Lord Alf Dubs, politician and campaigner

Jul 13, 2025

In this engaging conversation, Lord Alf Dubs, a Labour peer and former MP, shares his remarkable journey from child refugee to political advocate. He discusses his traumatic experiences on the Kindertransport and his father's profound influence during World War II. Alf reflects on his Dubs Amendment, which aimed to bring unaccompanied child refugees to the UK. He intertwines the importance of music with his advocacy, emphasizing empathy in political life, and shares heartfelt memories that shaped his commitment to humanitarian efforts.

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ANECDOTE

Alf's Kindertransport Journey

At age six, Alf Dubs was put on a Kindertransport train from Prague to London, separated from his mother and surrounded by strangers.
He felt bewildered and confused, not fully grasping the danger or journey's significance.

ANECDOTE

Mother's Struggle After Widowhood

After his father's death, Alf and his mother faced hardship adjusting to life in Northern Ireland and then Manchester.
His mother started with menial jobs but gradually rebuilt stability for them both.

INSIGHT

Politics as a Means to Justice

Understanding politics was driven by Alf's need to make sense of his traumatic past.
He saw politics as a tool to prevent evil and improve lives, fueling his lifelong passion.

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Lord Alf Dubs is a Labour peer and former MP. He came to the UK from Prague in 1939 on one of the Kindertransport trains organised by Sir Nicholas Winton which rescued mostly Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia.

Alf was born in Prague in 1932. His father was from a Jewish background and was brought up in what was then Northern Bohemia while his mother came from Austria. His father left Prague for London as soon as the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia in March 1939. In June, when he was six-years-old, Alf was put on a Kindertransport train, arriving at Liverpool Street station two days later where he was met by his father. His mother eventually joined them in London the day before war broke out.

Alf studied Politics and Economics at the London School of Economics and was elected as the Member of Parliament for Battersea South in May 1979. He lost his seat in 1987 and the following year he was appointed director of the Refugee Council, becoming the first refugee to head up the charity.

In March 2016 Alf tabled an amendment to the 2016 Immigration Act (known as the Dubs Amendment) which asked the Government to accept 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children into the UK. The amendment passed but the Government closed the scheme the following year after accepting 480 children.

In 2016 Alf received the Humanist of the Year award by Humanists UK of which he is also a patron. In 2021 his Czech citizenship was restored making him the first Czech-British member of the House of Lords.

DISC ONE: It's Easy To Remember (Take 4) - John Coltrane Quartet DISC TWO: Smetana: Má Vlast, JB1:112: 2. Vltava. Performed by Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek DISC THREE: She's Leaving Home - The Beatles DISC FOUR: Bandiera Rossa - Canzoniere del Lame DISC FIVE: Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, K. 412: I. Allegro. Performed by Barry Tuckwell (French horn), Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, conducted by Neville Marriner DISC SIX: Danny Boy - Daniel O'Donnell DISC SEVEN: Take This Waltz - Leonard Cohen DISC EIGHT: Ode to Joy. Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and performed by Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, conducted by Herbert Blomstedt

BOOK CHOICE: Germinal by Émile Zola LUXURY ITEM: Walking boots CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: It's Easy To Remember (Take 4) - John Coltrane Quartet

Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley