My Biggest Regret | Theresa May 

I'm not a fan of May's politics but IMO she was the last PM who was competent and tried to do what they thought was best for the country. Since she left office, it's been all egos and self-interest.

There is so much I disagree with Theresa May on but in a post Johnson world it’s hard not to have a lot of respect for her. She’s clearly a person who has shown a great deal of integrity.

Amazing that Sunak, Truss and Johnson make May look like a political heavyweight. I am a socialist and wouldn't agree with May on much at all, but at least she respected her office and didn't spread extreme-right conspiracy theories.

Quite nice to hear an ex PM just speaking normally rather than having to put on the mask and act in the way we as a society have decided leaders should act.

I really appreciate adding the photos, names and dates of relevancy of the politicians & people from the past who a young person like myself may not recognise. Helps to follow the conversation without getting lost or googling who’s who.

"The vans were wrong" understatement of the year.

I love this podcast really doing well at bringing moderate politics back to the forefront

As others have commented, I wasn't a fan of May's politics but she always struck me as a decent person who had a lot of integrity and a genuine belief in what she was trying to do. Feels very much at odds with all those that have followed her.

What she did as home secretary is the reason public services are in the trouble they are. She destroyed community policing and ripped the budget to shreds. This is partly why we are in the strife we are. When the Police Federation challenged the cuts she accused them of "Crying wolf" awful home secretary.

Best politics podcast around. Just the best honest, real, clear, humanising, considered interviews. It’s like being in a back room of Westminster

I’ve never known nearly an hour disappear so fast. Looking forward to next week

The importance of watching interviews should never be underestimated. Podcast interviews, that one listens to only, don't do justice to either the interviewee or the interviewer as one does not get to see reactions/body language all of which provide greater insight and understanding. Really enjoyed watching the interview!

Excellent discussion. I think politicians would be seen to have healthier moral compasses if they didn’t accept donations from shady individuals, or have second jobs. Personally, I think these two factors are the biggest compromises to a politicians integrity. The crack down on conflicts of interest has been laughable.

Yah yah yah go home vans environment go spin Theresa.

As an outsider (American) looking in I am encouraged because the podcast has given a platform for people of opposite views to have a discussion expressing their views with respect for others views. It is what I believe to be missing in the US. As mentioned in the 12th minute this episode. Hopefully by having others around the globe seeing differing views expressed with respect can break people out of the echo chambers we find ourselves exposed to more and more. Thank you all for this and keep up the excellent work.

She was responsible for the Windrush scandal then let Amber Rudd take the blame. Shameful.

Love this. Moderate sensible conversation instead of far right off the wall populist bullshit we have coming from today’s Conservative government.

As someone who is not....er naturally sympathetic to the Tories I found the interview very interesting and have a much greater respect for Theresa May than before. I am saddened and concerned by the knee jerk partisan comments as they demonstrate just how badly polarised our politics have become. I don't understand, why watch the interview unless prepared to reflect on one's instinctive bias?

Despite disagreeing with her in many ways, I always felt intuitively that you could at least trust her underlying aim's to genuinely make things better - could never be in doubt. She has never me struck me as self serving as 95% of politicians do.

In the final section (Being a woman in politics) I was surprised and disheartened to hear that even recently, some male MP's attitudes towards Ms May were still so patronising. What does that tell us about their attitude towards half the population?

What an incredibly tepid interview, I feel they missed a chance to be more direct about tory policy over the past decade. Then again she probably wouldn't have said yes to the interview if that was the case.

She is delusional, the Tories never helped anyone but their selves, their pointless austerity policy says it all and the reason the country and public services have been run into the ground.

Dont get me wrong I've never been a fan of Theresa May, but she had the guts to sit down and listen to the families of those that lost loved ones at Hillsborough and then take on and deal with the issues and is still pressing for justice. Nice to see grown ups having a discussion, instead of children shouting at each other.

Gentlemen - you are doing a great service. This level of conversation should always be present in any democracy. It should be present when the people are in power if possible.

