The Marchioness of Motherwell Has Just Two Words This Week: I'm Back.

The Independent sits down with the Former Prime Minister Dame Youmaton to discuss the current political environment; with a special announcement regarding her future.

Good morning! I’m Jayson Ball with the Independent, and today I have the opportunity to speak with one of the great rocks of British politics, the Marchioness of Motherwell, Youmaton. She has been Prime Minister, Leader of the Labour Party more than once, and guided Britain out of the European Union. She is a strong advocate for sensible social democracy, diplomatic solutions, and is often considered one of the role models for many on the centre left.

So Youmaton, firstly how are you, and what do you make of your legacy in contemporary British politics?

Good morning Jason, I am well, thank you for having me. Reflecting upon ones legacy is a strange task, especially whilst still within the political realm. My legacy as it stands is what I see as a stepping stone for those who came after me in Number 10, allowing future governments and British politics as a whole to be free from the endless roundabouts of Brexit debates and extensions. Those new to the political discussion will very fortunately not have to face the clashes of the past, and our country under the sole metric of Brexit and the completed deal has been improved for the better. Beyond this, I believe the bipartisanship of the later Phoenix era demonstrated an example of how politics can and should work, where our most pressing matters are resolved in a common sense and pragmatic way.

I think that the pragmatism that you speak about during Phoenix, and especially during those Brexit talks is a defining feature of your own political ideology, and it is certainly something that many people bring up when talking about you and your time in Number 10.

Would you say that you agree with the assessment that you are at your core, a pragmatist above all else?

I would generally say so. Pragmatism is not a bad word, it is not something that people should avoid. You can still be ambitious and pragmatic. Pragmatism allows for true consensus decision making, and can inevitably delivers better outcomes than would exist if one just went it alone. The Coalition for Freedom was something never thought of prior to Phoenix, especially after the diplomatic incident with South Korea, and it was pragmatism across all sides of politics that wished to talk in good faith that gave the world a key organisation which has stood up for peace, stability and freedom worldwide.

"Pragmatism is not a bad word" I think is an interesting point you raise, and naturally the Phoenix Government rising out of the ashes of an increasingly divided House at the time needed to be inherently pragmatic working in a minority.

At present, with Solidarity also in Government as a minority, you would expect similar levels of pragmatism to what was seen from your time as Prime Minister, however many often think that within this increasingly radical Commons, we are losing the cooperation we once had across party lines.

What is your take on the current Government and how they are interacting with the Opposition?

As with any matter in modern politics, the government's history with pragmatism is complicated, but unfortunately unsatisfactory. Whilst I will praise the actions of some of its members in building pragmatic policy coalitions in the first Rose government, since then there has been a steady decline of pragmatism, with ideological fights taking centre stage during and after the Coinflip era. Its immediate reaction to boycott an official Lords committee regardless of later actions shows that their priorities do not fall where they should, and I am afraid I do not believe they have sufficiently changed since a high ranking member of the government chose to privately threaten Labour during my previous tenure. There have been some roads of progress where the government has joined or led consensus on an uncontroversial issue, but beyond this have sought to introduce vast implementations of unneeded and economically damaging nationalisations. There is no pragmatism in pure ideologicalism. I had some hope from the sidelines that the inclusion of the Social Liberal Party to government would see some sense of moderation to its actions, but it seems that any pragmatism the Social Liberals might have had has been overwhelmed by the trumpet of Solidarity.

As for its interactions with the Opposition, I would say it is fairly mixed. I will not hide some of the actions taken by the government to work with the Labour party, however equally they have sought to use their numbers to push through many unnecessary policies, whilst additionally ignoring the voices of others in parliament rightfully telling them that their actions are wrong. The behaviour overall in this parliament has been of a high level of concern, with a government committed to far to its own ideological agenda that it can not see reason, an opposition unwilling to fully stand up to the government, and continued scandals in unofficial opposition parties spanning from sudden exits from the political sphere to the attempted political influence of a formal Lords committee. This is not what the people of the United Kingdom voted for or expected last election, it is quite worrying.

Labour following their merger with Coalition was heralded as a new truly third way front, that could stand in opposition to as you have said, more ideologically driven policies and initiatives.

However, it has largely laid dormant and apologetic about its position in Official Opposition, rubber stamping far left policies. The overall feeling in Parliament is one of Solidarity's way or the highway it seems.

You note unneeded and economically damaging nationalisations as a sticking point for you personally, however Labour has largely been in support of a majority of these fiscal policies, and has in no way sought themselves to work with the Conservatives or Liberal Democrats in blocking 'controversial' policy.

Are you of the belief that Labour is failing in Official Opposition?

