How to be Leader of the Opposition

Michael Cockerell's documentary concentrates on the problems encountered by William Hague as Leader of the Opposition in 1999. Several of his predecessors comment on how they approached the job. Transmitted 19 June 1999.
A young George Osborne can be seen in William Hague's team from 11:29.
NB Jimmy Savile appears (archive footage from 'Jim'll Fix It') from 5:03 - 5:31.

[@RBenjo21]

Keep your eyes peeled for a very young (pre-MP!) George Osborne!

[@rickmillercomposer]

And Michael Gove asking a question around ten mins in...?

[@lrhoneyghan9203]

So fascinating! G.O. indeed...

[@notquiteatory971]

Richard Miller And Boris Johnson as former editor of the telegraph after he finished Oxford

[@BossySwan]

10:28 Seb Coe bottom left?

[@Bungle-UK]

Everything thats wrong with professional politicians going from uni to advisors to MPs.

[@Gizo02]

Hague become leader too early on during his political career (he was only 36 at the time), and also at the worst time possible when the Tories only had 165 seats in the commons and were doomed to face at least two terms in opposition. Everyone knew after their 1997 defeat that regardless of what happened during the next parliament, they had a 0% chance of winning the next election given the huge ground that they needed to make up. There was an incredibly low turnout during the 2001 election, with a lot of would-be Labour voters in-particular not bothering to go to the polling station given that the result was a foregone conclusion. A better turnout might have seen the Tories actually lose seats at that election and plummet to even lower depths. At it turns out they still had a disastrous result with a pathetic net gain of 1 seat. Hague spent most of that election campaign in places like Dover banging on about saving the pound and ignoring the topics that the public really cared about the time, health and education.

[@Secret19977]

Gizo02 Hague was probably with David Davies and Anne widdecombe the best prime ministers we never had, People underestimate Hague as leader but he week in week out turned Tony Blair over in the commons, Where Hague did go wrong was focus too much on Europe during the election which at the time Europe wasn’t a big issue to voters like it is today, He prioritised the wrong agenda during the election

[@freebornjohn2687]

I think Hague would have been a far better prime minister than May (directionless with no charisma) or Boris (a liar with no moral compass - just self interest). In his later career he had gained the gravitas and experience he lacked at 36.

[@teddybeddy123]

Really interesting article by Steve Richards on successful LOTOs- Wilson, Thatcher, Blair, Cameron- they were all teachers, teaching the nation why they thought their policies were the best for the nation and were all able to tell a national story that explains the nation's problems, and which ends with themselves as prime minister.

[@wilverbal]

2:45 ---- Beckett complaining about not being paid enough. You can see the seeds of her expenses scandal here.

[@199019852007]

Indeed her nose was in the gravy even back then.

[@BossySwan]

She had a new caravan to pay for

[@LordBeauchamp1994]

She's the one who came up with the House of Lords Bill 1999 and ruined the House of Lords

[@Bungle-UK]

Rewarded with a Dame for all those years on the make….scum all round.

[@Richard19551]

I had the same reaction on seeing Savile! However, this is a wonderful programme - thank you for posting it! It's entertaining, educational, informative, and makes one reflect on the leadership of recent decades. No one writes books describing "great leaders of the opposition". No one votes for any MP of a party because though one hates the idea of the party leader becoming P.M., he's a great opposition leader. And yet, leader of the opposition is so necessary, he provokes so much press interest in quite worthwhile neglected topics, and the position is such a deep and integral and centuries-old aspect of Britain's democracy. Even dictatorships have P.M.s - but they don't have leaders of the opposition! It's what makes a democracy! Thanks so much for this!

[@199019852007]

Saville looked weird even back then

[@gavinmc5285]

ebeneezer bad. ee's weren't goode mr. cotton. is eez weren't goode.

[@jackval002]

Ew Jimmy Saville

[@chs2618]

Jack Valentine Jesus that did not age well

[@jevonperkins7760]

Thats not aged well

[@pov_music]

should definitely add a Content Warning for his appearance.

[@BossySwan]

ProtectorOfVindaloo ‘Content Warning’?! Just skip past his bit if you’re sensitive or ‘offended’

[@MichaelJones-wh9cy]

There's another nonce at 1:49. But this time it's a former PM.

[@moynanplayz5379]

Jimmy saville with the kids!!

[@199019852007]

5:15 things that should be illegal

[@alexthompson9516]

Dude is weird AF!!

