Alastair Campbell

And I think this is a weakness.

I think a lot of ministers say they don't really know him that well.

They don't really have kind of deeply personal conversations where he gets a sense of what they're thinking and all that stuff.

If I were him, I'd be on the phone to Andy Burnham.

And I'd be saying, look, Andy, you're a talented guy.

You've been a great mayor of Manchester.

And I get it.

You don't think I'm doing a great job.

And you think you can do better.

That's fine.

But I've just got to tell you, I feel I've got a right to stay.

And I told you this thing that somebody said to me in Redford.

I think I've got a duty to stay to show that I can do this better than you think I am.

Meanwhile...

I'm going to create this new department of constitutional change and development.

I want you to be the big Mr. Devolution, blah, blah, blah.

I would do that kind of thing.

That's the sort of conversation.

Well, maybe that is the issue.

One of the guys I was talking to today said that, is that we keep yearning, we keep hoping for it to be better.