Pressure is mounting on the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner, after she admitted to underpaying stamp duty on her £800,000 flat. Should she stay, or should she go? And, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has testified before the US House Judiciary Committee to discuss freedom of speech. Democrat congressman, Jamie Raskin, referred to Farage as a "Putin-loving, free-speech imposter and Trump sycophant" - James analyses the extensive evidence backing this up. This...
Sep 04, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 167
Sir Keir Starmer is considering introducing digital ID cards in a bid to crack down on small boat crossings. These ID cards would be issued to everyone, nationwide - but what are the security pros and the invasion of privacy cons? Also, James speaks to Jessica Elgot, Deputy Political Editor of The Guardian on her story that has cast serious doubt over Kemi Badenoch’s claim she received an offer to study medicine from Stanford University. In other news, alarmingly, the fertility rate for England ...
Sep 03, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 166
The government is temporarily suspending new applications for a scheme allowing refugees to bring their family members to the UK. The move has been called out as another attempt to appeal to those swept up by growing anti-immigrant sentiment. How can this country operate when such views dominate so much of the discourse and who is Keir Starmer trying to appeal to exactly? And, Zack Polanski has been elected leader of the Green Party by a landslide. He campaigned with an agenda of radical eco-pop...
Sep 02, 2025•56 min•Ep. 165
This summer, thousands of St George's flags have been seen painted on roundabouts and hung from lamp-posts across the country. Supporters say the flags are an expression of English pride, whilst critics say they're a nationalist expression of racism. What do you think, and how do the flags make you feel? And, the most comprehensive poll of British 16 and 17-year-olds has revealed that nearly 70 per cent of girls have skipped school because of anxiety. James is interested in the difference betwee...
Sep 01, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 164
To finish off LBC’s week-long guest series is Sir Ed Davey. He asks the callers what they think of his controversial boycotting of King Charles’ state banquet for Donald Trump’s visit next month. Do you think he was right to refuse the invitation because of Trump's inaction regarding Gaza? Next, Ed looks bigger. During his second term, Donald Trump has changed the world order. In Ed’s opinion, he is no longer a reliable ally to the UK. Of course, not everyone agrees with this - meaning Keir Star...
Aug 29, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 163
Continuing LBC’s week-long guest series is James Cleverly, the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing. James’ colleague and former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that children are being overdiagnosed with mental health conditions and that society needs to remember that growing up is naturally “messy and uneven”. Are we doing our children a disservice, and how helpful is a diagnosis if your child is genuinely struggling? And, the fertility rate for England and Wales has hit a record low acc...
Aug 28, 2025•57 min•Ep. 162
Continuing LBC’s week-long guest series is Emily Thornberry, Labour MP and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Despite asylum hotel numbers dropping from 400 to just over 200 and new policies targeting the asylum claim back-log left by the previous government, this summer has seen more anti-immigration protests than ever before. Sometimes the simple questions have the most complex answers: why is it all kicking off now? And, Russia's military has crossed into the eastern industrial re...
Aug 27, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 161
To kick off LBC’s week-long guest series, former Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt stepped in for James O’Brien to tackle one of the most divisive issues in British politics: the small boats crisis. On the same day Reform UK unveiled their plans on illegal immigration, Penny asked listeners: Do you believe today’s politicians are capable of solving it—and if not, why not? Penny then widened the discussion, posing whether the UK is still a capable nation. From the NHS to benefits, shoplifting, the e...
Aug 26, 2025•46 min•Ep. 160
This is a catch-up version of James O'Brien's Mystery Hour from the 14th August. The James O'Brien Daily Podcast will return after the bank holiday, on Tuesday 26th August and will be presented all that week by very special guests! James returns on the 1st September.
Aug 25, 2025•48 min•Ep. 159
One in four Labour members have said they’d consider supporting Jeremy Corbyn’s new left-wing, pro-Gaza party at the next general election. This news comes at a pertinent time - a UN-backed food security body announced today that famine has been confirmed in Gaza City. Lewis speaks with Zack Polanski, Deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and Jan Egeland, General Secretary of the Norwegian Refugee Council and one of the architects of the Oslo Accords to hear their thoughts. And, ...
Aug 22, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 158
Israel has taken the first steps in a take-over of Gaza City and wider occupation of the entirety of Gaza. This comes despite widespread condemnation and warnings that the offensive will likely lead to the displacement and death of many more Palestinians. Lewis discusses the ongoing conflict with the callers and is joined by Yaakov Katz, former advisor to the previous Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett. And, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who’s been considering tightening inheritance tax in o...
Aug 21, 2025•58 min•Ep. 157
By the end of March this year there were 200 “asylum hotels”, housing around 30,000 asylum seekers. Yesterday, a high court ruled that asylum seekers will have to be removed from the Bell Hotel in Essex - a site of large protests after an asylum seeker staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. To break it down, Lewis speaks with Lauren Starkey, independent social worker & anti-human trafficking campaigner, and Lizzie Dearden, home affairs and security journalist....
Aug 20, 2025•59 min•Ep. 156
Welcome to another instalment of James O’Brien Daily hosted by Lewis Goodall of the LBC and The News Agents, who’s stepping in for James all this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hails Monday's talks with Donald Trump and European leaders as "significant" - despite progress to a peace deal or a security guarantee. Trump has, however, contacted Putin to arrange a meeting between him and Zelensky as a next step. Lewis talks through what this all means with some special guests, includin...
Aug 19, 2025•59 min•Ep. 155
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with Keir Starmer and other European leaders, are meeting Donald Trump today in an effort to end the Ukraine War. Just last night Russian drone attacks killed at least 10 people across Ukraine. Lewis discusses this pivotal moment with Hanna Hopko, Former head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament & Co-founder International Centre for Ukrainian Victory, and Leigh Turner, Former British Ambassador to Ukraine & author of "...
Aug 18, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 154
The long awaited meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will be taking place today in Alaska. Putin will inevitably seek the handover of Ukrainian territory as part of any “peace” agreement. Is this already a win for Putin? If he and Trump carve up Ukraine today, then what can Ukraine and Europe do about it? James' Europe-based callers share their viewpoints. And, along with A-Level exam results came the usual debate around whether higher education in this country is up to scratch or no...
Aug 15, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 153
Sir Keir Starmer held a breakfast meeting with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of Donald Trump and Putin's summit on Friday, at which they'll discuss ending the war in Ukraine. What the results of that summit will be is anyone’s guess. Can you conceive of a world in which a united Europe stands against Russia - without the US? And, James dives back into yesterday’s conversation on LBC’s exclusive access to an undercover police operation to protect female joggers from harassment...
Aug 14, 2025•49 min•Ep. 152
The police are being encouraged to disclose the ethnicity and nationality of suspects charged in high-profile cases, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper saying that the government and the public want "greater transparency". Why is the government encouraging this? An attempt to appease right-wing liars, diffuse right-wing lies, or something else? And, LBC has been granted exclusive access to a new police operation in Surrey designed to combat a surge of reports of women being harassed while running...
Aug 13, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 151
Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky isn’t invited - not surprising, seeing as Trump consistently blames him for the ongoing war. What’s the point of this meeting and why does Trump seem to blame Zelensky? And, today, the government announced that 40,000 future tradespeople will be up-skilled in new “technical excellence colleges” in order to help “turbocharge the building of new homes, schools and...
Aug 12, 2025•59 min•Ep. 150
Yvette Cooper has defended the arrest of more than 500 people holding signs expressing their opposition to genocide and support of Palestine Action, a proscribed terror group. Around half of them were aged 60 and above - including almost 100 people who were in their 70s. James also speaks to Tamer Almisshal, senior presenter at Al Jazeera Arabic, to discuss Israel’s killing of five Al Jazeera journalists on Saturday, an action that has caused outrage across the world. And, according to the Educa...
Aug 11, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 149
Benjamin Netanyahu has approved plans for the "takeover of Gaza City" ahead of a full military occupation of the entirety of Gaza. Condemned by those calling for an end to the war, Sir Keir Starmer stated the decision is "wrong" and has called on Israel to reconsider. What is Netanyahu's endgame and and how should world leaders react? This episode was recorded on the 8th August. Catch James O’Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.
