My best interview with Tom Tugendhat

Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Here is a summary of the episode:

Tom Tugendhat has served as a Member of Parliament since 2015, holding roles such as Minister of Security and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Before entering Parliament, Tom served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also worked for the Foreign Office, helped establish Afghanistan’s National Security Council, and served as military aide and chief adviser to the Chief of Defense.

Tyler and Tom explore the changing landscape of governance and leadership in the UK today, touching on the challenges of governing London under a centralized UK system, why England remains economically unequal, his most controversial view of London architecture, whether YIMBYism in England can succeed, the unique politics and history of Kent, whether the private school system needs reform, his choice of an unelected prime minister, whether Brexit has revealed a flaw in the parliamentary system, whether the House of Lords should be abolished, why the British monarchy continues. exploring the world, delivering independence to Scotland and Northern Ireland, how learning Arabic in Yemen influenced his life, his studies in the Middle East and Russia, the production work of Tom Tugendhat, his voice on why a talented young person should work in Britain. Community service, and more.

And here is an excerpt:

COWEN: That’s right. First question, what is your favorite walk in London, and what does it show about the city that outsiders might not understand?

TUGENDHAT: Oh, my favorite trip was going down the river. Many people went down the river. One of the best things about walking down the river in London is, first of all, it shows two things. First, that London is actually an incredibly secretive place. You can be completely alone in the center of one of the world’s great cities in seconds, just by walking down the river. Often, even in the middle of the day, there is no one there. You just go through the most unusual things. You pass the tax house. It’s no longer used, but it was a tax house for 300, 400, 500 years. It goes past, obviously, the Tower of London. You pass Tower Bridge. You go through a lot of things like that.

Actually, you go through a lot of modern London, and you see the reality of London, which is – the truth is, London is not one city. There are many, many different villages, all tied together in different ways. I think outsiders miss the fact that there is a real intimacy in London that you don’t miss if all you do is go on the Tube, or if you go by bus. When you go down that river, you see a very different kind of London. You see real communities and real sub-communities.

Also:

COWEN: How well could the British system of government in its present parliamentary form function without the individual’s liberal basis on public opinion?

TUGENDHAT: I think it works very well in ensuring that the loose foundations are maintained. I mean not in the American sense; I mean literally, the old liberal culture that came out of the UK in the 1700s, 1800s, where freedom of thought, freedom of assembly, the right to own property, and all those principles were enshrined in various different constitutions around the world. in the world, including yours. I think it does a great job of doing that because it forces you, our system forces you, to cooperate. There are 650 people you have to work with in one way or another in Parliament over the next four or five years.

And there are currently four who will lead the Conservative Party. There is one reason why, despite the fact that we are competing in almost the basic US system, the way we work together is very different, because we will all have to work together in the next four. years. The winner will have to work with three others, and the idea that you can just ignore it is not true. There are only 121 of us Conservative MPs in Parliament, which forces us to deal with this program in a way that you have to deal with someone if you are going to deal with him tomorrow. I think that is one of the reasons why the British political system has endured because it forces you to remember that there is a long-term interest, not an immediate one, not just a short-term one.

Recommended, very smart all over, including in China, Russia, and Yemen.


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