James O'Brien Daily

Justice Secretary David Lammy has announced the creation of new “swift courts” which will see a judge decide verdicts in thousands of cases where the right to a jury trial will be removed.…  What does this actually mean and what are we so afraid of losing?Resident doctors have announced a fresh round of strikes with a five-day walkout from the 17th December. Considering their recent wage increase, is this a strike too far? Or do we not know the full picture?And the UK’s attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish government ministers, Richard Herner has urged Nigel Farage to apologise to school contemporaries who claim the Reform UK leader racially abused them while at school… So why is there not more scrutinyThis episode was recorded on the 2nd of December. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing accusations she misled voters and ministers by not revealing upsides in the OBR’s (Office for Budget Responsibility) forecasts for the economy. Starmer and Reeves both defend the Budget and deny that the Chancellor misled anyone. James gets into the nitty gritty and asks what we’re supposed to be angry about here?And, AI is set to replace 3.4m jobs in the next decade, a major educational research organisation has warned. Are we totally ignoring the reality of this situation? Has AI already taken your job? What hope do our kids have?This episode was recorded on the 1st of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Net migration to the UK fell by two-thirds in the year ending June 2025 compared with the previous 12 months, according to ONS figures. This has coincided with rising numbers of young people leaving the UK because of its economic and political landscape. Are you leaving the UK? If so, why? And, how can we persuade young people to hang around?This episode was recorded on the 28th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Yesterday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her 2025 Budget. Much of the media is in uproar at tax rises, especially the lifting of the two-child benefit cap - but what measures should we actually be angry about?And, James asks his listeners what their experiences of Universal Credit are, as well as what it’s like being labeled as a scrounger by much of the right-wing media and political class?This episode was recorded on the 27th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled the long-anticipated budget - but not before the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) leaked it! James was joined by fellow LBC presenter Shelagh Fogarty and Politics Editor Natasha Clark to discuss both the fallout from the leak and the budget itself!Also, Justice Secretary David Lammy is proposing to massively restrict the age old to a jury by trial by only guaranteeing it for defendants facing the most serious of crimes… is this right?This episode was recorded on the 26th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy are set to escape Labour’s “mansion tax” after adjustments from the Treasury - the tax will now only apply to houses worth over £2m. Is a mansion tax the right move for the Chancellor?And, a new study has found that the majority of ethnic minority adults (55%) believe those putting up St George’s crosses as part of the “Operation Raise the Colours” campaign are doing so to express racist and/or anti-migrant sentiment. Has this campaign changed the way you feel about the flag?This episode was recorded on the 25th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

With Rachel Reeves’ budget, many more pensioners could be pulled into paying income tax. Are pensioners receiving too much support or should the state pension be means-tested?And, new research shows obesity rates among the poorest children are nearly double those of their wealthiest classmates. In the modern West, has thinness become a marker of privilege?Plus, David Cameron has revealed he was treated for prostate cancer after his wife urged him to get checked. Why are men still so reluctant to go to the doctor and is masculinity costing lives?Carole Cadwalladr also joins James to discuss the mounting pressure for a full government inquiry into Russian interference in UK politics.This episode was recorded on the 24th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has found that the government response to the pandemic was "too little, too late" - imposing lockdown a week earlier could have saved 23,000 lives. Worse still, lockdowns could have been avoided altogether, had Boris Johnson’s Conservative government acted with the urgency that was so obviously needed. James asks his callers lay their emotions bare and share the most significant, and often tragic, moments of the pandemic with him.And, Ex-leader of Reform UK in Wales Nathan Gill has been sentenced to 10-and-a-half years for taking at least £40,000 in pro-Russia bribes - James takes the sentencing live.This episode was recorded on the 21st of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Senior Pentagon officials are in Ukraine to "discuss efforts to end the war" with Russia. It’s been reported that the potential “peace deal” drawn up by the US and Russia will require Ukraine to give up large amounts of territory and dramatically shrink its military. If Zelenskyy accepted these terms, what would it mean for the world?And, Labour MP Clive Lewis has offered to give up his seat to allow the Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, to challenge Sir Keir Starmer's premiership. This comes shortly after suggestions that Health Secretary Wes Streeting would be challenging Starmer. Why the Prime Minister so unpopular?This episode was recorded on the 20th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Britain is not prepared to defend itself from a military attack and the government is moving at a "glacial" speed in response to the threats of Russia and China, the Commons Defence Committee has concluded. Now, in what could be considered a ‘duh’ question, why do we need an army? And what are they realistically used for?Also, ultra-processed food poses a seismic threat to global health, according to the world’s largest review. Brits are some of the biggest consumers of UPFs… but why? How do we break this addiction?And, ‘Things happen’… is something that Donald Trump actually said when the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brought up in front of himself and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House. LBC’s US correspondent Simon Marks joins James for all that and more..This episode was recorded on the 19th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.