Faisal Islam

You know, so, you know...

Again, he wasn't trying to make that intervention, but eventually what popped out was concern about the way in which a government interacts with the civil service.

Furthermore, I think what was quite interesting in talking about, and we can go on to this in a second, he had some radical policy proposals about dealing with

a very interesting topic, which is the impact of AI on young people's jobs prospects.

But I also detected a sort of wry look at Keir Starmer with his majority of whatever it is now, 160, and he just imagining what it would have been like to have that majority.

And I'm sort of imputing this in his head.

I didn't get a chance to ask him this question, but I think he was thinking, oh my word.

What I could have done with that majority in terms of radical change and...

this is what we've got.

That was what his facial expression said to me.

It was a bit like that.

And I think from an econ perspective, from my day job, James, it is quite palpably damaging that every time you think that they've got a clear run to establish some form of kind of stability to get their policy proposals, whether you agree with them or you disagree with them.

But here's what we're trying to do.

The markets appreciate, even if they don't agree with the individual policies, a plan and a strategy that's being enacted without huge distractions.

And it's almost like every time we get to that position, it's something self-inflicted.

whether that's some sort of massive policy U-turn or on this occasion.

I mean, I think objectively, again, from a slight outsider's perspective, it's astonishing to think that we're spending all this, so much time as a country, as Parliament is, in discussing one appointment of one person.

And I'm not... Who has now left the job?

I'm not disagreeing with the attention being given to it politically, by the way.

That's not the point I'm making.