I Love Theresa May! Didn't like her politics, hate brexit, but I like her a lot. Bright, intelligent, well-educated, responsable, hard-working, smart, well-read, polite woman.

Her biggest regret should be her record in office, particularly as Home Office minister. She is now only able to whitewash her career because of the utter shambles that has followed her.

Fantastic interview, thank you all involved in providing this on RU-vid!

This is a much needed space. Thank you.

Her comments about being an MP are very telling and show a respect for Parliament. I respect MP's who maintain an interest in their constituents. I cannot see Nadine Dorres, Johnson et al taking the slightest interest in the people who voted for them. Many years ago, I was told a story about Dennis Skinner by a well off land owner in his Bolsover constituency who had a Right of Way issue. He told Skinner that he never voted for him but was told not to worry about that, he would take up his issue and try to assist.

When she became home secretary in May 2010, England/Wales had about 143,700 police officers. When she left the office in July 2016, there were 123,000 left.

Say what you want about May, she is right about populism politics. Still an old fashioned, outdated lunatic, especially when she talked about the Tories wanting to 'raise people up'. Actual mental take.

So happy to have stumbled across this. Like my view of Rory, I've always admired Mrs May. Lovely to see you folks talk politics - really fascinating to have this window into this conversation

All I can say about May is that she isn't completely stupid (by Tory standards), shes just wrong.

May is one of the reasons why this country is in the state its in. Decimated the Police both as home secretary and PM and we have never recovered. Wonder why police don't turn up to a lot of reported crimes. Thank this lady and David Cameron.

Great debate, all thee great people, thank you. :-)

She certainly cut the police force by extreme numbers,and now there still trying to recruit them

Sir Humphrey Appleby would be grinning from ear to ear….. superb interview 🫡

She is an old school tory both in policy, style and presentation. But she indulged Johnston and the far right when she was in office and look where it got her.

She failed to investigate the Russian involvement in Brexit when she had the chance.

i totally disagree with her politics but she's always come across (to me at least) as a decent person unlike all the other PMs from 2010 on

In my 70's, I have voted conservative all my life - I suppose because my family did - but will NEVER vote conservative again, after this last 3 years of appalling conservative rule, and appalling characters in charge. But for all her faults, I would rather have Theresa May as UK Prime Minister than any of the clowns that have recently been foisted on us. She is at least serious and authentic - whether you agree with her or not

Very interesting conversation between three people who genuinely listen to each other and put their points of view with clarity.

A very decent person.....and good PM..... In a difficult party

Very good interview with a politician of integrity. Looking forward to part 2.

Great guest, fantastic to See her working hard to explain and expand on political issues. Well done Rory and Alister. Keep educating and enlightening the people, please. Great show 9 out of 10. A grade information.

320k dead. This woman caused so much suffering for the poorest and most vulnerable during her reign.

Excellent. Love the balanced presentation and knowledge and snippets of background and clarity when mentioning someone’s name - or an instance in history. Used to see Theresa shopping in Waitrose in Twyford. Nice to hear her views.

As an ex pat Brit this is an absolute joy to listen to. I’ve been gone nearly 35 years so I do appreciate the pauses for explainers to those who need a brief reminder on the back story of some issues. Thanks for the whole team involved …

The Tories believe in social justice??? At that point I knew she was talking nonsense.

Theresa May: "My biggest regret is the fact that I was totally fucking shit at everything."

a wonderful, insightful podcast......finally a normal discussion about different views and opinions of people who are listening to eachother! I am not a conservative, but I love to hear Rory and Theresa make their arguments, it helps understand the essence of politics. I do not believe progressives and conservatives are that far apart in what they want to achieve....

I still dont understand why they burned peoples boarding cards. The maritme museum burned evidence of peoples arrival... why did that happen?

What an indictment of the Tories to have chosen May,Johnson and then the silly schoolgirl Truss to assume the mantle of Prime Minister of this nation.

There are few politicians who have been so wrong so often, but get this much sympathy

I love it that this is a place for grown up conversation

Her biggest regret is not fiddling her expenses claims a lot more

Never listened this before but I think holding the feet to the fire on the hostile environment should have been stronger.

