The Rest is Politics road show hit the O2 Apollo in Manchester on Friday (11th October) night . One-time Downing Street Director of Communications, People’s vote campaigner and Labour-supporting Alastair Campbell joined with Tory Cabinet minister, author and long-distance walker Rory Stewart. The show was a sellout, the audience were enthusiastic and enjoyed a bonus second half appearance from the presenters of the Rest is Politics US – Katty Kay (British broadcaster) and Anthony Scaramucci, Wall Street financier and for eleven days Donald Trump’s Director of Communications in July 2017.
As of 13 October 2024, the Rest is Politics US is 2nd in the Spotify UK podcast charts and the “mother show” – the original Rest is Politics – is at number 7. As a side note, the companion Rest is Entertainment, Rest is History and Rest is Football podcasts, all from the Gary Lineker owned Goalhanger, are all in the top 15.
Rest is Politics fans turned out in force
People who support a centrist, pragmatic, progressive view of the world are very comfortable with these podcasts, which articulate this approach extremely well. Of course, the presenters have an easy chemistry too. But would the cosy podcast format translate to the big stage?
The Manchester O2 Apollo is a huge venue, seating over 3500 and it was almost completely full for the second show of the day. It was a slightly surreal experience having to join the entry queue which snaked for several hundred metres at its peak. Inside the venue, standard warnings about strobe lighting being in use during the performance seemed incongruous – would they?
Mixing humour and tragedy in the first half
In the event there was extensive use of video and images, but no strobe lighting. In the first half, Campbell and Stewart followed their normal routine of discussing a series of current events – the Middle East, the Tory leadership election and Labour’s first one hundred days – interspersed with more light-hearted sequences, featuring for example, Stewart’s doomed bid to lead the Tory party and Campbell’s experience playing football with Diego Maradona (Stewart is famously ignorant of all things sporting). This did make for a slightly uncomfortable gear change, when this sequence moved quickly into one concerning the horrendous situation in the Middle East. One sobering perspective from Stewart was that even though the majority in Iran had little time for the regime there, simply removing the leadership would not ensure a moderate replacement.
There were a number of impromptu votes on various topics, which perhaps just exposed the self-selected nature of the audience: we agreed that Brexit was bad for Britain (well done to the one person in the audience who was prepared to vote against), that Labour had made a poor start but would most likely win again (Campbell’s summing up: “Things can only get better”). And we loved Andy Burnham.
Second half – Can Trump be stopped?
For the second half (interval tip: there are almost empty bars at the top of the Circle), Katty Kay and the awesomely articulate and quick-witted Anthony Scaramucci, came on stage and the discussion moved to the US election. As might be expected, the panel agreed that Donald Trump was a bad man who should not be re-elected. Scaramucci’s views are particularly interesting – he is a lifelong Republican who has worked on many presidential campaigns, including Trump’s in 2016. His insights included seeing Trump preparing his hair after a shower.
The panel divided on the question of who would win in November. Campbell: too close to call, Kay: Trump may win because not enough Americans will vote for a woman. Scaramucci: probably Harris (she has the most money), and finally Stewart: Harris, the polls are overstating Trump support. So that was clear …
The show finished with several questions posed by the audience during the show. Stewart impressed with an unscripted speech on why a young person should get involved with politics (that public school confidence showing through). One audience member got a huge laugh by enquiring of Campbell what the three main benefits of NordVPN were – referring to an oft-repeated commercial in which techno-phobe Campbell does just that. Typically, Scaramucci reeled them off perfectly.
A fun evening
It was fun. The presenters were impressive, and the on-stage interaction was natural and entertaining. If you like the Rest is Politics, you will like the live show too. It’s the same thing with a few extra knobs on. And yes, Campbell does play the bagpipes.