[@alfedge9527]

Embraced by the tories

[@gavinmc5285]

jim fixed it for tories

[@mrspeaker6720]

Thanks for posting

[@jonescrusher1]

The late nineties, how innocent they seem now.

[@markequinox]

Well said

[@gavinmc5285]

all before diana, biggie, tupac, steve jobs and social media

[@littleshoemaker]

Pity they don’t make programmes like this now. Thanks for uploading, enjoyed it. Funny that a certain journalist called Boris Johnson gets the Tory problems at the time!

[@attackpatterndelta8949]

And now he’s creating all new problems for the Tories. Scandal after scandal after scandal. Worse than the Tories in the dying days of the Thatcher years.

[@littleshoemaker]

@@attackpatterndelta8949 But don't be surprised if he wins the next election.

[@michaelhoskins6579]

I preferred the days when Osborne, Gove, and Patel were all firmly behind the scenes.

[@josephthomasjr.6551]

This is REALLY good! The Brits are superlative at doing political documentaries! And Neal Kinnock is especially interesting!

[@pov_music]

11:31 Osbourne looking about 14.

[@pengo1560]

Lmao he looks like a sixth former

[@tdtvegas]

The irony in this video is amazing... 1, is Boris Johnson who is mentioned wrote a column in this video. His current GF (as of 2020; Carrie) was 8 years old when this was made.

[@user-bl8xf2oi7e]

Eww

[@zico739]

353535336373373 Not really.

[@Generalscorpio]

@@user-bl8xf2oi7e Not even almost.

[@pandapirate2468]

Even worse, his girlfriend at the time was only 7 years old

[@ryancarter6922]

@@pandapirate2468 🤣🤣🤣

[@aarondavis8943]

Oppositions win by presenting better policies than the government and explaining how they would better implement those policies, not by tedious, predictable attacks day in day out.

[@liamb8644]

Ridiculous that so much spin was put on Neil Kinnock dancing and William Hague wearing a cap, are they never allowed to do things normal people do?

[@liamb8644]

bumps adaisy they thought he was scruffy I think. They do the same thing with Corbyn today

[@liamb8644]

QuickQuickSlowSlow55 K boss 😊

[@nobad6134]

2015 Bacon Sandwich. U.K. tabloids are childish.

[@lukerothwell1474]

Same with Michael Foot and his 'Donkey Jacket' which was in reality a perfectly normal coat that was in no way inappropriate.

[@ciaranduggan2694]

Thatcher and Saville ohhhhhh dear

[@Samgurney88]

10:22 The journalist sounds like Michael Gove. (And in the shot is Gus O’Donnell and Alastair Campbell)

[@DBIVUK]

It is Michael Gove.

[@RBenjo21]

28:57 I bet Hague wanted to be out of there after hearing that.

[@martonk]

did the old guy say what I heard him say?

[@RBenjo21]

@@martonk Yep.

[@alexandergrant2420]

Poor old Hague, it really was an impossible job at that particular point in time.

[@gavinmc5285]

now that the international criminal court is firmly established in the hague though things can only get better

[@passiveaggressive6175]

The irony talking about getting to know the locals and walking past a constituent without a bat of an eye.

[@gavinmc5285]

she had a buggy. and kids. not someone easily converted into the Conservative faith. and since it was near an underpass and she was going in the opposite direction it would have been a waste of time. if she could have pulled herself up by the bootstraps and got a proper job instead of being a waste of space parent then maybe they could have given her the time of day.

[@lennard5393]

Why this suddenly became relevant.

[@jonmortermusic]

Jimmy Savile AND Rolf Harris...with Mrs Thatcher...well fancy that

[@benusmaximus3601]

Those poor poor school children...

[@gavinmc5285]

@28:57

[@MrAug80]

Creepy old Jimmy!!🤬

[@Highland_Moo]

I miss Betty Boothroyd. She was fantastic! I was 21/22 when this programme was made and I didn’t pay too much attention to politics, but I do remember Betty as Speaker and all Speakers since haven’t been a patch on her.

[@wilsonfisk6626]

Michael Martin: Uhh uhduh uhduh uhh uhh uhduh, Prime Minister *points*

[@LordBeauchamp1994]

She was horrible she didn't wear the wig and broke down tradition. Bernard Weatherill was the last great speaker

[@gavinmc5285]

doing the do

[@estoforte388]

Feel like Hague lacked the depth of team around him. (Like them or loathe them), Blair had, Campbell, Mandelson, Brown, and Powell. Hague had a very young George Osborne, and Seb Coe.

