Up next in 10
James O'Brien points to the 'disgusting things Nigel Farage has gotten away with', as LBC callers question how he's managed to avoid bearing any responsibility his 'hideous' actions.
It comes after Reform UK won the knife-edge Runcorn by-election against Labour following a dramatic recount.
0:00 - Caller Chris thinks he’s ‘got away with it because he hasn’t been the person implementing the policies’.
03:27 - Caller Sophie believes it’s ‘all down to the media’.
07:17 - Caller John says people vote for Nigel Farage’s party out of’ desperation’.
13:24 - Caller Paul says the public is ‘collectively’ to blame.
Listen to the full show on Global Player: https://app.af.globalplayer.com/Br0x/LBCYouTubeListenLive
#jamesobrien #nigelfarage #farage #reform #reformuk #ukpolitics #LBC
LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK.
Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/
Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
The reason that he gets away with it is because he hasn't been the person implementing the policies which he has espoused
0:11
So he is always able to say, ah, well, if I'd been doing it, I would have implemented the policy differently and it would have worked
0:20
And people don't pay enough attention to realise that usually when he does that, he's lying
0:26
because, for example, on Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, he was like a dog with two tails
0:34
But the thing is that people are not looking at that. What people are voting for when they vote for him
0:42
is that he is expressing their frustration and their anger. So he's appealing to their emotional response
0:51
to the economic circumstances they find themselves in. Their standard of living is going down
0:58
Their wages are not keeping up with prices. The redistribution of the national income, which has been going on for years
1:08
from people who work to people who own things, is still continuing now
1:14
Rents have gone up by another 10%. But he's not going to go anywhere and be the scourge of landlords and the wealthy
1:24
He doesn't have to. All he has to do is say, I feel your pain and I'm on your side
1:35
And that's all people hear. But doesn't he also need to... Yeah, but whose fault are the problems you describe
1:44
Who is responsible for the diminishment in people's living standards? Well, that's the thing
1:50
The Tories, the Labour Party, the media, everybody who is on board with the neoliberal economics
1:58
which are designed almost to enrich the rich at the expense of everybody else
2:04
But he calls himself a Thatcher, right? Yeah, yeah. It doesn't matter, does it
2:09
I mean, this is where the Trump stuff... We're bringing the same tools to the ysis
2:13
that we would bring to normal politicians, whereas, in fact, people who, like as Donald Trump shows
2:18
people who lie very easily are immune to traditional ysis. Boris Johnson showed us
2:24
that. People whose relationship with the truth is at best strained, at worst broken
2:30
We still don't know how to deal with it. We still don't know how to process it. He is a thatcherite
2:35
They're all thatcherites. Keir Starmer is a thatcherite. They're all still pursuing this
2:42
myth that if you keep cutting taxes for the rich they will invest in the economy
2:48
and everything will be fine and dandy. What actually happens is they invest in inflating asset bubbles
2:55
and not in the real productive economy and ordinary people get poorer
3:00
No, I mean, I'm not disputing your economic ysis, but Starmer is not achieving
3:08
He's not being forgiven for everything that he's done. So we come back to your original point
3:12
is that Farage has never actually been in charge of anything and therefore he's not held responsible for anything
3:16
No, well, Starmer is catching a cold. But Trump was, though. Trump's been responsible for lots of things
3:21
and still isn't held responsible for them. He's trying to blame Biden for the economic slump
3:25
that he's just brought about with his tariffs. I do really put this down to just the noise out there
3:31
There's so much to pay attention to and so much to listen to that I feel like the politics at the moment
3:38
are doing exactly what Donald Trump is doing, is just bombarding people with information