Aug 08, 2025•54 min•Ep. 148
Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali is facing calls to resign after claims she evicted tenants from an east London townhouse, shortly before re-listing the property at £700 increased rent a month. This practice will soon be illegal under the government’s upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill. Should she stay or should she go? And, in an interview about her childhood in Nigeria and hatred of rule-breakers, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch revealed that, as a teenager, she got one of her peers expelled b...
Aug 07, 2025•58 min•Ep. 147
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has called for information about police suspects such as nationality and immigration status to be shared with the public. This comes amidst growing far-right unrest about - most recently - the alleged rape of a 12 year old girl in Nuneaton. The suspects are reportedly Afghan, with Reform UK claiming they’re asylum seekers. Will more transparency diffuse racist propaganda, or increase the likelihood of racist violence? And, a new study indicates that childhood verbal ...
Aug 06, 2025•59 min•Ep. 146
The latest YouGov polling shows that over half of Brits incorrectly think more migrants are in the UK illegally than legally. In reality, 96% of immigrants are here legally. How did this catastrophic misconception happen and what can be done about it? And, the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, has accused Sir Keir Starmer of giving Hamas a “prize for terror”, regarding the Prime Minister’s statement that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state if Israel allows aid into Gaza, amongst othe...
Aug 05, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 145
Sir Keir Starmer is giving serious consideration to the idea of introducing a digital ID system - in defiance of longstanding warnings by civil liberty advocates. Are you for or against digital ID, and why? And, Channel 4 has aired a documentary detailing 6 months in the life of Bonnie Blue, the pornographic actress who claims to have slept with 1,057 men in one day. Why are so many of us disturbed by the likes of Bonnie Blue and what she represents? This episode was recorded on the 4th August. ...
Aug 04, 2025•52 min•Ep. 144
Heathrow Airport has submitted its “shovel-ready” plans for a third runway that’d allow 750 additional flights a day over London and, according to the government, generate 100,000 jobs. The Prime Minister loves the idea, whereas London Mayor Sadiq Khan is fighting tooth and nail against it. Who’s side are you on and why? And, the main internship scheme that draws university students to the civil service will now only be available for students from "lower socio-economic backgrounds", in efforts t...
Aug 01, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 143
Britain’s biggest police force is set to more than double its use of live facial recognition. Many are worries about the ethical use of the technology, particularly considering its complete lack of regulation. When do you stop using tech that does good, in order to prevent it being used for something bad in the future? And, Brits are “cheating the system” to get hold of weight-loss jabs before their holidays, Wes Streeting has claimed. The Health Secretary says people are pretending to be overwe...
Jul 31, 2025•50 min•Ep. 142
Sir Keir Starmer has announced that the UK will join the other 147 UN nations that recognise the sovereign state of Palestinian, unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire, amongst other conditions. Why has Starmer done this now and what is this likely to achieve? And, for the first time ever, No 10 is hosting a reception for social media influencers at Downing Street, in an attempt to reach voters on platforms beyond the traditional media. This is not James’ area of expertise - he wants to know what t...
Jul 30, 2025•58 min•Ep. 141
A year ago today, the nation was struck by the horrific Southport killings, in which three young girls were murdered. Today, Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of UK terrorism legislation, told LBC that there should be a total ban on social media for under 16s. He believes social media can radicalise young people and fuel such crimes. Do you agree? And, loss of community spaces like youth clubs, pubs and leisure centres created the “tinderbox conditions” for last summer's racist far-right r...
Jul 29, 2025•57 min•Ep. 140
James analyses the current swathe of headlines such as “Deprivation and immigration straining social cohesion, says Rayner”, “Demonstrators clash at Epping hotel as protests spread nationwide” and “Two in five arrested for last summer’s UK riots had been reported for domestic abuse.” When the entire media and political class is portraying the UK as on the brink of catastrophe, how do we hold on to the truth? And, Greece and Turkey are battling major wildfires amid a severe heatwave. In Turkey, m...
Jul 28, 2025•59 min•Ep. 139
Under new laws beginning today, under-13s in the UK must be barred from social media. How will it work and are there aspects of online identity verification that politicians might not have considered? Joining James to discuss the new laws is Lisa Kenevan, whose son Isaac died aged just 13 in a tragedy that she believes was caused by social media exposure. Now she and the parents of three other children who died in similar circumstances are suing TikTok. And, Sir Keir Starmer is being urged to in...
Jul 25, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 138
