Alastair Campbell

You don't go to a doctor so the doctor can just empathize with your particular pain.

And the same is true of politics.

Empathy is really important.

It's one of the preconditions for successful elections.

But if that's all you've got,

If that's all you got, if all you are is an echo chamber of the angst of your nation, then you are not a big part, a big part of the nation.

Maybe not the majority, but a big part.

And listening to minority voices is really important, particularly minority voices you disagree with.

And I do think, again, I think that's an error that has been made.

by a number of political parties.

I would say this when I think Labour, worst offenders, listening to minority voices that they agree with, but not minority voices they disagree with.

So we have to understand why a lot of people feel really, really uncomfortable.

But if all you do is echo that discomfort, you're not serving the country.

And as I say, those of us going to politics, we don't do it for the kudos.

We don't do it for the money.

We do it because we want to make the country a better place.

Very, very badly.

Very, very, very badly.

The problem we now have got is there are some things that he was talking about which are important to discuss.

Are public servants too scared of being accused of racism to do the right thing in some of those difficult judgment call situations?