How did the loss of industry in the 1980s affect David Blunkett's politics? What was his experience growing up blind in Sheffield? How did Neil Kinnock and Tony Blair compare? Rory and Alastair are joined by David Blunkett to discuss all this and more. David Blunkett is a Labour Party politician and Member of the House of Lords. Previously served as MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough. 00:00 Intro 01:38 Experience growing up blind 04:22 Parents view on the world 16:00 Adapting to everyday life being blind 19:00 Getting into politics 21:11 Political stance 29:18 What would have been a better approach to politics in the 80s? 31:35 What Margret Thatcher did wrong 36:06 What working in politics is like and has it changed over the years? 39:55 Political campaigns losses 42:47 Learning from history 51:44 Civil service being sceptical & resistance in government 01:04:19 Why is education no longer top of political agenda? 01:07:33 Advice for Labour if they win the general election 01:09:30 Role as Home Secretary 01:18:00 Relationship with the French and immigration 01:28:28 How can we change today's politics? 01:30:00 Why did you not become Prime Minister? 01:34:26 Outro 01:34:40 Debrief TRIP ELECTION TOUR: To buy tickets for our October Election Tour, just head to https://www.therestispolitics.com/ TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to https://www.therestispolitics.com/ to sign up. ✅ Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/@restispolitics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🎙️ Listen To The Podcast: https://lnk.to/TheRestIsPoliticsYT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 📱 Follow Us On Socials: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restispolitics/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restispolitics/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@restispolitics Twitter: https://twitter.com/RestIsPolitics