[@liamprice9192]

Thanks for posting. Michael Cockerell did a documentary on 'How to be an ex-Prime Minister' when Blair resigned in 2007 which (unlike many of the 'how to be' series, isn't available on the internet. Does anyone have it?

[@DBIVUK]

BBC Four, 24 June 2007 - genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8e8f41b0657f4f6186b00d5e18a0b904. I might have it somewhere, will hunt around

[@liamprice9192]

David Boothroyd Thanks very much for replying. Would be glad of any Cockerell material not already available. I think he made documentaries on Alan Clark 'Love Tory', Barbara Castle 'Labour's Red Queen' and William Whitelaw as well.

[@Cheekywill]

28:07 is that Priti Patel?

[@DBIVUK]

Yes - she was press officer for William Hague at the time.

[@davidoconnell4100]

@@DBIVUK Cheap even then.

[@kasaarsedai7692]

Crazy to think how long Kissinger influenced world politics. This year is the end of an era.

[@gavinmc5285]

the kissingera

[@hughdoherty3310]

Is that George Osborne at 2:20 ?

[@DBIVUK]

Yes, and he makes several more appearances. Osborne was political secretary and speechwriter for William Hague.

[@teddy1066]

Jimmy Savile - Paedor of the Opposition

[@tsetienchu2482]

28:39 'you must keep Clarke under control'...

[@Bungle-UK]

Margaret Beckett there bemoaning the fact that the LOTO was paid more than cabinet ministers at the time….ignoring the fact that she was fiddling her expenses as a cushy sideline.

[@mohsin90ish]

Has anyone ever been as wrong about everything as Amanda Platell was in this documentary?

[@Secret19977]

Mohammed Akhtar she knows a lot more then you do

[@robertewing3114]

Surely Churchill was not despised in parliament, on the contrary he entertained. Politicians have to talk too much about him because they have to talk too little about Chamberlain. Such is politics and such is history.

[@gavinmc5285]

cigars, port, brandy and the odd dram.

[@robertewing3114]

@@gavinmc5285 Reading the Budget to Parliament he paused for a drink and commented something like: And now to reinforce the revenue You have it

[@ethanp22]

Jimmy Savile bit didn’t age perfectly

[@Mujangga]

What's that song they were singing next to Michael Foote?

[@DBIVUK]

At 25:09? That's 'Bandiera Rossa', a well known Italian labour movement song. See kzbin.info/www/bejne/l37TlXueqrlgn9U

[@chrisbayes2972]

This is so bizarre! Savile leading a troupe of kids in to see his mate, Maggie. Dubya handing Hague's arse to him!

[@jayamber4448]

5:20 they make a good pair, don't they?

[@jacklewis3803]

Step by step guide of how to get the worst job in Britain, fun.

[@Daniel-jf5fd]

from 31:00 Boris Johnsoni

[@mikeluscher159]

The amount of Vauxhall Omega's 😳

[@gavinmc5285]

leader of the opposition looks like having to fight for equal rights in a system that carries an inherent bias - irrespective of whether any given individual decides to indulge their discretionary power - in a struggle for power in which superiority (primus inter pares) not equality is the prize, all amidst an environment of acrimony, treachery, secrets, betrayal and the public view.

[@5340robert]

This documentary has not aged well. With Saville and some kids, Rolf Harris playing in the background at one point and the old bloke saying the N word.

[@danielwarren3138]

Honestly it feels even dated for the time it was broadcast by at least a decade

[@valeriekeefe8898]

21:52 Is... Is the Right Honourable William Hague an Arnando Iannuci character?

[@Slapbass13]

Is that Michael Gove asking a question at 10:23 ?

[@DBIVUK]

Yes. He was a Times journalist before becoming MP.

[@thedukeofswellington1827]

5:05 horrifying

[@ER1CwC]

22:00 If anyone is interested, check out 17:28 in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYDapqSIoK2UgZY . Paul Begala talks about how Bill Clinton received a similar sort of local question… except Clinton knew the nitty gritty details!

[@liambarker4071]

36.21 -- didnt realise Graham Coxon worked in radio

[@ABCDEF-yf4yu]

The leader of the oppostition requires charisma. The Labour party has had a succession of boring and forgettable leaders after Tony Blair, that were Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman, Ed Miliband Jeremy Corbyn and now Keir Starmer. Neil Kinnock is very memorable but could not defeat Margaret Thatcher to become the Prime Minister.

