Paul Osbourne - News, podcasts, tea drinking

04/09/2025

Never meet your heroes. Unless your heroes are the Pet Shop Boys, in which case you should shamelessly abuse your job to meet them.

The Pet Shop Boys came into Classic FM in 2005 to talk about their soundtrack for the 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin, as well as their wider approach to music, collaboration, and the desire to “keep things interesting.”

The film and soundtrack are being re-released this month, so I’ve dug out the original interview, only part of which was ever broadcast, put the whole conversation online, and written about what Neil and Chris had to say about 20 years in pop, 20 years ago…

01/09/2025

What’s behind Britain’s political “vibe shift” that’s put far-right rhetoric around migration and asylum in the mainstream?

As Nigel Farage’s Reform UK proposes deporting more than half-a-million people, Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch compete to seem just as tough.

Bigots jailed for inciting racial hatred are hailed as free speech warriors, and vandals daub St George’s Crosses on streets and houses, and get very angry if anyone suggests they’re a bit racist.

How far down this rabbit hole will Britain’s political leaders go before the next General Election?

16/08/2025

Why are senior Tory MPs, who should know better, lying about a “two-tier justice system” — comparing the Ricky Jones jury verdict with Lucy Connolly’s guilty plea?

14/08/2025

US Vice-President JD Vance has spent months sneering at Britain and Europe.

So it’s a surprise to see him choose a quiet Cotswolds village for a summer holiday.

For villagers facing police blockades and a 20-plus secret service convoy — it’s not just surprising — it’s annoying.

So they used that free speech Vance is so keen on to tell him where to go..

11/08/2025

In a little over a year, Labour enacted internet ID checks, and after declaring the group Palestine Action a terrorist organisation, had hundreds of people arrested for the crime of writing the wrong thing on a placard.

Is this a dive into more authoritarian control of citizens’ private lives and political opinions? Or is it, as ministers claim, about protecting national security and the vulnerable?

19/06/2024

As Labour marches towards a crushing victory - is a gigantic majority good for democracy?

There's actually no such thing in British politics, but a crushing Labour win over the Conservatives and Reform in the General Election would bring significant changes.

06/06/2024

Starmer accuses Sunak of lying about his tax claims -- but neither man is being honest about the true state of the economy, and the inevitability of your tax bill rising after the election...

Why isn’t Labour screaming and shouting about the Conservatives’ stealth tax raid on millions of people? Because it’s planning to do exactly the same thing.

05/06/2024

Well, that wasn't fun...

The Conservative and Labour leaders shouted at each other for an hour, and voters were no better informed about the choices at this election. Is this really the best we can do?

04/06/2024

One day we'll be able to stop talking about Nigel Farage. One day....

The new-ish leader of Reform UK says he's coming for Rishi Sunak and his Tory MPs. How big an impact will Nigel Farage's move have? And can he finally get elected, after failing 7 times?

01/06/2024

Are we really looking at a near-total Tory wipeout at the General Election? A Labour majority of 300? The latest poll suggests it's at least possible...

If the poll is right, this could be an extinction-level event for the Conservatives — a devastating defeat that could prove fatal.

30/05/2024

Like the first cuckoo of spring, here comes the first Labour blunder of the election campaign. So soon, so self-inflicted...

The Labour leader has managed to appear both ruthless and indecisive, able to be cruel to a long-standing MP, but also unable to make a potentially unpopular final decision.

28/05/2024

Cash bonuses for pensioners, compulsory unpaid work for teenagers. But the Conservatives don't hate young people -- it's just, erm, an election strategy -- albeit, probably not a winning one...

Why is Rishi Sunak promising a cash boost for pensioners and National Service for teenagers if the Tories win the election? It's all part of the strategy...