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Inheritance tax, migrant hotels and being mean to old people: LBC's best callers of the week
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Aug 24, 2025
From inheritance tax to housing asylum seekers, LBC's callers didn’t hold back this week. 00:00 Shirley defends her pension from nasty Tom Swarbrick. 02:38 Steve explains how he was regarded 'with suspicion' at the Epping protests because he's black. 06:07 A different caller (who is also named Steve) has a problem with Lewis' tax plans. 11:23 Richard wants to fix two problems in one by housing asylum seekers in Buckingham Palace. 13:09 Tim bemoans the tough start the next generation is being handed. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #lewisgoodall #tomswarbrick #shelaghfogarty #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
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0:00
Tom, whenever I hear you're on about old age pensioners and what they've got and what they're paid in and they can't have business, don't forget I've lived in my house for years
0:12
It has gone up astronomically. That is not my fault. That is living in London
0:18
That is everybody. My pain, this house will go to pay for my upkeep when I can no longer look after myself
0:28
If I haven't got this house and this income, who will look after me
0:34
There are no states, there are no cases for the state to look after me
0:39
I've got a family, yes, but they don't live in London. Shirley, I don't want you to sell your house
0:44
I don't want you to move out of your house. I don't want that house. I know, I know, but you do pick on the pensioners
0:51
No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, please. Do any of you, they just said about doing something with your private pension
0:59
You said, leave it alone, leave it alone, leave it alone. Okay, leave us alone
1:05
I'm trying to. Shirley, I'm trying. No, you do not. No, Shirley
1:09
I'm sorry. Whenever I listen to it, I tell you the difference
1:14
If Nick Ferrari was on now because he's near a pension aid, he would think differently
1:20
Do you know what? I'm going to text him. I'm going to text him now
1:24
because I am absolutely certain, Shirley, a man of his means... He's on his honeymoon
1:30
Please don't... He's on his honeymoon. Please don't... You know, I mean, God
1:36
He's busy on his honeymoon. Shall we leave it at that? Tom, Tom, you do this every time
1:41
Shirley. I feel so sorry for the old people in this country. Shirley
1:45
I do. I'm trying to... Because when... No, can I speak? No
1:50
Can I speak? because I'm speaking for the majority of old people in this country
1:56
We feel like we're not wanted. You are? Honestly, no. Not the way people are talking
2:04
No, no. Don't change it. No, I'm not changing. Because you are one of the worst people
2:10
who keep on about old age pensioners. Their houses are worth a million
2:16
That is not our fault, Tom. I'm not. Shirley. gosh i've left you with such a completely wrong impression which is of course entirely my fault
2:25
i am absolutely on your side i want to protect more of that money that you have
2:30
i i do think that house valuation is a reasonable thing to be taxed inheritance on but your private
2:36
pension no that should be left alone hello sheila first time caller calling yourself um i don't
2:44
understand why it was the conservatives who got rid of the safe routes because they were trying to
2:50
save money so why don't they just put back the safe routes even though we've come out of europe
2:57
and europe will turn around and say to us well hold on it's going to cost you a lot more money now
3:02
yeah and we've always had immigration in this country i'm also i was born and bred in this
3:12
country i'm black so for me i've listened to all the stories of when the first immigrants come into
3:21
the country my mum was half indian my dad was black both of them came from the caribbean yeah
3:27
and after the war and sitting down and listening to what my parents have said to us
3:33
it was in 1948 when mass immigration started in this country even though we've had immigrants
3:39
over the years. And what we've got to understand, immigration has been a big part of this country
3:48
It has. And is. Yeah. Yeah. Big part of this country. So, yes, I feel we've also
3:55
I also feel I've been let down by previous governments. In what way
4:01
In the fact that we've had mass immigration and people are coming into the country
4:08
and yet I be still even though I was born here be still pushed to the bottom of the pile Why do you And even when we got rid of immigration I still be classified as a foreigner
4:25
But in what way are you being harmed by this? Because we need to sort it out
4:30
Because, for instance, I went up to it. I just live in Enfield, so I've driven up to Epping just to see what it was all about
4:38
and some of the looks that you get. They have made their area now a no-go area
4:46
Who have? Essex. Epping. No, but who in Epping has made it a no-go area
4:54
Who? The people. How? Because of their attitude towards the immigrants. so you you went as a person of color and you know and you were you were regarded differently
5:10
yeah what with suspicion yeah and and yeah and yeah when you talk to me you can clearly hear
5:20
that i've got a northeast london accent i can yeah and i've got no idea what color you are
5:26
talking to you obviously well i'm telling you i'm black no i believe you i'm not doubting you i'm
5:32
