YouSaid · the spoken record

Justine Greening

lines on the record: 49
first: 2018-12-07
most recent: 2018-12-07
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“We have to rediscover a mission And that is how we'll actually become a party that properly wins elections. Again, I want to feel inspired. And I think the public want to feel inspired and they want to have some hope. We've got to be a party that really embodies that and can talk to them about where they want Britain to go. And we're a party that shares the same hopes and dreams that they've got, but perhaps more fundamentally have some practical solutions for delivering.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Party that is going to occupy the centre ground and maybe centre-right ground because it's there and there are millions of people, dare I say in Middle England who really don't feel like at the moment a hard left Labour Party or dare I say maybe a Conservative Party that seems consumed by Brexit they don't really see either of those main parties at the moment speaking to them. I think for our party, if we can find a route through Brexit, I've made my suggestion. I happen to think it's a good way of us starting to reconnect with young people by actually acknowledging that they want to say on the biggest issue that will shape the rest of their lives. But I think beyond that, then yes, we can start to genuinely craft an offer to them as a government and as a party that I think absolutely can give them some positive solutions to the challenges that they face in their lives.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“What does being a conservative mean? I talk to them, but you could tell they don't see us as a party of opportunity, and that's what's got to change.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Want to see the Conservative Party renew itself. The last time we won a landslide was in 1987. If you look at what's happened with Labour since it's renewed twice under Tony Blair and actually under Jeremy Corbyn. The Conservative Party has failed to really change. It's almost like we've got this Old Testament of how Margaret Thatcher did politics. And of course then it was absolutely current and relevant for Britain. Not enough people in our party are looking at who will be now, what's conservatism in the 21st century stand for now. I actually think you can in a funny way take your cue from the 80s which is it's still about opportunity. We're still a party that should stand for effort and reward. But I was just seeing one of my local schools in the education centre and they asked me well.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Has something relevant to say to them. And I think we've got a way to go, but I think we can do it. I think people of their 20s and 30s actually a bit disillusioned with Corbyn. He's dragged his feet on doing a second referendum. And I think they are in the market and want to know what we've got to offer. We need to make democracy work for them and give them a choice.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I've said I'd be prepared to think about it. I feel like one of the. Problems for the Conservative Party is it's now 31 years since we last won a landslide. And we need to realize as a party that if things don't change, that'll be our last landslide. So, if we don't find a way to do what we did then, the last time, which was to really connect with people in our country about what they want in their lives, about how people can have a stake that matters to them, then we won't have a future. British politics as a party because we simply won't be relevant in today's Britain. And I represent one of the youngest demographic constituencies in the country, I think Battersea and Putney are the youngest. Averager is 37. We need to become a party that people”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of course it's possible But what I do know is in the end Britain needs to resolve where it's going in relation to Brexit and resolve that sooner rather than later and once and for all because we can't be a country that continues to inwardly debate one issue That excludes every other day to day problem that people are facing in their lives and sucks the life out of Westminster and the government in their ability to debate and then deal with it.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Think anyone succeeding her, even if it was a as it were, leave leader, would face the same problem in Parliament that she's faced, which is they're not going to get their Brexit deal through.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Just felt that it's a sign of, if you like, a broken politics in Britain that we've got to confront. And that's set from the top, though, Nick. That's my point. We need the political leaders in our country to actually go out and argue for something, not just against stuff. And that's what I'd like to see. And if you end up with a further referendum, is people campaigning for things? And actually, maybe giving people some evidence that actually independent fact-checkers can say, well, that's broadly correct. You can rely on it”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I'll listen to the rest of that focus group that you ran. And actually, once you get into the heart of what people are saying, what they're saying is they want the other issues fixed. People talked about health, they talked about education. And actually, when you look at that last referendum, I didn't enjoy campaigning in either. It was the epitome of negative politics, issues that the public felt like they couldn't quite, didn't quite know who to believe.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Be saying the same to a government that they don't think is delivering their version of Brexit. And I think you've got to be successful in the real world, not some version that you'd like to see but doesn't really exist.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You can make that argument about any election. And at some stage we have to reach a conclusion on the route forward in relation to Brexit. And what I'm saying is in a democracy, the way we do it, we find out what people want. The fact is that this is a referendum, but it's like an election and that there are more than two choices. People are perfectly capable of picking from more than two choices. But we've got to whittle it down to one. So first and second preference is how you do that. So it's a very logical response. And actually, you know, you asked me about why I'd got there. I got there because I just felt that no one was really getting the route forward that they wanted. And in a democracy, that A can't be right and B can't be sustainable. And what we need is a sustainable approach for Britain's future so that we can get on to all of these other issues that I really care about.