David Gauke: Conservative Reckoning, Labour Change?

Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen are joined by David Gauke, Former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. In 2019 he resigned, saying he could no longer serve under Boris Johnson and risk a no-deal Brexit. After expulsion from the Conservative party, he said ‘at last I have something in common with Domonic Cummings.’ It was a poignant remark. There are plenty more of these in this episode as Ken and Tim look back on the role of the ‘Gaukeward Squad’, the group of Tory rebels who voted against the government on the issue of Brexit, in shaping British politics today.

Ken and Tim discuss David’s experiences as a Conservative MP during truly turbulent times. The explusion of Gauke and rebel Tories had wide-reaching implications, the effects of which we are still experiencing. How does he view the current state of British politics now? What reform is needed in the prison system, and is Labour’s manifesto in this area enough to separate them from the Conservatives?