just saying you know you don't we need to we need to we the government needs to sort this problem
5:39
out yes it will escalate it will escalate and what will sorting it out problem what will sorting
5:46
it out look like getting back safe routes processing the people properly so to to stop
5:54
the need for these kinds of crossings yes it's otherwise we're going to have a problem
6:01
within the country. And there will be this sniping at each other
6:07
Probably going to disagree on this one, so I'm going to preface it by saying that I'm not a Tory
6:11
in fact, quite the opposite, and I taught until I retired and finished as acting head in a comprehensive school
6:18
However, I also invested in property, and on every penny I earned from teaching
6:23
I paid 40-odd percent. Every penny I earned from property, I paid a further 40%
6:28
Every repair I did on a house, I paid 20% VAT. When I sold a couple of houses, I paid 24% capital gains tax
6:35
And anything I've invested, I now pay 40% on that. I'm 71 years old, okay
6:40
I'm not pleading an age exemption, but I noticed that in your sort of swinging idea of changing all taxes
6:47
like Rachel Reeves, you dodge the big questions. You dodge, why are global corporations paying nothing
6:54
Amazon, for two years, have paid no UK tax. How much money have they made in the UK
7:00
Why aren't we dealing with that? I don't think it's an either-or. I don't think it's an either-or, Steve
7:04
I don't think it's an either-or. Hang on, hang on. I agree. But have you heard Rachel Reeves or Keir Starmer or anybody
7:09
show any backbone or guts? What they're going to do is another spiteful little tax
7:15
Oh, look, you've made a few bob on your house. We'll take it off you. Well, to be fair, as a generation, Steve
7:19
to be fair, as a generation, the boomers have made more than a few bob off their house
7:24
Made billions and billions of pounds collectively. you know, just because, partly because
7:29
and this is where I think it gets difficult for younger people, partly because that same generation has decided
7:33
to apply ultimately strict planning laws which will prevent enough building to allow younger people to buy their house
7:39
which itself has increased the value of your home. So, come on, let's have a little bit of equity
7:44
Okay, you'll get no argument from me about ridiculous planning laws. I'm sure you've experienced it
7:50
Well, every property I bought, I bought a renovation project, because that's what we did
7:54
We renovated them, put them into good order, and let them. and it worked very well, largely to students
7:58
with whom we had, as both ex-teachers, we had a good relationship. But the point I'm driving at is that, once again
8:04
it's a soft target. It's going for the small man who's got a few quid
8:10
and instead of saying, look, where's the real money? The real money is in
8:14
Apple. It's in Amazon. There is a lot of real money in the
8:18
appreciation of British property. There is real money in that, Steve. But again what you inviting is yet another attack on anybody who made You know we not multimillionaires We just you know we a retired couple having fun
8:34
and trying to do what we plan to do when we're retired. I think I've made a fair contribution over the years
8:39
I'm sure you have. And I'm looking at Apple and Amazon and they don't
8:43
And I want that addressed. But everyone can always say someone else should pay. You know, ultimately, the tax base has got to be broad
8:48
And even if we were able, which is difficult... But it's not. even if we were able which will be difficult to um tax amazon and apple the two when we both agree
8:58
on this the extent that they should be that still would not be adequate to cover the taxation that
9:03
we're going to need to cover an aging population and all the demands that people put on the state
9:07
so reeves does have to look somewhere and i suppose the argument from my point of view
9:12
i mean i i actually think what reeves is suggesting is is wrong as i've as i've outlined i think there
9:17
should be a more fundamental change. I think stamp duty, the abolition of stamp duty
9:20
would be a very good idea because it is a ridiculous tax to tax on purchase rather than sale
9:26
But if you were to put CGT on residences, at the moment, at least it would address the problem
9:31
where you've got complete disparity between assets. At present, if you invest in, say, shares and make a profit
9:36
you pay capital gains. If you invest in your own property, make a profit
9:40
often far larger, you pay nothing at all. That skews investment towards property, which makes the housing crisis even worse
9:46
So my argument would be, why not change the system and have a property tax at sale, not at purchase, and not annually, and that would be an equitable, fair way of dealing with an asset which is appreciated a lot, which you may have invested in, sure, you keep most of the profit to it, but also a contribution is made
10:04
So, well, so then, are we then going into a CGT scenario for stamp duty
10:08
where somebody says, hang on, I bought it for this, but, you know, I bought it for 200,000
10:13
but I spent another 200 taking it from a piece of wreckage into a decent property
10:17
So where is that going to be allowed for? Or presumably it isn't, would be my guess, under your system
10:24
And furthermore, anybody selling a house that is not their home pays CGT at 24%
10:29
Sure, yeah. Okay? So we're still, you know, we are paying. And the bit that I find horrifying, again, is that the sheer amount of taxes..