From my point of view, Labour is aiming for the path of least resistance. This can be a legitimate strategy to defeat a government in turmoil, however it is clear from this term that this government is far from that, the opposition's support has only strengthened the government's position and makes another term of Solidarity government evermore likely.  This is not in anyway wanting to degrade the leadership of Frosty or Ray, I consider both of them as friends, however overtime and especially during this term we have witnessed an unfortunate shift from the pragmatism of Phoenix or the Central Line, to actively backing far left policies proposed by this government. From these economic issues, to Labour's unwillingness to stand up to the government's attacks on our union, I fear what may come from the next term if things stay the way they are.

Following up on this I suppose is the question then - what are you actively doing to bring about a return to pragmatism? Considering Labour currently seeking to avoid such as you stated.

After much reflection, I have chosen to take a stand. Where all sides have presently failed to bring the pragmatic change needed for this country to return it to sensible politics, I have found there is no other choice, but to act on this myself. Labour has been my political home for many years, and it will always have a special place in my heart, however without direct action we will see the government returned to bring the country closer to significant economic damage. Without a clear political push to restore pragmatism and sensible policies, there is no chance to see the return of this given the current state of the official and unofficial oppositions. No party as it stands has demonstrated it has the leadership needed to bring about this change, so together with many of my colleagues, we have voted to announce the creation of the United Kingdom's newest political party.

Unity.

Through Unity, we will seek to bring together all sides of the politics arena who are willing to listen to sensible and pragmatic policies, rather than the government's vision of pure ideology guiding its governance. With the date of the election now officially known, the people of the United Kingdom will be presented with a bold common sense platform and programme to restore local and international trust in our economic systems, strengthen our union of equals in the face of repeated attempts to dismantle it, and deliver and defend the modern British values that the people of this country have come to expect from our politicians. Unity will seek to stand in as many seats in the upcoming election as we can, to help bring back common sense to our democracy, and bring back pragmatism to our politics.

Wow, that is quite the shock. Obviously there are quite serious concerns if you have decided that this is the most viable way forward, and Unity I think is a bold name choice that echoes Coalition in many aspects, but also your reputation as someone who people are proud to unite behind.

Naturally you have explored some of Unity's policies already, however would care to perhaps elaborate on your positioning within British politics, and your relation to  other previous broad tent parties like Coalition, the Classical Liberals and the like?

Unity is the party of the pragmatic Briton, welcoming all who wish to see a greater and stronger Britain, with a core within the political centre. Core to our beliefs are three strong pillars. Maintaining and strengthening our union of equals, protecting and enhancing our economic outlook through responsibility and stability, and promoting political and personal freedom. These are the values of modern Britain, and the values that we will fight for as the nations newest political party. Regarding the parties you mentioned, I suspect we are closer to Coalition than to the Classical Liberals, whilst both admirable I believe many of the actions taken by the Classical Liberals especially during their time in Holyrood led to the erosion on trust in our union. I must emphasise, we are not the relaunch of any old party, we are a new party ready to deliver what the people of the United Kingdom expect, and stand ready to work with all sides to bring back common sense to our politics.

So, what plans do you have for the upcoming election with your new party?

Unity intends to contest the election with as many candidates as possible, from all walks of life across the United Kingdom. The people of this country deserve a real alternative to vote for, one that expresses their values openly and works across the political spectrum to enable the return of pragmatic policies in Westminster.

Considering the possibility that you may then hold quite a considerable share of the vote, if you were in a position where you held the balance of power in any Government, what policies would you be seeking to implement?

Whilst our election policy platform will be revealed at the election, I will raise some of what we are seeking to do during the remainder of this term, and what we will seek to do next term in the balance of power. This term, we have already taken steps to restore the Global Britain foreign policy as it was under my prior tenure, with the Protected Sovereign States and Territories legislation due to be introduced to the Commons by the end of the term. We will additionally be seeking to bring forward workplace inclusion legislation, and environmental legislation to better prepare our nation for the years ahead.

Moving forward to next term, if the people of the United Kingdom grant us the trust to hold the balance of power, we will seek to bring common sense back to our economic system as the priority. With a focus to bring the budget back to balance as soon as we responsibly can, we will reform the taxation system to support businesses within our nation, allowing the increase in jobs to bring stability back to our financial systems. To further aid in the renewing of international trust in our financial systems utilising the freedoms of Brexit, we will seek to negotiate closer trade relations with communities across the world, in particular the Commonwealth, European Union and African Union, highlighting to the world how good the United Kingdom is to live, grow and do business. Beyond this, we will seek to bolster and reform our nations armed forces, move towards the phasing out of engineered stone to protect workers currently risking silicosis in their workplace, and bring forth new legislation to protect British industries and jobs. As I noted, at the election we will be releasing a bold yet sensible manifesto outlining the changes needed to better this nation, but these policies alone show that Unity is ready to deliver for the people of the United Kingdom if given the chance.

Very interesting! Well that's all we have time for, thank you for speaking with me Youmaton.

Thank you for having me Jayson

So that was Youmaton discussing their new political project, which we will learn more about as we edge ever closer to the election.