A podcast from the archives this week and a great one it is! Paul Embery is a British firefighter, trade union activist, and prominent proponent of Blue Labour. He is a regular columnist for UnHerd and the author of Despised: Why the Modern Left Loathes the Working Class. Find him on Twitter here.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:35 Paul’s working-class background and how he came to write the book
5:53 Paul’s writing (and non-university) background
8:25 Did Paul have to develop a thicker skin as a public writer?
10:46 Saying “I was wrong” and flirting with the far left
14:30 Following in Orwell’s footsteps and the left’s authoritarian tendency
22:32 How many people are worth talking to?
24:39 The left’s response to the brutal murder of Sir David Amess and personality politics
28:50 What is Blue Labour?
32:06 How the left adopts the mentality of the right
35:50 Would Paul rather see extreme social liberalism or extreme neoliberalism?
39:06 Could Blue Labour transform the Party?
40:51 Have the Tories parked their tanks on the Blue Labour lawn?
43:52 Would Paul ever go into politics?
45:28 What would have to happen for Paul to enter politics?
46:55 The bankruptcy of the Marxist “false consciousness”
52:28 What’s the most woke idea Paul agrees with?
54:35 The problem with “lived experience”
55:45 Are we moving in a more authoritarian direction?
1:01:44 Pronouns are not just about being kind
1:05:50 Why are trade unions going woke?
1:10:42 Favourite fiction and non-fiction
1:12:25 What other occupation would Paul have chosen?
1:14:10 Paul’s advice to young people
1:15:54 If Paul could only change one policy
Why does the modern left hate the working class? | Paul Embery