3:42
that they can't keep track of everything. And so they pick the information that they think is going to impact them the most, like lots of young people voting for reform because they think they're not going to get taxed up to £20,000
3:55
That's not costed. There's no evidence that's even achievable that it would be successful
4:00
But there's too much to listen to. And they look for their media on social media
4:05
They go to social media and they read opinion pieces with titles that
4:09
are dramatic and influential and they think that it's a good enough source of news
4:15
I'm trying to wonder what an equivalent from the left would look like
4:19
So, you know, somebody who had said that about Vladimir Putin but was from the left wing And I know there were concerns about Seamus Milne views of the Kremlin when he was advising Jeremy Corbyn but the idea of a left politician talking about Vladimir Putin being the politician he admired most in the world I don think that he would ever or she would ever be able to shake that off if they were from the left of British politics
4:50
I think people on the left generally on social opinion or anything don't get forgiven for the statements that are being made
5:01
Whether you're talking about Gaza, whether you're talking about the environmental impact of everything
5:07
I don't think the left gets to put those things down or move on from them as quickly
5:12
We get held to it very often. We're back to the ecosystem, aren't we
5:16
I mean, imagine if a Labour Chancellor or a Labour Prime Minister had done what Liz Truss did, and the people who cheered it, whether they were in the media or whether they were in politics, now act as if it never happened
5:32
It moved on within weeks from that, whereas Gordon Brown in the ecosystem we inhabit
5:37
people still talk about his decision to sell off the gold, to sell off some of our gold reserves
5:43
at a time when the price later went up. It's incredible when you think about it, the Truss stuff
5:49
Farage can do a little sort of dance, do agadou in the corner of a studio
5:56
describing Liz Truss's budget as brilliant, and none of it sticks, none of it matters
6:02
So, I mean, in percentage terms, how much of this is down to the media
6:07
Most of it. This is all down to the media because people don't actually read manifestos
6:12
People don't actually read the politics. They don't look at the history of politicians' opinions
6:17
Otherwise, they'd be appalled. They're just too bombarded. There's too much going on
6:22
And people just get bogged down. You'll be telling me next that he turned up at Evgeny Lebedev's summer party
6:28
wearing Union Jack shoes and drinking champagne with Rupert Murdoch. I don't know. I don't know. I hear the youngsters who are voting for reform and it shocks me that they're paying so little attention to what's actually going on
6:43
So what are they getting? They're just bored of the left. That's interesting
6:50
They're bored of the left. They are appalled at conservatives and Liberal Democrats aren't doing anything
6:58
And the Greens just don't have enough experience. So the only option is reform, in their opinion
7:04
So anyone who wants change, and that's why I do wonder whether or not we are going to see the third Brexit referendum on the horizon
7:13
In a way, I guess, run corn yesterday. I don't know. I don't know
7:17
I think, James, that the main reason is charisma, because for Nigel Farage, he's able to say, oh, well, look at me
7:25
I'm amazing. And Brexit didn't work out because I wasn't in charge and it's everyone else's fault
7:31
and he doesn't get challenged by the media and that is the main issue
7:34
and unfortunately... That's still true. You think that's still... Because I mean, I know it was true for a long time
7:41
but you still don't think he gets properly interviewed by all the people
7:45
because he's never off the flipping screen, is he? Or he's never off the radio? Well, he does by some people
7:51
so Sky News, I think, are really, really good and also yourself
7:56
I haven't seen him for 10 years, mate. When they've questioned him
8:01
But whenever he gets those difficult questions, he's like, you're anti-reform, you're anti-this, anti-that
8:06
