Rory Stewart’s conversation with UnHerd’s Tom McTague, on the These Times podcast, is exceptionally interesting. Whatever your views on Stewart’s politics, he doesn’t sound like a politician: he is much too thoughtful and reflective and eloquent. In particular, he is willing to contemplate the tensions and contradictions in his worldview — between a high Tory romanticism and a technocratic respect for competence, between a love of liberty and an authoritarian reflex.

Tom did a great job in teasing out these contradictions — do listen to the whole thing.

One exchange jumped out at me, when Stewart was asked about the Covid lockdowns. Many will remember that he was one of the earliest to demand full national lockdowns and school closures — he made great play of it, and it is still quoted as an example of his good judgement (see last week’s Henry Mance interview in the FT).

But when Tom asked him if he still thinks they were a good idea, Stewart’s answer was equivocal at best. Am I reading too much into it, or does he hint that he is coming around to the view that they were a mistake at the end of this section? Here’s the full exchange so you can decide for yourself.

[If only we had the sou l searching going on here as well. ~ Beege]