I can see the advantage of moving the centre of government physically North and spreading the population more uniformly. Politics is too stuck in the South of England .

I could never vote Tory but I always thought that Mrs May was the very essence of a serious, decent and hardworking PM. She was the only one brave enough to take the job after the Brexit vote and then had to undertake the role with knives in her back. Bless her.

Love yourPodcas, gentlemen. It is interesting, relevant and informative. Thanks😅

This was actually a really good podcast. Sensible conversation between people who share political differences in a civilised way!

As an Irish person living in Ireland I have great regard for Mrs May

So when she said 'Brexit means Brexit' she was lying through her teeth... just like 99% of all MP's

Excellent dialogue

May is in complete denial about what Conservatism as actually is (in terms of how it affects people, not just her idealistic version of it)

Quite a lot of soft questions I feel here... support for the book really. I don't feel her (in my view) weak legacy of government, poor election and attempts to steer Brexit over the line were given really any scrutiny. It's on these points history will really remember her.

Fascinating. Thank you, all three of you. Theresa May is probably the most decent human being to sit in Number 10 since John Major (possibly also Gordon Brown). Looking forward to the follow up. She was certainly handed Pandora's political box and part of her party threw away the key.

As a libdem/lab, ive no doubt the country would be better off now if may had been PM during covid.

I'm interested in why helping the rehabilitation post Windrush?

Thank you for that great interview! I hope we will see Obama and other important politicians in the future. Looking forward for part 2!

Never been a tory myself but Mrs May was the old school variety. This latest bunch simply aren't in her class. Boris culled most of the thinking ones

Some of the worst people in politics in this room, the only people missing are blair, corbyn, and diane abott

So glad you’re starting to show the episodes on RU-vid - I listen to the podcast but I prefer watching!

Never ask a Tory how they feel. It just confuses them.

I can’t stand her. Her attempts to curb immigration were punishing and inhumane. After committing the apparent sin of marrying someone not from Britain, it’ll have cost us over £10,000 for them to eventually become a British citizen, a stressful process that will have taken over 5 years when all done. If we didn’t have the funds, or a job paying above the required threshold, we simply wouldn’t be able to be together. All so May as Home Secretary and then PM could claim the have cut immigration numbers and appease Mail and Sun readers. No concern for how damaging her policies were to normal people. And this seeped into every aspect of her immigration policy. Then has the audacity to sob when she lost her job.

I am not a Conservative supporter, I firmly believe that Theresa May is a decent and honest woman, I liked he approach to the Brexit negotiations. In hindsight, I think she was a much better Prime Minister than she was given credit for. She was an undeserving victim of the Brexit hard liners. I took a dislike for her for the way she was responsible for closing police stations and putting the police in a very weak ineffective position in society.

Never ceases to amaze me that Ex-Tory Leaders always seem so nice and reasonable when it's not them directly responsible for the dire state of today, it's almost as if they weren't swivel-eyed loons with disasterous personal beliefs that left the Country a mess when they got the boot after all......

I heard her interviewed by Kim Hill in NZ and the relentless pushing of her book which pointed the finger at everyone else. If I hear "Well in my book....." one more time I could be ill. Government (as Rory points out via endless compromises and deals) abuses power at every turn. Public servants and others will take their cue from the leaders. I was not charmed or convinced she is any different from others. You can be 'nice' and also ineffective. Sorry to go across the grain and be critical but she made me cranky and she is boring to listen to (unkind I know). Go well.

This was refreshing. Always felt sorry for her, came to No. 10 at an impossible time. Not aligned with her politics, but I’m glad she’s still an MP.

Really enjoyed this!

She genuinely did her best. She had a degree of integrity unlike anyone who has come since. I'm no Tory but I would happily swap her for sunak

Unbelievable! All May wants to do is try and re-write the consequences of the dreadful policies that she enacted during her time as one of the most damaging Home Secretaries that we have seen in modern politics, and to blame her failure as PM trying to deliver a sensible Brexit (an oxymoron if ever there was!) on anyone other than herself. Fortunately, she will be judged in the long term on the consequences of her failures by political historians. And the judgement will be deservedly harsh.