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I don't think that's necessarily true at all. And what I've actually proposed is that you have a first and second preference vote. That is not at all unusual. It's how we elect mayors, police and crime commissioners. It does tend to give a more clear-cut result. It will, of course, mean that we can find out which of the two different versions of Brexit, if you like, people actually want. We can see how that stacks up against people who want to remain.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I'm absolutely not saying I want to overturn it. I'm saying that I think something is happening that's fundamentally undemocratic, which is we have a government trying to push through a Brexit deal that doesn't represent Brexit to people who voted for it. And we have a parliament that can't actually Fulfill, if you like, what that referendum came out with, there's somehow, rightly or wrongly, somehow we've got to unblock that. Do you think we'll get clarity back?”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I've said I'd campaign for Remain, but in a sense I'm one vote and one of my concerns as an MP was how can I represent all my constituents when they've got such different views?”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't think it delivers on the Brexit that many, many leave voters voted for. And I think that is also the problem with the Prime Minister's deal. And broadly, my gut instinct, as I said earlier in the summer, is, you know, you're in or you're out. And where we got to now is Parliament isn't going to pass a version of Brexit. So somehow we have to find a route forward. And my proposal is really that we've got three clear choices now. We know what they are. And also they're specked out in much more detail. So I simply think you have to allow people the choice.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, I see no prospect for Parliament. Voting for some kind of no deal. There's a muted Norway option, which I think is broadly the rules with no say so I find it hard to see really that that will get through parliament”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think partly It's a response to the reality of where Britain finds itself at, which is Parliament, we've got isn't going to vote for anything. And that's just a fact. And that.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Did it just feel like liberation? I found it a difficult thing to do at the time because I felt like I had a responsibility, if you like, in terms of how I handled it. But I thought it was positive. I felt that David Mundell, my colleague in cabinet, I thought it had been amazing when he'd said that he was gay. And I just thought, actually, you know what? I need to do that as well. And I need to be frank. And actually, I need to be part of the solution. And I wanted to be, and I hope that, in fact, I know that that tweet, you know, led to a lot of people getting in touch and a lot of parents actually of LGBT children getting in touch. So I think it was a really positive thing to do. And certainly two years after, I mean, thank heavens, you know, it is, as you say, a bit of a liberation once you've sort of actually just done it. And it was fine. And I'd say to anyone listening to this, actually, you know, who's in that position, the support I had was fantastic. And maybe you think it's a big thing in your mind before you do it, but actually afterwards.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, well, I'd. Begun to realize that actually I wasn't going to be. I didn't think there was a problem with my relationship, but I began to realize that actually if I wasn't prepared to be frank about it in public, then maybe I was part of the problem, if you like, on LGBT rights. And I didn't want to be. And I felt that... In a way, I needed to have the confidence to say, well, this is what I'm doing. I think it's fine.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I think it was something along the lines of Although I campaigned for stronger in, sometimes you're better off out. Today's a good day to say that I'm in a happy same-sex relationship. So I thought I'd do it in a modern, positive way, and it was the weekend of London Pride, so it seemed like the right moment.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“All MPs, including cabinet ministers, have to make their own decisions about whether or not they want to be part of something and what matters to them. I made a decision that some of these broader issues that Britain faces around social mobility in particular, lack of opportunity, I felt was so overwhelming that I was going to put my time into them and I didn't really care whether it meant that I'd got a job or I hadn't got a job in government. That was not important to me.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think Maybe it is. Everyone's got choices, haven't they? If you're in cabinet I made my choices, and I remember getting off the tube that night that I stepped back from government, didn't take that job at DWP. I remember literally walking up the street, getting to my front door and thinking that day I was going to walk through the door with one of two things, but I couldn't have had both. Either a job in cabinet or my self-respect. And in the end,”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think that she had her own clear-cut views about what she wanted. And I did my best to take forward some of those views. But I think if it was a case of things that I just fundamentally felt were ill-judged and bad for the Conservative Party and bad for the public, yeah, I wasn't just going to be the kind of person that went along with it. Maybe some cabinet ministers do go along with things that they don't agree with. Well, I don't think that's right. I think if you're a cabinet minister, then if you're not 150% behind your prime minister, I think you should go to the back benches. And I think maybe that's one of the challenges that we've got with cabinet now.