been less significant’. Finally, you must have a strong argument. All the best speeches can be defined in a soundbite or single line.