I'm not going to answer the question. And he lies, of course, as well. I remember I think it was Dimbleby that was pointing out that he'd said Vladimir Putin was the politician he admired most in the world
8:16
And he tried to lie and claim that he hadn't said it. And, of course, what's fascinating from a media point of view is that unless you've got the clip with you, he gets away with it
8:27
Yeah, definitely. and I think he knows he can get away with it. I think people like Victoria Derbyshire
8:33
are really good at knowing when she's got people like that and actually coming with the evidence
8:39
Big fan of Victoria's. So you're describing a weapons-grade lack of shame
8:47
Exactly. He's not scared to pretend like nothing's his fault and I think because people are so desperate and he so likeable no matter how much I dislike him or lots of other people dislike him Some people definitely like him yes Because of that people are able to give him the benefit of the doubt and say
9:08
do you know what, he says what they think. The woman that I have talked about a little bit too much in recent weeks
9:14
who I encountered when I was doing jury service, who passionately and definitely believed that Michelle Obama was a man
9:20
and that all the money we've sent to Ukraine had been spent by Volodymyr Zelensky on yachts
9:24
She was adamant that Nigel would sort everything out when he got into power. So it's an interesting collection of beliefs
9:33
So that idea that you have to be in power. So we needed Brexit to happen before we could see what the reality of Brexit was
9:41
He manages to evade that by doing the shaggy bit and claiming it wasn't me
9:45
And if I've been there, there is a brilliant Brexit, but it goes to a different school. I almost wish, and not all the results are in yet, of course
9:52
but I almost wish that they'd won a bit more. Yes, they got a couple of other mayoralties, maybe
9:57
so that we'd get a slightly better look at what happens when they are actually in charge
10:01
Maybe they'll win a couple of councils and we'll be able to see what actually happens
10:06
Because if you think about the party management at the national level, they've already lost one MP and they only had five to start with
10:14
Exactly. I think the main benefit of him getting elected and reformant MPs or councillors being elected is people will be able to see what they're doing
10:26
So when they're bound by the same things that Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem, Green, SNP are bound by
10:31
Yeah, but will they be? Because then we're back to Trump, aren't we? And the way that he is not responsible for anything that happens, either on his watch if it's bad, he'll just deny that it's bad
10:41
And the earlier caller mentioned hope not hate and the work that they've done in highlighting the views of some of the candidates that have been standing
10:54
He will claim if anyone asks him about it. And of course, there's no guarantee that they will
11:00
He will claim that it's nothing to do with him or that they're more. What's the word you want
11:05
one of their candidates in Doncaster posting pictures of Hitler saying for
11:12
I'm going to use a word well I can't read all of this out
11:16
a picture of Hitler and then a claim using lots of swear words
11:22
that if he'd chosen Muslims I guess brackets instead of Jews I would have been an effing legend
11:28
this man has posted one of the group's candidates in Doncaster not picked up by the vetting procedures
11:36
So you've got Nigel Farage leading a party where one of the candidates thinks that Hitler would have been
11:41
an effing legend if the Holocaust had murdered Muslims instead of Jews
11:46
So what happens when someone asks him about that in a studio? He goes, oh, well, some will always slip through the net
11:51
or some will always get through it. There's various Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson admirers
11:58
You can't really beat Hitler, can you, as someone you wouldn't want to be associated with
12:03
But that doesn't touch him either. And that's not charisma. And I don't believe people voting for him
12:08
agree with that comment about Hitler and Muslims. So why does none of that touch him
12:15
I think a lot of it is due to the desperation. Everyone is not in..