We didn't know how good we had it back then - Johnson, Truss and Sunak have shown what a good PM May was.

She should be in jail for what she did to the UK. Trying to pretend she was any better than Cameron, Johnson, Truss or Sunak does this show a disservice.

She talked about the Tories being the party that tries to raise people up, how that can be squared with her voting for the austerity policies that bullied the weakest in society lead to the premature deaths of over 330,000 UK citizens is beyond me.

Conservative politicians, no matter which country you find them, share two features: One, they are in utter (and often disingenuous) denial that a large number of people are in difficult circumstances, despite protestations to the contrary, and that require government intervention to "lift them up." Two, they are endlessly self-promotional, never missing a chance to take credit for things that went well and deny responsibility for poor decisions. Theresa May is experienced enough to know how to embody these two features in a relatively inoffensive manner, at least compared to recent populist incarnations. But, Rory chose to separate himself from the party when the chasm between his values and the party's became undeniable and unbearable. He also does not seem as comfortable being a self-promoter, even though he's rather good at it in a genuinely humble way. As so often is the truth, the leaders we need are those men and women who are reluctant to step (back) into a political system that rewards, elitists, egomaniacs and apologists and ignores people who genuinely want to serve their constituents and the nation. I sincerely hope Rory that you hold May's feet to the fire on her contention that fundamental changes to the structure of Britain's parliamentary democracy are not necessary. I'm sure you agree they are not only essential, but long overdue. The requirement for party members to tow the line, despite their moral objections is anathema to a true democracy, as is the peerage system. Alistair and Rory make a fine counterpoint duo, however it does get rather tiresome watching Alistair constantly seeking opportunities to catch people out and say "gotcha," simply because they are or were on the other sides of an issue in which he is or was involved. He is definitely not the type of person who is needed in elected office, because we need to rid the system of pettiness, not see further divisiveness, even if it's cloaked as "healthy banter."

I admire this lady ! she is so eloquent to a point that when I listen to her, I don't want her to stop.

I enjoyed the banter

I wish they dug more into why they did the vans, when the problem with it was so obvious. Could have really shone a light on how bad and toxic politics is promoted by the system as it is now. Also would have liked to see May pressed harder on what she did to the police, and how the state they are in now derives from her decisions.

A middle manager in abilities, she got the PM slot because the talent barrel is so completely empty.

I would have thought Maybot’s biggest regret was when it upgraded its operating system software to Maybot v2.0 which had a robodance programme that caused it to do the Iggie-biggie-biggie dance every time it detected music.

She was the only Tory MP in the 2010’s that put the country before herself in my opinion

Shameful attempt at rebranding this shameless, corrupt individual.

As a lifelong Labour voter, I always liked Theresa May. She had decent principles and in a different situation she would have made a great Prime Minister

40:00 that book drop was masterful. wow

Great interview. I'm a raging leftie and would spontaneously combust if I ever entered a church, yet this interview was very engaging. Watching you two batting May around was fascinating. I call out the interaction at 40:30 in particular. The sign language is such a sign of good cooperation. You're as if Becker and Federer were ever playing doubles, on the same team. Keep it up.

I listened to the pod cast. I don’t vote Tory, but I felt after listening that here was the last actual genuine politician the Tory’s had as a prime minister. I thought she came across really well.

I think May's talk about "fairness" regarding immigration is a great example of conservative philosphy. Earlier she talks about the Conservatives being the party that raises people up but it's clear that it is just as important (if not more important) to bring down and punishing "wrong-doers". It is so important that they are punished that it justifies innocent people being caught up in the process.

Dr David Kelly R.I.P.

Great video, thanks Matt! The costs you quote for getting alloy wheels refurbished always seem pretty reasonable to me. Can you reveal where you go to get this done? Thanks. 😊