10:38
But you are paying, but at the moment, what is happening is that the purchasers of property
10:44
who are often younger and don't have much capital, are being forced to raise significant capital to buy stamp duty on purchase
10:52
And my argument to you would be to say that given that house prices, people who own those assets
10:57
collectively have gone up by literally trillions of pounds, trillions of pounds
11:01
that it would be more efficient, more equitable, more just to charge there rather than on purchase
11:07
And there's a generational equity impact on that as well. I would go with the revision of stamp duty without a doubt
11:13
but I want to see a broad, a much broader taxation approach that is not just targeted at the easy targets
11:19
because the people that Rachel Reeves has got in the gun sights, we're the easy targets
11:23
You mentioned one idea yourself because you mentioned the idea of turning it into a big hotel
11:27
And of course, Charles has told us several times that diversity makes us stronger
11:33
People all over the country are protesting about migrants in their communities and hotels
11:40
I just think it would be a wonderful way, if you think back to the way the royals sort of lost touch
11:44
after the death of Diana, and they had to show that they sort of felt our pain
11:51
And this is a rather similar story. They could show that they feel our pain
11:55
and they're sharing this issue with us by opening up places like Buckingham Palace
11:59
as a nice new hotel for some of the people who are waiting to be processed
12:06
I think there would be a degree of outrage, Richard. I'm being slightly sarcastic
12:12
Oh, are you? Okay. But I mentioned one thing. I don't know if you know this
12:18
but the King owns lots of shorelands around the UK, large parts of the Welsh coast, for instance
12:26
now more practically and the king there is a precedent Tom because the king has
12:32
apparently already given Ed Miliband some of this land for wind farms so he happy to get involved in politics on the quiet with something that suits him Well I think there been a bit of money changing hands
12:48
I don't think it's quite been handed over so that we can build offshore wind farms on it
12:53
But he's definitely, he's an eco-warrior, the king, to some extent. I think, does he still shake the branch of a new tree that he's planted
13:03
or he gives it a tap to say good luck to it or something? he talks to trees, I think, it's very nice in a way
13:08
Richard, thank you very much indeed. Hello, hello. Gosh, I'm a first-time caller
13:12
and I'm really, really enjoying the conversation that's going on. I'm not as academic as some of your brilliant people who are on
13:20
but I am 82 and I talk from life experience. Just referring to your previous caller
13:25
I think he ought to watch that great American series called Breaking Bad
13:30
Yes. And also, friends of mine went to America to become lecturers
13:34
and they were terrified of becoming ill for the first 10 years
13:38
because they couldn't afford their health business. Well, that is true, yes
13:42
And that's an example of America. But what I was going on about really was the housing issue
13:48
Go on. And I've rented all my life and I have a son
13:52
and I've done every job known to mankind from being a dustman to building and all sorts of things
13:59
apart from my actual profession. but what I was going to say is that
14:05
Margaret Thatcher with the right to buy originally, okay, a lot of people
14:11
allowed them to become richer and so on, selling their council flats and all
14:17
but what's happened is a total commodification of our whole economy and that is destroying
14:26
a social atmosphere that I grew up in and has existed for a long time
14:35
because it's actually a very subtle form of divide and rule, which is the absolute inherent nature of the politics in this country
14:45
And the quotes that everyone is using, which absolutely I couldn't understand
14:52
two phrases, social mobility and the housing ladder. Now, what would the subtext of those two phrases be
15:01
You can believe them or you could read the subtext being you should feel insecure about who you are
15:09
and should be aspiring to be something greater. Now, in France, I had a debate on that
15:17
I had a French family. They said, in France, we work to have a life
15:22
In England, you live to work. And that's sort of what you were saying. I know I'm being a bit more sort of general and less precise with evidence, but I know that to be true. Our children now are starting life without any help, 50 grand in debt
15:42
Now, if you're from a rich family, you're going to make a lot of money out of 2.5% loan
15:48
You'll make money out of that if you're a clever parent. If you have no capital and your parents are just working or maybe not working
15:58
but your son or daughter gets to start life, 50 grand in debt
16:03
My generation, we got grants. We didn't have to pay them back. I know. It's absolutely – and no one ever talks about that, Tim
16:09
No one ever talks about that. It's about, as you were saying, the top down and the knock-on effect which is hitting us now while we're talking about it
16:19
Mental health, all these issues that are coming up day to day are to do with a lot to do with social insecurity
16:28
Absolutely. When I started off, we had a thing called social security
16:33
Now, if you try going down that path, you're virtually told you're a criminal
16:38
and it is total mental and if you have social insecurity, it's going to affect your brain as well
16:46
particularly if you have children. Sorry, that was a bit of a rant. Well, you know what
16:51
That's what we like, Tim, and I can hardly criticise anyone for having a rant this morning given the last two hours
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