Matthew Goodwin on populism: is it economics or culture?

Cultural insecurity is sitting in the driving seat and economic insecurity in the passenger seat, emphasises Matthew Goodwin. And younger generations might not see traditional party politics as the way to move forward. Political reform has to be thought about, he concludes.

Matthew Goodwin is a bestseller writer, and speaker known for his work on political volatility, risk, populism, British politics, Europe, elections, and Brexit. He is Professor of Politics at Rutherford College, University of Kent, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, and previously Senior Fellow with the UK in a Changing Europe. Matthew is the author of six books, including the 2018 Sunday Times bestseller National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy.

Matthew engages widely with business, policy and media communities. He has consulted more than 300 organizations around the globe, from the UK Prime Minister’s Office to the President of Germany, U.S. State Department, and the European Commission. Matthew regularly interviews politicians, activists and campaigners from across the spectrum and appears in international media himself.

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[ubscenter]

Thank you for your interest in this video. We understand the importance of the debate. Please be respectful, constructive and modest in your choice of words.

[jacc]

Very grateful to have found Matthew Goodman’s videos. Am sick of my colleagues spouting the same misleading arguments about why Leave won, how voters were mislead or were bigots, racists etc. Now I have ammunition.

[rocstar]

The general narrative is that populism is 'bad'. I would suggest that populism is a legitimate expression of discontent. On Brexit the political game we observed for years was national politicians claiming that nothing has been given away to the EU but we've experienced unprecedented immigration for 15 years that has overwhelmed housing and public services. Those political lies have been exposed, the consequences of those lies are all around us.

There are also good points about how the working class have been taken for granted and then completely ignored by many in the political class. For such a large section of society to be disenfranchised will also cause a response.

To live in a country where the liberal elite lies to people and then ignores them, you should expect a response and that response should be taken seriously.

[kamilziemian]

I always enjoy listening to Matthew Goodwin.

[scandalasdog]

I appreciate the critical introspection on the subject of "Populism" yet I'm still amazed these people speak of it as something to be feared. That including the working classes in your consideration when managing the nation they live in, is a "bad" thing, and what should be a proper reaction to it !! How about not immediately framing it as something to be worried about and something which needs to be "countered". They have no shame, when it comes to having any concern for an entire class of people - this is the reaction. Like what is this the 18 hundreds ? About time the middle class updated their exclusion politics, we have advanced from the times of Dickens FFS.

[martinjeffery]

Hit the nail on the head "Liberalism is exclusionary" especially to straight white normal people

[themagicrat]

9:37 The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose ~ James Baldwin

[RaferJeffersonIII]

Brexit voting educated professional here. This absolutely nails it, I voted out because of most the reason he states. The other point is the lack of Democratic consent for all the treaties, and creeping federalism. I despised the attitude of the remain vote and I might have been persuaded if they hadn’t repeatedly claimed working class brits

[elaineglasius]

Superb and beautifully presented. Thanks.

[CatonaWall]

Very informative and interesting. Thank you.

[Exiledk]

Populism = What goverment calls the will of the people when the government doesn't agree with the people..
Democracy = What government calls the will of the people when the government agrees with the people..
Populism and democracy are simply two names for the same condition. The will of the people.
Governments should heed the will of the people. If they don't agree, then they should resign. It's that simple.

[noelhughes]

The two aspects of the Brexit supporters reasons for their stance are reconciled by a quote from the English economist Milton Keynes: 'Open borders and the welfare state are incompatible.' While that is an irrefutable economic argument the indigenous population have recognised the threat of open borders to the survival of their culture.

[seanmcgabriel]

Excellent, a level of analysis and realism which is never heard here in Ireland on our mainstream media.

[stormthepitbull]

" This is a waiting game .... " . That means waiting for You to die or fail to reproduce. Think about that for a moment.

[michaelhicks]

Populism is defined as evil policies liked by a significant proportion of the population.

Populism is in truth only policies that are popular enough to win but I hate them.

The term populism says more about the beliefs and motivation of the person who uses the term than those it is meant to describe.

The anti populists are those to be concerned about. Their liberal and illiberal use of the term 'far right' applied to anyone that disagrees with them, even to progressives with sound arguments and opinions, only demonstrates there loss of the argument a long time ago and an unwillingness to engage.

This slightly insightful speech only highlights how far certain groups have still to go to appreciate why this is happen.

[allancrotch]

This man goes from strength to strength, I would love him to go into politics, he would get my vote .

[bid]

Hadn't listened to this for a while - forgotten how good it is. Needless to say: anyone interested in this subject should read his book!

[thewatchman]

Any thinking person who is astute enough to do the research will ultimately arrive at one conclusion. A rejection of globalism, a rejection of corporatism, (not to be confused with capitalism), A rejection of communism/socialism, a rejection of mass Islamic immigration, and the rejection of post modernism. They have all contributed to the decline of our economy, our jobs, our culture, our freedoms, our safety, our happiness, and our well-being. Those things have also taken away our ability to decide the future direction of our country, our ability to control our governments and elected MP's, the ability to preserve our culture and our heritage, they've taken away our freedoms and liberties, our freedom of speech, thought, and expression. In short, we rejected the Orwellian nightmare that Britain had become, hence the slogan "We want our country back".
If any politician cannot grasp this, then they shouldn't be in politics.

[jglammi]

I attended an elite boarding school (public school) in Connecticut, then elite Stanford University, then a PhD in psychology, am gay, and I would have voted BREXIT had I been a UK citizen, and did vote in 2016 for almost the first time for someone who was not a Democratic Party member, Donald Trump. Populist, I guess?

[alanking]

Excellent analysis.
Would just add as people get older their priorities change, get married have children and get a mortgage etc.
This adds to the reasons the young student may reevaluate their political views