The answer to top pub quiz question “Which Cabinet Member once appeared on University Challenge” Kwasi Kwarteng guests on this week’s podcast release from Nick Robinson, who used the quiz show format to ask the newly appointed BEIS secretary his views on workers’ rights. Sadly, he appears to have lost a lot of his old free-market zeal…

Kwasi was pulled up one some old quotes from the book he co-authored Britannia Unchained:

• “The British are amongst the worst idlers in the world”
• “The UK’s system of employment law discourages small business from taking a risk”
• “The UK should do whatever we can to cut the burden of employment regulation”

He tries passing the views off as irrelevant given the context of 2021, which to Guido smacks of convenient political excuse-making. Thankfully Kwarteng didn’t resort to the questioning with his University Challenge tactic: of repeatedly muttering the f-word…