Podcasts Government Analysis What on earth is the national interest?

What on earth is the national interest?

Published: Oct. 23, 2023, 8 p.m.

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Should we be sceptical when politicians claim to act in "the national interest"? The phrase is frequently trotted out to elevate policy and actions as unimpeachably serving us all. But what does it actually mean? So far the Oxford English Dictionary has steered clear of pinning down this "slippery" term. \\nMark Damazer digs up its historical roots and talks to politicians, prime-ministerial speechwriters and policymakers to define a term that can obscure as much as it elucidates. Is its use just cynical high grounding or does it speak of a sincere effort to disentangle policy from personal or party interests? Is the national interest best served by a strong civic landscape where differing visions of \\u201cthe national interest\\u201d are free to battle it out?

Presenter: Mark Damazer\\nProducer: David Reid\\nEditor: Clare Fordham

Contributors:\\nMichael Gove, Minister for Levelling up, Housing and Communities\\nAngela Rayner, shadow deputy prime minister and shadow levelling up secretary\\nPhil Collins, former prime-ministerial speechwriter\\nMunira Mirza, former Director of the No10 Policy Unit\\nDame Linda Colley, Professor of History at Princeton\\nFiona McPherson, Senior Editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, specialising in new words

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