[@carlosjones8712]

10:24 a young Michael Gove?

[@DBIVUK]

Yes, though you don't see him - he was then a reporter for The Times. But if it's a young Michael Gove you're after, look for the Channel 4 series 'A Stab in the Dark' from 1992.

[@danielwarren3138]

Hide the Charlie

[@HighKingoftheElves]

5:05 that didn’t age well 😬

[@elicrowleyycontreras1135]

I wonder how intimate William Hague was with Tony Blair. I wish that they could both have been in power.

[@attackpatterndelta8949]

Blair apparently admitted after leaving office, that Hague was the Tory leader he found the most difficult to spar with at PMQs. IDS was apparently the easiest, which doesn’t surprise me.

[@gavinmc5285]

don't think there were any reports of mr. hague visiting epstein's island.

[@thedukeofswellington1827]

To be leader of the opposition in 1999? An impossible job haha

[@politicsdude369]

30:43, Boris Johnson mentioned.

[@YARROWS9]

Wee Willy Hague is punching.

[@BossySwan]

12:24 does anyone have a clip of that Prescott comedy?

[@DBIVUK]

This is it: www.c-span.org/video/?122511-1/question-time

[@BossySwan]

David Boothroyd Much obliged

[@lucianopavarotti2843]

@5:03 this makes the flesh creep

[@Leo-nn5vx]

30:43

[@corlys6372]

1:14 Fucking hell Blair was good

[@scruffmcgruff03]

Pompous little weasel got found out in the end

[@johnking5174]

@@scruffmcgruff03 Thumping the tories in three general elections before he got "found out" in your words, whatever they mean.

[@RustyShackleford-ji8mz]

@@johnking5174 english ‘found out’: to ascertain the true character or identity. 🙄 duh

[@RustyShackleford-ji8mz]

@@johnking5174 and 2a : to catch in an offense (such as a crime) the culprits were soon found out. Iraq. So just stfu

[@johnking5174]

@@RustyShackleford-ji8mz There is a reason why I still like Tony Blair. I for one was dead against the Iraq War, no supporter at all of that illegal war, but Tony Blair still has some regards from me for the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. I was born in Derry, the city which experienced so much pain during the troubles. We recently remembered the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, where the British PARA troops came in and murdered 13 innocent men/boys that Sunday afternoon on what was supposed to be a peaceful march for civil rights. My grandfather and uncle were on the march. My uncle came close to being shot dead that afternoon in the Bogside. My mother was 13 at the time went to the wake and church service. She saw Jackie Duddy in his coffin. The young lad, now famous for being carried to medical help led by Father Daly waving a blood stained hanky. So you see, having a British Prime Minister, taking time, effort and care to get a peace agreement for the first time ever makes me highly regard Tony Blair. He was the only British Prime Minister who gave any care or consideration to the province where I am from. Do you understand?

[@MrMartinmozz]

gotta love how the government actually pay someone to attack them :)

[@199019852007]

President JI does not take that nonsense

[@teddybeddy123]

I think the only Tories who weren't somewhere in here were David Cameron and Theresa May, I think I even saw Priti Patel and I even heard Gove ask Bush a question!

[@themelidenstar7040]

Theresa May had been elected in 1997 so she may have been doing MP duties. I think David Cameron at that point had been chosen to be Conservative candidate in Witney.

[@jasperthorp5329]

44:51 john major

[@patrickcrowther9195]

An American voice does the voiceover on Panorama in 1967 (33.00), anyone know who it is?

[@DBIVUK]

That's Robert MacNeil, who was working mostly in Britain from 1967-71. See www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/host/

[@patrickcrowther9195]

@@DBIVUK Thank you. I’ve heard his voice on various documentaries but I was born in 1969 so it was a bit before my time.

[@pov_music]

28:57 trust an old Tory dinosaur to come out with that, amazed that got on the broadcast lol

[@freebornjohn2687]

One of the problems of being leader is that you have to put up with listening to old farts.

[@littleshoemaker]

I didn’t hear that offensive remark when I watched it as it’s very quiet. Probably just a turn of phrase used by that generation but it wouldn’t have made it to broadcast now.