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, no, but I think too many people in politics. Will say whatever it takes to get on. And I'm not one of those people. And I think a good secretary of state is frank with the Prime Minister. I think a good prime minister is someone who wants to hear what issues are, wants to hear what ideas are, and is quite happy to have a debate about them. And if you talk to Ken Clark about Margaret Thatcher, he'll say they used to have great debates about stuff. And she'd listen to him. That's the kind of ministerial team I've always run as well. It's the same with civil servants. I think that's good.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think if you probably turn out to be a Tory growing up in Rotherham, you are somebody who works out what you think about.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think that's just simply wrong. I mean, when David Cameron rang me to tell me he wanted me to go to transport, he said, I know you've got strong views about Heathrow, but their views I share, and that's the policy of this government. So that was explicitly discussed when I went into that role. And of course, subsequently, the government decided to change its position.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I can't say how important that role was to me because I just felt it was so crucial for everything. And I felt I was making a difference in it, actually. I felt I was starting to not only bring forward some key policies around social mobility that could close some of those gaps, start to lift up those kids in communities that we needed to, deal with some of the issues of people not having a stake. That's what opportunity areas were all about. But I also felt I was starting to build some bridges with the teaching profession that I know had become alienated from us. And so I wanted to continue that.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Because I had got the role in government that I'd always wanted because actually education is how I was able to get anywhere. It's the same for all of us. You know, my teachers probably alongside my parents were the people who shaped my life the most.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Right. I thought that, in fact, it was muted the other day that the higher education review will suggest variable tuition fees. And I think in practice, whilst that sounds good, actually it's a regressive move that's against social mobility. We know that the young people tend to go to university are actually from better backgrounds and actually most students, I think certainly in my university at Roehampton, I went to see the student union just a couple of weeks ago, will say that they agree actually that young people getting a chance to go to university should make a contribution. My argument was that the way you do that is it's got to be progressive. It can't be regressive. Of course, having no tuition fees means everyone else in Britain has to pay whether or not they've had the chance to go to university. I think that's the ultimate regressive policy and it's wrong. What I was saying was I felt we needed to have a much more fundamental think around how you do higher education. And that's what I support.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I felt I was. I felt grammar schools needed to reform I felt that they needed to be more open. Young people from a wider variety of backgrounds. And I also felt that we shouldn't fall into the trap of many politicians of thinking, if you like, structures and education, fix everything.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Whilst ever there's an attainment gap, and there still is, it's closing, but there still is, just looking at grades will only tell you so much about a person. There's now software out there that can simply just flag up candidates that have outperformed. And it's not saying that they should be given a job ahead of anyone else. It's saying to an employer, if you're drawing the line, say, at two A's and a B, actually, in the rest of that cohort of people who applied, there might be 20 other candidates who you should probably have a look at because they could be rough diamonds. And the law firms actually in the city have been using this kind of technique for about three or four years now. And what they're seeing is often those rough diamonds go on to do better because they are young people who know how to deal with adversity. They know that life doesn't always work in a straight line and it's not all plain sailing and they've learned how to deal with that. And that resilience actually is exactly the kind of skill set that employers are looking for.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I didn't say that. I said that when you look at a child's performance, you have to look at it in context. And if you've gone to a school where the numbers of teaching hours and the level of investment in you is as high as it will be going to Eton, then you probably expect a smart kid to get three A stars. If you've been in a college that maybe was rated inadequate and you've got three B's, actually that probably shows you've really outperformed.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Problem? No, that's a perfectly reasonable question. I would say the problem was the 70s and I think a lack of honesty From politicians about what nationalized industry needed to do to change and survive, with, as ever, ordinary people paying the price when politicians aren't willing to take tough decisions. I think that my criticism, if you like, of how we handle things in the 80s is more around the fact that there just wasn't enough support there for people as industry changed. And my dad ended up on some... Redevelopment program, you know, like a training program that was completely inappropriate. Didn't get any advice about what to do next and wasn't able to take, I think, good decisions about realistically what job you'd have next.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, because he was a very talented man and he never got to use his talents. And I think that's the story of millions of people today. And I think...”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Just hated the fact of him being flung into the middle of all this stuff and he was doing his best just trying to earn some money.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And he was having to, I mean, you know, his life almost mirrored that of, I'm going to guess many people in the area. He was unemployed for a year. I mean, it's hard to almost remember it now, obviously, but that was a time when there literally were no jobs. I mean, if it was today, you'd be in the gig economy.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And so it really brought home to me that actually, and this is why I'm campaigning on social mobility in business, I think it's when businesses go wrong that Britain's got problems, not when they're doing well.