Pivot Points podcast
Creating the long-term antidote to short-term politics with Co-Founder of the National Strategy Project, Catherine Day
Episode 40
Episode overview
After twenty-five years advising eight prime ministers, Catherine Day shares her experience of how UK government decision-making really works, and why she believes in a new, better way to put citizens at the heart of shaping Britain’s future.
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We just don’t have any part of our system right now that’s responsible for the long term public good that articulates what type of country we want to be.
Catherine Day Co-Founder, National Strategy Project
Catherine Day is a guest with a journey unlike any other we’ve explored.
After over a quarter of a century at the heart of the UK government, advising eight Prime Ministers, she’s come to a vital conclusion – there must be a better way.
Catherine is Co-Founder of the National Strategy Project, a movement born from her lifelong desire to play her part in life.
What happens when you follow your values, and commit yourself to doing something selfless, for the good of all people?
You create the antidote to the malaise of modern leadership.
Over time, tensions appeared where those political promises, in my view, conflicted with the public interest, and there wasn’t a mechanism then to do anything about that.
Catherine Day Co-Founder, National Strategy Project
You will learn:
- How Catherine Day chose a career in government over a Steven Spielberg film set, and how that decision shaped everything.
- What it felt like to spend a decade in “flummoxed curiosity” inside one of the most complex human systems in the country.
- How serving eight prime ministers across 25 years changed Catherine’s view of leadership, responsibility, and values.
- Why pivotal ethical moments pushed her to redefine what integrity looks like in her career.
- How leaving the Cabinet Office led Catherine to create the National Strategy Project as the most meaningful work of her life so far.
At the heart of the Cabinet Office is a big decision‑making machine, and my basic takeaway is that this isn’t a logical way for a country to make decisions.
Catherine Day Co-Founder, National Strategy Project
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