12:19
They're looking for someone who can sort things out. And I think this is one of the problems with populists
12:26
is they will always say, I can sort these things out. I am a strong man
12:30
I'm your friend. I will deal with it. Exactly. And I think that's the main problem is other parties are not dealing with that to say, if you do that, this is what will happen. So instead, he's able to say, send people in boats back to France. It's fine. And people go, that's such a simple solution, not the French will say, I don't think so
12:50
no fascism arrives as your friend it will restore your honor make you feel proud protect your house
13:00
give you a job clean up the neighborhood remind you of how great you once were it's a wonderful
13:07
poem by michael rosen who's also featured on full disclosure actually i think i'll read that little
13:12
bit again fascism arrives as your friend it will restore your honor make you feel proud protect
13:18
your house give you a job clean up the neighborhood remind you of how great you
13:22
once were sound familiar I mean I don like Farage I don like the policies or any of that stuff he stands for but as a as I suppose as a member of the voting public I feel like we have collectively allowed this to happen
13:38
We don't hold people to account. So, you know, he says one thing one day
13:42
and we maybe get all up in a mess about it. But the next day we've moved on
13:47
because the next quick fix has been offered to us. And, you know, you see it on social media
13:53
you see it across, you know, Amazon. And everything that we want, we can get instantly
13:58
So I feel like society is looking for this instantaneous fix. Oh, gosh, that's interesting
14:07
We're all suffering financially, but I don't know if we're collectively willing to make the sacrifices
14:17
to get to where we need to go. Because, you know, stop buying stuff online and go to our local traders
14:22
Or cook your own dinner using fresh ingredients. So the age of instant gratification is a very fertile territory for the lying demagogue
14:32
for the populist who promises simple solutions to complicated problems. Yeah. Look, I work in the market research industry
14:39
and I think everything that they say will have been tested in focus groups
14:45
through surveys, through polls, and it's all about getting the maximum impact
14:51
what is going to boost brand Farage, as you say. What is it that's going to hit with those people
15:00
that are disgruntled, dissatisfied, frustrated at the situation that they have been a part of building
15:08
I mean, and I hold myself to that. If I want to buy a new kettle
15:13
I'll have it delivered to me tonight if I want it. But at the same time, we're all wrestling with this
15:19
whatever this issue is, I don't think we know quite how to hold people accountable
15:26
We can't even hold people accountable for stealing steaks in Audi, let alone politicians
15:31
No, that's true. It's a slightly different scenario. I think there was a suspension of reality during the Brexit referendum
15:39
from which we are yet to recover. I know all roads lead back to Andrea Leadsom and Pascal Lammy
15:48
that interview that I did on Newsnight when the BBC, which was pretty much the last chance of objectivity
15:55
or decent reporting on this, because so much of commercial broadcast media
16:00
is influenced by Rupert Murdoch-style tabloid journalism. But when they told me
16:07
we've got Pascal Lamion from the World Trade Organization, but we need to get someone else on from the other side
16:11
to balance it out. So they booked Andrea Ledson. Something died in me that day
16:16
It was probably what you're describing. It was a somewhat presumed accountability, just a presumption that some things were baked in stone, actually, that they were just permanent and forever, but they weren't
16:31
And I don't think we've ever got back, actually, in the next 10 years. And he's the big beneficiary. He's the biggest beneficiary of that
16:38
Yeah. Yeah. And truth, I think, just isn't a currency anymore. I think we've abandoned objective truth
16:45
I think we're all willing to lie about ourselves, about the things that we see here
16:50
Gosh, this is a very bleak worldview, but you're talking about people's Instagram
16:54
offering up a version of their own existence that isn't true. Yeah, look, I'm not saying that everybody does it
17:02
but it's easy to fall into it. You know, we do all, you know
17:06
it's easier to walk past something than it is to ask the question, why is that thing happening
17:11
and it takes in this attention grabbing world I think it takes sacrifice to stop and ask the question
17:21
I think. And the big thing of course being a desperation for change whatever
17:25
it may be and that takes us back to 2015 as well. I want change and I want it
17:29
now which fits entirely with Paul's ysis and someone who comes along
17:33
and says I'll give you change and I'll give it now okay I'll vote for you even though you're a
17:37
Vladimir Putin fanboy and and you thought Liz Truss was an economic genius
17:42
and you told us that Brexit was going to make us all rich and it would get rid of red tape
17:46
and our fishing fleets would be riding high on the seven seas. Even though every single promise you've ever made anyone
17:52
you've broken. I don't mind because you keep promising me more. Another promise
17:56
It's another promise. It cancels out all the previous promises. I promise. I promise
#Humor
#Political Humor
#news
#Politics
#Social Issues & Advocacy
#Campaigns & Elections
#Media Critics & Watchdogs
#Political Polls & Surveys
#Communications & Media Studies