[@stevebbuk]

I think Ruth Davidson could do worse than to heed Roy Jenkins' comments at 8:36

[@brianwarden7250]

LOL. Ruth turned out okay. The 4 conservative prime minster's since, not so much.

[@AscendedYield]

This has not aged well😂

[@michaelheeheejackson7255]

Dont be William Hague

[@insertclevername4123]

Say what you will about Hague's traditionalist critics, but they're 100% right--nothing says "We're serious people who want serious solutions to serious problems" quite like being scandalized at a bald guy wearing a hat out in the sun.

[@insertclevername4123]

@Bessie Hillum Fair, but would they have been less scandalized if he'd gone on the log flume ride wearing a top hat?

[@harrypainter7472]

Rishi Sunak ought to take notes from this

[@StrongandStable17]

Sunak won't lead them into Opposition much like Major. So he probably doesn't.

[@gavinmc5285]

he's got them: 75m £10 pound notes.

[@channelfogg6629]

Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris - Thatcher certainly had an eye for them, didn't she?

[@anonUK]

When they told her they wanted to shaft the minors...

[@ivanluther3823]

At 30 min they talk about what Boris said....and he is now the Tory leader and Prime Minister.

[@gavinmc5285]

asda carparks have been identified as setting the brexit policy agenda from early then

[@4138channel]

5:00 oh fuck Jesus Christ

[@mizzyroro]

Of course all the attention is on her. She has a damn good body.

[@alexthompson9516]

William Hague's lady is hot.

[@johnc3673]

Sexist. I hate that

[@portly2496]

The more one sees of Heath the more difficult it is to see how he won the support of his party to become leader - h is so lacking in charm or oratory skills. Only now are we finally escaping the shackles of EU membership he imposed on the nation almost half a century ago.

[@insertclevername4123]

From what I can gather, he had the right education, had the right connections, and was single-mindedly driven in terms of what he wanted to do and what he wanted from others. Which are all pretty good qualifications, especially if a person otherwise comes across as an insufferable dick.

[@hinson92]

Jimmy Savile friends with Thatcher....somebody tell me she at top of the country she didn’t know..... yeah right

[@Generalscorpio]

Just because he was invited to meet her doesn't mean they were friends, as much of this documentary explains there's effort put into the image of LOTO, so they'll take-on publicity stunts to improve their image without automatically being friendly with whoever she's meeting.

[@gavinmc5285]

jim fixed it for special ministerial access without portfolio

[@archmeasterjackimer6217]

Well....... The saville bit didnt age well did it

[@michaelhoskins6579]

28:30 The Conservative Party rank and file...

[@thedukeofswellington1827]

It is hard to picture Churchill and that cabinet sitting in the cramped shadow cabinet room hahaha its designed to make you look ridiculous

[@flappospammo]

Starmer is so spineless I’m surprised he can walk upright

[@system1912]

Kinnock was a clown.

[@jacklewis3803]

George Bush...

[@fifaplayer6833]

28:55 N word!!! :0

[@dheshrajdeepchehal8115]

Ikr yikes

[@danielwarren3138]

Surprised that made the cut

[@123brownjames]

Hague would have made a great PM

[@millionholes]

No, he is too pro-Europe.

[@tomgibson6801]

pro europe? maybe he is now but then lol check out his foreign land speech

[@banana014c]

No he wouldn't, he's a vile Tory, all Tories are scum!

[@michaelheeheejackson7255]

Incredibly boring windbag

[@ibidthefrog]

At the time I thought he was a disaster but with the current shower he looks like a greate statesman

[@jemshadow123]

This is basically how to be a loser...lol

[@thedukeofswellington1827]

3:01 it was the peak of Corbyns career haha of so many Labour leaders 🤣

[@scruffmcgruff03]

Bush and Hague are the worst ever comedy duo

[@HarveyPayne-hr1yx]

I had the same reaction on seeing Savile! However, this is a wonderful programme - thank you for posting it! It's entertaining, educational, informative, and makes one reflect on the leadership of recent decades. No one writes books describing "great leaders of the opposition". No one votes for any MP of a party because though one hates the idea of the party leader becoming P.M., he's a great opposition leader. And yet, leader of the opposition is so necessary, he provokes so much press interest in quite worthwhile neglected topics, and the position is such a deep and integral and centuries-old aspect of Britain's democracy. Even dictatorships have P.M.s - but they don't have leaders of the opposition! It's what makes a democracy! Thanks so much for this!

[@jasperthorp5329]

44:51