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think I think my dad was Not necessarily a natural Tory. He was somebody who just got fed up of being pushed around by the unions at work. He was in the steel industry. And I think that when he lost his job, it was the culmination of years of being worried about losing his job. And I remember having this discussion with him because like most kids used to ask lots of questions and I remember asking him why was everyone on strike? And he said, oh, because we think we're going to lose our jobs. And I said, why do you think you're going to lose your jobs? And he said, because we're not making any money. And I said, why aren't you making any money? And he said, because nobody wants to buy what we make anymore. And that was my first economics lesson. But in that moment, I felt like this was my dad who I hugely loved. And I wanted him to do a job that people cared about.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We used to have our tea when the news was on. My dad would shout at the TV at all these Berks, as he called them, who were generally politicians. I never dreamed I'd become a Burke myself at the time. Did he think all politicians?”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh, I think it was around family Actually, although it was a family that perhaps didn't have a lot of assets, what it did have was utterly priceless, which was for me as a child unconditional love and support. And in a sense, I know how much that gave to me. I also know how hard it would have been if I hadn't had that. So it's around family. It's around almost a very normal upbringing and what it's like, just knocking about at school, going to a normal comprehensive school. I went to a very mixed school. You know, Rotherham was a very mixed place with, you know, a BME community back then. Friends of mine were from a Pakistani community. It's just all about that. It's about a family that broadly watches the same TV at the same time every week.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I've got nothing to do. I haven't got anything to lose And I think that's a big problem for Britain. And I wanted to work on the fact that I think that happens too randomly. There are massively talented people all over our country and a lot of them aren't getting to use their talents. It's not just about people reaching the top. I just think generally there are too many places where people just don't think they've got a stake and we need to change a political system so that they feel like they do.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“have seen I just felt there were lots of people just thought well I haven't got anything like you're telling me I'm going to lose stuff”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I totally got it. And actually, I'm more of a pragmatist on Europe. It's not something that's ever been a big part of my thinking in politics. I didn't come into politics to particularly talk about Brexit or Europe. So no, I was a classic pragmatist on the European Union. I thought on balance, it's better to stay in. But I totally understood people's frustrations. And in a way, one of the reasons I ended up leaving government was because I don't feel like the political class in our country is really confronting a lot of the things that drove Brexit. I know there are lots of people who just wanted to get out of Europe. That's perfectly rational as a position to take. But I think behind a lot of other votes were people who just felt like they didn't have a stake in our country. And when we were doing Project Fear, and I really hate all the negative politics, if you like, the last couple of years in particular,”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't think it's a conflict at all. I think it's good. I sort of get where. Different communities, very different communities are coming from because I'm part of both of them in my own way. And I think as someone who grew up in a very labor area of the country, maybe I go back to why I can respect people with different views. I was one of those people who had a very different view to virtually everyone else. I knew and I think it's important to respect differences. I've never had a problem with people who have different views. What I want to do is understand them.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's just more reflections on the day, really, and I just think there's a tendency to sort of almost miss how things were because everyone reinterprets everything with hindsight. And I've always tried to learn from these moments in a sense. So I always like to set out in my own mind where I think we're at. And then I go back and see whether I got it right. Well, not at the moment, because we're sort of still in it. But, you know, in the past, when we've been in these sorts of times, I've generally try and predict where things are going. And then I check whether I'm right. So far, I have to say, earlier in the summer, I predicted it would be gridlock for the very reasons that it has been. And so far, actually interestingly, my logic's absolutely held up.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think it's just so intense, and it's difficult because you. Know if you're in my position, you know, it's building up to voting against the Prime Minister's deal, which is obviously difficult, but I think the right thing to do. And I just think that there's a sort of emotional roller coaster that everybody's on.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's an exhausting roller coaster. And I'll tell you what, I get off the tube going home every night. And it's like you've come back from the front. That's how it feels because things can change in a day and you're constantly talking to other MPs about what their views are, where they're at, and then the next day, it all shifts on again.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, it's a combination of being in the middle of a pantomime, but also on a roller coaster, and you never quite know what the next day will bring. You've got a sense, if you like, of the architecture of the week. But then stuff happens that no one really expects. And I think that's just the shape of it. And you've kind of got to be quite nimble in your own way to recognize that whatever you might have in your diary that week, it's probably not what's going to happen.”
2018-12-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Justine Greening One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source