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Hello and welcome to Political Thinking, a conversation with rather than an interrogation

of someone who shapes our political thinking about what has shaped theirs.

My guess this week is the Red Wall made flesh.

A Labour MP born in the northeast who now represents one of the Sunderland seats was brought

up in the area by a Labour supporting mum.

Bridget Phillipsson, who is now Labour's shadow education secretary, finds herself surrounded

by 11 Tory MPs in the northeast, something which would have been unthinkable when she

was born unthinkable indeed before Brexit, which was backed by huge numbers of people in

her own patch but not by her.

She campaigned for remain and then for a second referendum.

Bridget is now, as I say, Labour's shadow education secretary education says is her passion

because school transformed her life.

Bridget Phillipsson, welcome to Political Thinking.

Nice to see you.

That phrase, Red Wall, a little bird tells me, it winds you up a bit.

Why?

I just think it's a Tory choice of words and I just think it's a nonsense kind of framing,

mainly because it kind of imagines that everyone in a given area has the same kind of view.

And it's a caricature, I think, people are more complicated than that and there's nothing

I hate more than some of the lazy stereotypes and caricatures you get about people from my

part of the world.

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