Is Britain finished? Definitely not, says Tory bigwig Sir Jeremy Hunt – and his new book explains why. Ahead of the Guildford Book Festival, Jane McGowan finds him seeking solutions...
Set up in 1989, Guildford Book Festival brings a host of literary luminaries, speakers, historians and politicians to the town every October.
One of the leading lights of this year’s show is former Foreign Secretary, Health Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Jeremy Hunt, who has served as Conservative MP for Godalming and Ash since 2005.
He’ll be at Guildford High School on Oct 9 to discuss his new book: Can We Be Great Again? Why a Dangerous World Needs Britain. Here we get a foretaste of his thinking...
To judge from the stories dominating the news, the UK now seems like a country riddled by division and hate. What gives you hope that we could come together to be of use to the world?
Our society has certainly been grappling with some very serious issues recently. And our divisions have been put on full display in the news. But it is important to remember that there is often a disconnect between the news cycle and society at large. Social media also plays a role in this: it is now easier than ever to spread division online.
So whilst it is hard not to get caught up in negative headlines and viral posts, we must also remember what makes us a great country. There are still plenty of examples of our coming together as a society. Just look at our support for Ukraine. I would never underestimate the issues we face, but we should not exaggerate them either.
An Ipsos survey in 2023 found that only 9% of people in the UK trusted politicians. What can politicians do to win back our confidence? Is it this lack of trust that has given rise to more populist leaders such as Nigel Farage?
People need to believe that our politicians can solve the big problems we face – most of all on illegal migration, which has become totemic. In my book, I explain exactly how we can and should do that.
Populists are good communicators – and we should learn from them. Love or hate Donald Trump, I think we can all agree that he is a master of connecting with his base. In my opinion, more politicians should aim to replicate his approach to communication.
But only those who actually address problems faced by ordinary people will succeed. It is much easier to make promises than to keep them. Politicians need to get better at delivering on the promises they make.
Ideas of Britishness and Englishness, in particular, seem very problematic right now. How can we overcome this?
I disagree. We should be incredibly proud of the way our country has shaped the modern world, making it more prosperous and freer than ever before in history. The problem is that we have had a crisis of confidence. Self-criticism is an important part of any democracy, but so is being proud of our achievements. We therefore need to get better at telling the positive stories.
Do you think there are enough people out there who still have faith in traditional conservative ideals?
Absolutely – and because economic success is the foundation of everything, it is vital that the only party that understands business gets back on its feet.
There are still people out there with strong aspirations, in their 30s and 40s, who epitomise young Conservative values. I have met them while door-knocking. Our goal should be to attract these people by spreading our appeal across generations.
But to do this, we must first win back their trust.
What did writing the book teach you?
In government, you think you know everything. You’re answering questions on your brief night and day, in parliament and the media. But when you start to write on the very same topic, you realise that you only know half of it. So it has been a pleasure to fill in the gaps.
Writing this book has also reinforced my belief in the UK’s great potential. The data shows that we are one of the most influential countries in the world. We just need to have the confidence to take this influence and use it.
Jeremy Hunt
Can We Be Great Again? Why a Dangerous World Needs Britain, by Jeremy Hunt, is published by Swift Press. For book festival event details visit: guildfordbookfestival.co.uk.
