Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart: ‘If the world had succeeded this year, Trump would be in jail’

When Rory Stewart predicted that Kamala Harris would “win comfortably” he proved even best-selling political commentators can get things drastically wrong. But the O2 Arena-filling popularity of The Rest is Politics, his podcast with Alastair Campbell, remains undimmed.

But what else did Stewart and Campbell get up to in 2024?

From Bob Dylan at the Albert Hall to celebrating Christmas with bagpipes, for our My Big Year series, here are the podcast hosts’ highs and lows of the year – and what they have in store for 2025.

BIG ISSUE: What has been the standout moment of 2024?

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL: Personally, probably seeing almost 15,000 people pay good money to see me and Rory Stewart blathering about politics at the O2. Politically, seeing the back of the worst government of my lifetime.

RORY STEWART: The mind-blowing re-election of Trump.

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Are you more or less hopeful than at the start of 2024?

AC: My heart says more, my head says less.

RS: Less.

What do you think the world got right this year?

AC: It started to take AI (including regulation thereof) seriously.

RS: Very little.

What do you think the world got wrong this year?

AC: Failing to push back on populism, polarisation and post-truth politics. If the world had succeeded, Trump would be heading to jail, not the White House.

RS: The staggering descent into populism and extremism globally.

Did you get Oasis tickets?

AC: No. I didn’t try. I saw them in their pomp, and loved it, but I am happy to leave this time around to a new generation.

RS: No.

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What is your cultural highlight of 2024 – book, film, podcast, TV, live event, radio moment?

AC: The Olympics and Paralympics in Paris. Really well organised, the sport was exceptional and I loved the opening ceremony.

RS: Bob Dylan at the Albert Hall.

What would your browsing history say about you this year?

AC: That I present a politics podcast, and that I am trying to get fluent in German.

RS: Trump derangement syndrome.

What’s your biggest failure this year?

AC: Personally, not finding a replacement for my psychiatrist, who died, and who I had come to rely on. Politically, failing to stop Labour ruling out a possible return to the customs union and single market.

RS: Failure to predict Trump.

What’s the one conversation you wish you were able to have in 2024?

AC: With Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on The Rest Is Politics.

RS: A chance to convince Biden to step down earlier.

What is the oddest family Christmas tradition you keep?

AC: I wake the family up with the bagpipes every morning over Christmas and the New Year.

RS: Spreading the kids’ presents over three days.

What’s your big issue for 2025?

AC: Same as 2024. Climate and mental health.

RS: Democracy in crisis globally.

Listen to The Rest Is Politics wherever you get your podcasts.

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