83. The Man Who Ran Downing Street

What are prime ministers really like behind closed doors? How do you become Britain’s most powerful civil servant? Are special advisors a force for good or ill?

On today’s episode of Leading, Rory and Alastair are joined by Gus O’Donnell, the former Cabinet Secretary and Head of Civil Service, to answer all these questions and more.

TRIP Plus:
Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes.
Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics.

TRIP TOUR:
To buy tickets for our October Tour, just head to www.therestispolitics.com
Instagram:
@restispolitics
Twitter:
@RestIsPolitics
Email:
restispolitics@gmail.com

Audio Editor: Nathan Copelin
Video Editor: Teo Ayodeji-Ansell
Social Producer: Jess Kidson
Assistant Producer: Fiona Douglas
Producer: Nicole Maslen
Senior Producer: Dom Johnson
Head of Content: Tom Whiter
Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices