good evening. and a very warm welcome along to the neil oliver show on gb news tv, online and digital radio. and no , i haven't digital radio. and no, i haven't shaved and put on a geordie accent. it's me , darren grimes, accent. it's me, darren grimes, in the chair this week as neil enjoys a well—earned break. now this week, i'll be asking, is inheritance tax actually a fair tax .7 and does it actually make tax.7 and does it actually make as much money for the treasury as much money for the treasury as you might expect? and as we're now in the run up to the

general election, we'll discuss whether there's a need for electoral reform to create genuine choice at the ballot box. plus, with the government suggesting all britons should have three days worth of tinned food and water, i'll be asking should we be stockpile filling and if so, what for? all that, plus plenty of discussion with my panellists. the freelance journalist georgia gilhooley. but first of all, we're going to get an update on the latest news headlines. >> cheers, darren. our top stories this hour. eight people have been taken to hospital after severe turbulence on a qatar airways flight from doha to dublin. dublin airport said emergency services, including airport police and their fire and rescue teams met the plane as it landed safely shortly before 1:00 this afternoon. the injuries to six passengers and six crew occurred as they were flying over turkey . now the

flying over turkey. now the shadow chancellor says there will be no increases to tax or national insurance under a labour government . rachel reeves labour government. rachel reeves is promising a tough set of spending rules that she says will grow the economy while keeping taxes , inflation and keeping taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible. the conservatives say their current financial plan is working , but labour is arguing working, but labour is arguing that people feel worse off. >> we have economic growth on its knees, we have the decline in living standards. the first time on record where living standards will be lower at the end of the parliament than they were at the beginning. debt at almost 100% of gdp and taxes at almost 100% of gdp and taxes at a 70 year high. so after five prime ministers, seven chancellors, 12 plans for growth, we know that it is time for change. >> the proposed return of compulsory national service was rejected by a defence minister just days before the tories pledged to make it law. if the

party wins, the general election. andrew murrison insisted that there were no plans to introduce the policy and said it could damage morale if potentially unwilling recruits were forced to serve. however, as we now know, just two days later, rishi sunak outlined plans to make all 18 year olds choose between serving in the army or volunteering in their local communities. labour has dismissed the tories plan as a headline grabbing gimmick. ukraines president is urging leaders of the united states and china to attend a peace summit in switzerland. president zelenskyy is leading the event next month, which aims to unite global opinion on how to stop russias invasion and pile pressure on vladimir putin. kyiv says more than 80 countries will be there, but it's not yet clear whether president biden will choose to attend. it comes after reports suggested putin was ready to negotiate a ceasefire

more people trust sir keir starmer on matters of national security than the prime minister that's according to a new poll for the telegraph newspaper. the survey also found that a majority of people are not confident that britain could defend itself against threats from russia or china. meanwhile, almost half believe the next few years will be some of the most dangerous that the country has ever faced. it comes after rishi sunak promised to increase britain's defence spending to 2.5% of gdp . more than 500 2.5% of gdp. more than 500 migrants have crossed the channelin migrants have crossed the channel in small boats so far this bank holiday weekend . home this bank holiday weekend. home office data shows that 227 people crossed illegally from france yesterday. that follows another 288 arrivals on friday. it brings the total so far this year to nearly 10,400. fans were left disappointed last night when the rap star that they'd

paid to see the co—op live arena in manchester was arrested. video posted to nicki minaj's social media shows her being detained in the netherlands after allegedly trying to take soft drugs through schiphol airport. the 41 year old starship's artist was later released after spending what she said was 5 to 6 hours in a police cell. she told fans outside of her hotel that the show would be rescheduled . the show would be rescheduled. the newly unveiled tallest roller coaster in britain has come to an abrupt stop just a day after it opened. the hyperion at thorpe park in surrey, said to be the fastest in britain, features europe's tallest loop. but in a message posted online, the park said that due to unforeseen circumstances, the new roller coaster will be closed until wednesday. the rest of the park remains open and richard sherman, whose music inspired generations of children

to keep their chin up, has died at the age of 95. >> he feed the birds tuppence a bag, tuppence . bag, tuppence. >> well, along with his brother robert, he created some of disney's best known classics, the duo winning two oscars for their work on the musical mary poppins. other credits include the jungle book, chitty chitty bang bang and charlotte's web . bang bang and charlotte's web. for the latest stories, you can sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code. it's on your screen right now, or go to gb news. com slash alerts . gb news. com slash alerts. right. let's get back to . darren. >> welcome along to the neil oliver show. i'm joined tonight by the journalist and broadcaster george gillislee.

now, georgia, it's been a quiet old week , hasn't it? not much old week, hasn't it? not much going on. it's been rainy. >> it has? >> it has? >> yeah. i mean, did you expect him to. to be as bold and brave as he has been as in rishi sunak and call an election? >> i'm not sure braves is the right word . right word. >> suicidal. is that the right word, let's hope not, for him personally, i think he's doing the best he can with his own situation . and i think lots of situation. and i think lots of people surprised this week, and i think it's because there was they didn't seem to be any big change this week that would prompt him to do that. but i think at the end of the day , think at the end of the day, he's just given up because he knows the result is not going to be a good one. and if they wait until november, say, the result may have been worse . may have been worse. >> is there a chance, though, because we saw with theresa may in 2017, right. she was hailed as the next iron lady. you know, the next maggie. three electoral successes margaret thatcher had. and we all know how that went for theresa may. could the same

thing happen to an overconfident labour party? does the labour party have to be careful because rishi sunaks criticism is that no one knows what the labour party actually stands for, i think over the coming weeks we'll see them flesh out their policies more. i still think that people aren't enthusiastic about labour for many good reasons. myself included, but i think after all of the messes we've endured, and also aside from kind of this or that personal scandal, party, etc, people are very upset about the economy. for example, the ramifications of covid immigration is a huge issue which which is not being sorted doesn't necessarily mean that labour has a watertight plan to deal with them as opposed to the conservatives. but we've already seen how the conservative party has been dealing with it, and it hasn't been dealing with it. >> no, i mean, he was rishi sunak was forced to admit actually there wouldn't be any rwanda flights take off before the general election on, on july 4th. i mean, this is an

admission , surely to his voters, admission, surely to his voters, many of them brexit voters of failure. >> yeah, absolutely. though the rwanda plan is to deal with illegal immigration and legal immigration as we've seen from stats this week, i believe over the past year, net immigration was actually over a million in just a year. this is a deliberate policy decision. the small boats crisis is just a small boats crisis is just a small part of that. and that is something the government chose to do. yeah. >> and it wasn't a brilliant look when he was stood there in the pouring rain, absolutely drenched . drenched. >> and they built that that fancy conference room during covid didn't they? i don't know why it wasn't done in there. i'm cunous why it wasn't done in there. i'm curious to see in the memoirs in 30 years time who made that decision. and why, it was very embarrassing, especially with the blaring music from is it steve braverman? yes, exactly. activists eu mad protester you absolutely could not imagine any other european leader or you know, god forbid, the american president giving an announcement in those kind of conditions. it was it was really embarrassing, to be honest. >> it was making me actually

physically cringe. you know, i was sat there sort of watching through my fingers, and head in hand. through my fingers, and head in hand . so, you know, it doesn't hand. so, you know, it doesn't it strikes me as odd that any adviser would advise the prime minister to go out in those circumstances and actually give this momentous statement, the most important of his entire political career. >> it could be that someone thought, oh, you know, if he's standing in the rain and he's kind of looking, putting a brave face on, etc, he'll look as if he's, you know, someone who's able to mount all these challenges. but i think on balance, that's obviously not what happened, whoever thought that might have been the case made the wrong decision, but, you know, it's not the first kind of pr mishap that's happening in number 10. there is sort of a there's a running joke that his own press advisers kind of want him to lose because there's been so many bizarre mishaps. yeah, but i mean, who knows? like i said, it's just something that, you know, someone will leak it or the raisi in a book in 30 years time. so we'll wait and see. do you think many people have actually made their mind up at this stage because the, you

know, the polling isn't perhaps as solid as you might suspect when labour are that far ahead in the polls, i think that people have definitely made their mind up. i do, on the majority , the majority of them, majority, the majority of them, to not vote for the conservative party. that doesn't necessarily mean that labour is insured. yeah, yeah . people rolling out yeah, yeah. people rolling out the red carpet for them, and yeah , most people who won't vote yeah, most people who won't vote tory will sort of just think on balance, okay, i'm voting laboun balance, okay, i'm voting labour. but i think people have definitely decided they do not support the conservative party anymore. and that includes obviously lots of people who lent their vote to them in 2019 and also in 2015. >> well, he's going to need a dnnk >> well, he's going to need a drink after georgia. if he if he if he's watching, he's going to need a drink to get over. he doesn't drink there. does he know he doesn't. actually i forgot about that. >> he's he'll have a can of coke anyway. >> georgia thank you very much. we'll be coming back to you for more throughout the show. now folks. my first guest on the show is michael rudkin, the chair of the national federation of subpostmasters. now michael, along with his wife susan, was wrongly convicted of stealing

money. now michael feels they will never properly be compensated for what they had to go through. michael, absolute pleasure to have your company. thank you very much for it. you have seen much of the coverage over the last few days of paula vennells, the former ceo of post office , in front of the office, in front of the committee inquiry. this week. have you any sympathy for her whatsoever? there were a few tears shed there . tears shed there. >> well, first of all, just to set the record straight, i'm the former nc chair of the nfsp , but former nc chair of the nfsp, but in relation to my feelings towards paula vennells, given that she'd had plenty of heads up, from the federation during my tenure, most certainly that there was issues with horizon. yeah. but she chose not to take heed of that . and having seen heed of that. and having seen the evidence so far in the inquiry , when you get the inquiry, when you get the

chairman of the of the company at that time, which was moya greene , that ends up putting in greene, that ends up putting in text messages. i don't believe you. i've lost confidence in you when, we discover that, the ceo actually , kept the head of legal actually, kept the head of legal affairs, susan crichton, outside of meetings , waiting in the of meetings, waiting in the corridor, like a subordinate who was a very important part within the organisation to ensure that the organisation to ensure that the post office itself complied with the laws of the land. and it's quite clear that what what was happening was paula vennells had got her own agenda. she wanted to be in the limelight, take all the credit , and it take all the credit, and it didn't matter how she achieved that , didn't matter how she achieved that, michael. >> she said that she and i quote, she said she loved the post office and she did the best job. and she wanted the post office to thrive for the whole office to thrive for the whole

of the united kingdom, the sam stein case for the prosecution then said, actually, that was absolute rubbish. would you concur? would you agree with that assessment? >> i would agree with his assessment, sam's pretty acute to picking up on these things because in general, i can assure you that, out of the 11,500 post offices within the network, the network of subpostmasters, they all love the post office. it's an institution that they love and they worship, and they're proud to be associated with it. but when you've got a ceo or ceo who is determined to brandish all of these people as criminals, thieves is just absolutely outrageous and unforgivable. >> michael. well i'll have a listen to some of what she had to say. so viewers get flavour. >> i would just like to say , and >> i would just like to say, and i'm grateful for the opportunity to do this in person. how sorry i am for all that subpostmasters

, fighters and their families and others have suffered as a result of all of the matters that the inquiry has been looking into for so long, i will answer the questions truthfully and i'm very aware that they will be difficult to listen to for you and for me and i ask youn for you and for me and i ask your, your understanding in advance of that. >> now, to be honest with you, michael, i apologise for showing you that because it must, it must be enough to turn your stomach to be perfectly frank. but i mean , is there any part of but i mean, is there any part of you whatsoever that believes that there is some form of a, dare i say, christian, forgiveness and a sentiment of apologies and that you you can accept ever . accept ever. >> well, no. because purely and simply that successive ceos have constantly passed the baton on upwards over a period of time, years with the same

institutionalised problems. so subpostmasters have had to wait 24 years for these kind of apologies , and the latter being apologies, and the latter being the last 12 years where paula vennells has been in a position where she could , do something where she could, do something for some postmasters in relation to the horizon system, because i honestly thought that when she took her position this would be a new broom that would sweep clean, that would eradicate all these issues. yeah. and she chose to think of her career first and foremost and was quite happy for subpostmasters to be prosecuted and in some cases sent to prison. >> michael just finally then can i get your your take on the post office horizon offences act becoming law just today. a final act of this, of this parliament act. what say you on that particular act . particular act. >> well, i took a really deep

breath this morning. well yesterday actually, knowing that this was the last ditched attempt prior to a general election for this actually to be passed through law , so that all passed through law, so that all these subpostmasters, all, all, 1000 who have got convictions lie—ins, for them now to be vindicated, to have their judgements overturned, and certainly so that as quickly as possible that this information that's on there , personal files that's on there, personal files is eradicated quickly . is eradicated quickly. >> yeah. i couldn't agree more. michael rudkin thank you very much for your company. now in studio, folks. george gill still joins me , the freelance joins me, the freelance journalist now georgia, i mean, you've been watching some of the events unfold over the past few days. it's been distracted somewhat by the fact that, you know, a general election was announced, but the last act, one of the last acts of this , of of the last acts of this, of this parliament to pass the post

office horizon offences act , office horizon offences act, that's the whole nation sort of breathes a sigh of relief almost for these people and the hell that they've gone through, as highlighted in that very, very powerful drama . powerful drama. >> yeah, absolutely. so i haven't actually got around to watching the drama, but i've also read must it so good actually. okay, i'll set some time aside in the future, but, it speaks to kind of the uselessness perhaps of, of some of our political arrangements that it took that really to tell those people's stories to a wider audience. that was already actions before that to try and, help people. but for some of these people, it's too little, too late, people committed suicide, spent years in prison. i mean, it's i can't imagine being in that position. it, you know, be utterly despairing to have to go through that, and i think we also have a big headline, more recently about the infected blood scandal . the infected blood scandal. exactly. i think there are big parallels there. and to do with how it's failures of state, faceless bureaucrats kind of

passing the buck, as i guess we're saying from his own experience, passing the buck, no one taking responsibility. it's like these are real people, real people's lives. something is wrong. and it's not just to do with the post office. it's not just to do with with health care. it's to do with a lot of things, i think a lot of change needs to be made, but yeah, obviously it won't be happening within this parliament because it ends today. >> yeah, absolutely. all right. >> yeah, absolutely. all right. >> georgia, thank you very much for that. now folks, coming up, i'm going to be taking a look at inheritance tax and asking is it fair. is it just is it right you're watching the neil oliver show on gb news. don't go anywhere.

a very warm welcome back to the neil oliver show with me. darren

grimes filling in for the man himself. now, anne robinson, she's a woman that amassed a £50 million fortune as the queen of mean on british telly. just goes to show how being horrible can actually pay. but the tv legend has given it all away to her family, and that's in order, folks, to avoid handing it over to hmrc in the form of inheritance tax, and says that she'd rather her children enjoy the money now while she's still alive. so i'm asking the question is inheritance tax fair? is it laudable? is it right? and does it actually generate that much money for the taxpayer? well, joining me to discuss this is the economist catherine mcbride . and catherine mcbride. and catherine, a pleasure to have your company. thank you very much. what's your view? i mean, is inheritance tax actually a big fund raiser for the treasury because it actually causes a fair amount of heartbreak for a

lot of families, does it not? >> yes. and it's a very small earner. it made last year less than 1% of all of the money raised by the treasury , it's raised by the treasury, it's terribly unfair. it basically hits london in the south east more than any other part of the country, in fact, twice as many people in london paid inheritance tax than all of the people who paid it in scotland, wales and northern ireland added together it's very much a tax on london. it's very much a tax on property because anne was in a very nice position to have liquid assets that she could give away to her relatives, but most of the people who were hit by this have, wealth of between sort of one and £2 million, and it's generally tied up with the family house. so in order to

give that away, they'd have to kind of find another place to live . so it's really not live. so it's really not possible for most people to give away the money. and the uber wealthy people like sort of the dukes of westminster or northumberland or wherever they will. put, set up a family trust which they did started doing tens of years ago, you know, in the 50s and the 60s, to get around inheritance tax. so right now it's just taxing the people who often didn't expect to ever be in that bracket because their house price has gone up so much that they're getting hit by this. but you can't actually sell your house. yeah. you know, you have to live in it. the other option that unfortunately a lot of people are avoiding this by leaving the country . this by leaving the country. yes, bloomberg claims that the uk is the third most popular country to leave if you're wealthy, and we're up there with

places like china and russia , we places like china and russia, we are. we're the only country that people leave that would be considered a developed western democracy , so it's pretty democracy, so it's pretty embarrassing, really . embarrassing, really. >> catherine, what would you say to those who say, well, it's immoral for anne robinson to do this, right? she made all this money. she's had a good life. it's actually morally correct for the state to say, we're going to take part of your proceedings in life. you've done well. we're going to use it to fund gaps in health care and social care and all these other things. and actually, it's the most progressive way doing it through property whilst the person is no longer sadly with us. >> us. >> well, actually it's anne robinson is a good case because she actually made the money herself . but inheritance tax herself. but inheritance tax because it comes in a large lump sum usually, that is money that if people got it themselves rather than giving it to the

government, they would invest. so the wealth commission, the growth commission rather has done a lot of studies on this, and it is the most effective way of growing the economy , because of growing the economy, because people actually invest it , you people actually invest it, you know, if you're going to inherit £100,000 or something, you're unlike me to just go out and spend it on blow it all on a big dinner or something, you're going to invest it wisely, or you're going to buy yourself a house, you're going to think of, you know, something to do with it. where for the treasury. it's such a small part of the money that they get each year. it's less than 1. they actually just blow it. they don't invest it wisely because it's not important to them. it's just too small, so it's a very perverse tax and it discourages people from saving and looking after themselves. if the government's going to just take it, you may as well just spend it. >> so then catherine, you know,

doesn't wear, you know, a future government to get in touch with you, catherine. and they say, come on, catherine, we're getting you into the treasury. you're an economist. we're going to discuss the most the fairest way to raise revenue for the treasury . if it's not treasury. if it's not inheritance tax, what is it? because we've got to pay for pubuc because we've got to pay for public services somehow, don't we? >> well, except if you look at how much they've gone up in recent years and we've now got more public servants than we've ever had. and unfortunately , the ever had. and unfortunately, the productivity of our public service has just gone down. and down and down. so i'm not, in fact, sure that we should be taking more money to throw it bad. we've got to start managing the public service the way a private company would manage its workforce. we've got far too many people employed without real jobs , and if we actually real jobs, and if we actually got rid of inheritance tax and stamp duty, there's a lot of people in the treasury that hmrc that you could get rid of

because you don't need them anymore. you know, if you also get rid of thousands of pages of in the tax code, you know, you could reduce it by taking a whole chapters out and putting it in the bin. so we've got to get rid of these little taxes. and there are there's at least ten of them that raise very little money, take up a lot of time of the populace because hmrc, they have to go and evaluate the assets. sometimes but most of the work improving the value is done by the inheritors. yeah, if you like. so you've got to run around, go through your parents bank accounts, try and work out what everything was worth, get things valued. yes, it's at the same time as you're organising . yeah. time as you're organising. yeah. and you're also organising the funeral and dealing with, you know, pets and all sorts of stuff that has to go on. so it's a, it's a really mean tax. yeah. it's so the word for it

catherine. it discourages people from building up the capital. the most important thing we need in this country, darren, is more people with capital and this is a way for, you know, the workers of the country who bought a house, did the right thing in the 60s and the 70s, and paid off their mortgages, worked hard. this is their chance to give something to their relatives. okay. >> we'll have to leave it there. thank you very much. there. to the economist catherine, it's pleasure. >> always good to talk to you. >> always good to talk to you. >> thank you. now, joining me in the studio. still is georgia gillie, the freelance journalist. now, georgia, do you have sympathy for anne robinson? if you had 50 million in the bank and you had some children , bank and you had some children, would you be out saying go wild? i wouldn't necessarily be saying go wild if my children were teenagers , for example. i think teenagers, for example. i think i'd probably say yes. >> that would be unwise to give them that money until they're a bit more sensible, i do i agree that she did this, the right thing. >> i mean, she. yeah,

absolutely, and speaking as someone who's self—employed and has to file their own taxes with hmrc every year, any criticism of it? i'm happy to, to be on side. >> it's a nightmare. >> it's a nightmare. >> it's a nightmare. >> it's really heartbreaking. >> it's really heartbreaking. >> have you ever tried to get hold of them on the phone? unfortunately, yes, yeah. so they should be paying me. really? yes, yes. and what catherine was saying about our government being inefficient, is absolutely true. and i think anne robinson's decision is, i think i would applaud it. and i also think it's interesting because we see a lot of celebrities now, very rich people like mick jagger, for example, telling journalists that they're not going to leave any money to their children because they think their children should, you know, kind of pull themselves up by the bootstraps, etc. and i think, of course, you want to encourage your own children to be resilient and make their own money and look after their own families. however, i think it kind of goes against the human instinct to not want to help, lift up your own children and help them be comfortable, that kind of thing. >> all right, georgia, thank you very much for that input. now,

folks, coming up, as election fury heats up, i'm going to be asking if the electoral system needs reforming to give you at home more choice at the ballot box. you're watching the neil oliver show on gb news hosted by me, darren grimes. don't go anywhere .

a very warm welcome back to the neil oliver show with me. darren grimes. now, sunak starmer. all the rest. they've begun their six weeks of campaigning in an attempt to persuade us to give them our vote in the general election. now, that election has been set for july the 4th. election. now, that election has been set forjuly the 4th. but, been set for july the 4th. but, folks, i'm asking whether the current electoral system that we have in britain first past the

post is actually fair. let's not forget ukip in 2015, millions of votes won seat. it was 4 million votes won seat. it was 4 million votes for one seat. is it time for it to be overhauled to offer us more choice? well, joining me to discuss this further is the political editor of the well, formerly of the express , the formerly of the express, the independent, now david maddox. david, i haven't seen you since you went to the independent. so congratulations. first of all. but actually, where do you stand on this? because some people say that actually first past the post gives a nation more stability. you tend to get majority governments and therefore they're able to put through an agenda more easily than in europe. for example, where lots of places have proportional represent nation, which means more parties minority parties have to get together in coalitions to actually form the government. where do you stand on on those two models? >> well, thanks for the

congratulations, darren. that's very kind, look , i've changed my very kind, look, i've changed my mind on this. i used to support first past the post for the very reasons you've just given, you know, the stability it gives the surety of government. and also because , you know, it kept the because, you know, it kept the extremes out of parliament. but generally, you know, maybe you get 1 or 2 in there. but now i'm beginning to question it. you know, we've seen a lot of chaos, political chaos in the last few years. we've just been through three prime ministers since the last election, so that's hardly a formula for stability. and then, you know, you look at the way this election is really becoming too parties fighting over the same ground, largely same the same things. small differences in rhetoric , but differences in rhetoric, but essentially both arguing that they're better managers than the other. there's no real battle of ideas and things. and what is happening is that the parties with the ideas, with the different opinions, whether

that's reform uk or the greens on the right and the left are being squeezed out and are being kept out. so, you know, they could get decent amount of seats. the greens will end up with two seats if they're lucky, with two seats if they're lucky, with luck , but with loads of with luck, but with loads of votes, reform may get one seat if lee anderson holds onto hers. but again, with millions of votes and none of these people will be represented. and i think that's wrong. yes. >> i mean, what do you say then? i guess there's an element here of people feeling a sense of apathy. actually, david, they're saying i don't want to vote for either of the main political parties, but the ones i do want to vote for don't stand a chance that that creates a sense of, disenfranchisement. disenchants with the with the ballot box itself. and does that undermine democracy ultimately ? democracy ultimately? >> i think it does. and i think this general election could be the all time lowest turnout for a general election in this

country. you know, we already see abysmal turnouts in local elections. if a third of voters come out in local elections, it's, you know, it's a victory in its own right. you know, we may be to down about 50% in this general election. i hope it's not that low, but it's and it's exactly this disillusion moment. yeah. who do you want to vote for? do you only just have a choice between labour and conservative? maybe, you know, the liberal democrats instead of one of those two parties, but generally it's a choice between two parties, you know, whereas if you had a proportional system, there's a much more, much higher incentive to get out there because you can actually vote for the party you want. and you know that when you're casting a vote that actually gives them a chance of getting into power, and that's a or at least getting into parliament. >> and i'm going to bring in the freelance journalist george gilhooley. now, georgia, where do you stand on this? i haven't actually asked your opinion. where where do you stand on a

lot of people say, well, if you had proportional representation, you would lose the, the constituency element of first past the post and the link between the constituent and the constituency and the constituency and the constituency mp are you concerned about that or do you agree with with david, many of david's concerns i agree with. however when it comes to supporting, proportional representation, it's not something i can bring myself to do, at least not yet. i think, as david was saying, it makes things more chaotic. i mean, look at israel, for example, they have one parliament, one chamber of parliament, and they have proportional representation and they have all sorts of crackpots at the moment keeping the government afloat among all their issues, i think in the dutch election recently, it's taken them almost six months to try and arrange a government and i think it empowers extremists. and i think we have so many issues with, as david was saying, keir starmer and rishi sunak being very similar and none of them actually willing to do what people want. i think it

shows real failures, but it's not the failures of proportional representation, it's the failures of those political parties. they have no organic support. very few people and members of them or are going out campaigning for them. they get so much of their funding from, you know, foreign billionaires, that kind of thing. that's the issue, the quality of our politicians and the quality of our political culture and culture in general, which is causing this. it's not really proportional representation. it's not really first past the post. sorry. >> yes. so i assume then david would say to that that look , would say to that that look, the, the fact of the matter is here that there's going to be no competition in politics until we do have this system, because right now, parties, political parties are coalitions, but they're too broad a coalition that actually we already de facto have pr anyway. >> right. your, your, your constituent mp in hartlepool might have a massively different opinion to a blue wall. for example, lib dem facing seat. >> it's very different though because with pr you're giving people a seat based on

percentages of votes and that's that kind of thing. rather than winning a constituency and i think people who are more conservative leaning and maybe people who are more on the centre left will regret doing this. and i think we're seeing issues right now, for example, with, you know, islamist extremism, there's kind of a movement to start some kind of islamist party. >> yeah. religious which absolutely would get a certain percentage of votes. >> and would therefore maybe have mps at some point under the system . and have mps at some point under the system .and i have mps at some point under the system . and i think politicians system. and i think politicians need to do better, and our culture needs to improve and our education system and that kind of thing. everything needs to change. we need root and branch reform. but i just don't think this is the right way. and i think also electoral reform is not just about pr, keir starmer wants to totally upend the house of lords and just give us, you know, more devolved, useless, unaccountable institutions. and i don't think that's the way to correct our course as a country. >> all right, david, you've heard a bit of criticism there. what have you got any thoughts on all of that? >> well, you know, these are

arguments that i've used in the past actually to argue exactly that case. and, but i think though, you know, i go back to 2016, it always goes back to 2016, it always goes back to 2016, with the, with the referendum and, and referendum was assigned , really, of how was assigned, really, of how disillusioned people were with politics in this country and how they felt that it didn't really represent them. and, you know, and i think first past the post is actually quite a crucial part of that, because we have these parties which really just want to be in the centre, just want to be in the centre, just want to say the same things and just want to give this managerial point of view . and we're seeing point of view. and we're seeing that, you know, people are rejecting this on both the right and the left. and, you know , and the left. and, you know, they don't feel that their their opinions are being are being addressed at all. and this is you know, i think it's time for change. i mean, you know, house of lords was mentioned there, you know, why not get rid of the

house of lords and replace that with a chamber with pr, keep first past the post in the commons and have a house of lords based on pr of course, there's lots of different systems of pr as well. you know, you don't have to go from a pure party list system. you could go for a much more regional based system. we've got versions in scotland and wales. you know, we can be imaginative with it. and it's, i mean, the time has come for change. >> all right. >> all right. >> well, david, very interesting stuff there. that's the political editor of the independent, david maddocks. and before that it was the freelance journalist, georgia gilhooley. now folks, the government has said britons should have three days worth of tinned food and water. is this really necessary? what should we be preparing for ? what should we be preparing for? we'll be discussing that after the break. you're watching the neil oliver show on gb news hosted by me, darren grimes. don't go anywhere .

welcome back to the neil oliver show with me, darren grimes. now, wind up torches, tinned meat and bottles of water. they're just some of the items that the government are advising people to stock up on as it urges the public to prepare for emergencies. scout's honour. be prepared. a new website called prepared. a new website called prepare has been launched by the government to advise the public on what steps they can put in place in case of a variety of emergencies. now, is this necessary folks, or is this yet again more scaremongering from the government? well, joining me to discuss this further is the author and journalist julie cook. julie, thank you very much for your time today. now, julie, i'm looking at some of the items there and it says you need a

penknife. now, i've never used a penanein penknife. now, i've never used a penknife in my life, to be quite honest with you. i wouldn't know where to start. so are they are they just on a hiding to nothing here? >> well. hi, darren. first of all, i think, you know, they said don't stockpile, don't, you know, don't panic. buy. but the first thing people are going to do when they hear this kind of advice is to go and panic buy, and, you know, lots of things go through your head. is it the is it the war? is it the threat of nuclear war from russia? is it the ukraine disaster? is it what's happening in in palestine and israel? there's so much going on in the world to make us afraid. but is it really that or is it more about compliance and kind of project fear? mark two and i'm veering more towards that. i'm thinking , you know, that. i'm thinking, you know, there's a general election called exactly the same time , called exactly the same time, and if there's any way to make the public behave and comply , the public behave and comply, it's to make them afraid. >> yes. >> yes. >> i mean, we have gone through years of a mission creep, i guess, by by successive governments into a more illiberal sphere. i mean, is

that part is this part of a wider agenda, or do you think this is just common sense? and as i say, scout's honour, be prepared. you know, i was taught that as a kid. is it not just it's common sense and wise to actually prepare for all scenarios ? scenarios? >> i think it's common sense. i think, you know, most of us do have a few batteries in the cupboard or a candle or, you know, a tin opener, for example. i think they are common sense , i think they are common sense, but i think but by making a be prepared website and announcing it at the exact same time as a general election is, it's so much more than that. yes, let's be prepared. but there's something else going on here, and it seems to me that general underlying sense of unease, anxiety, that kind of keeps us compliant. yeah >> i mean that the local that we've just had on screen there for, for those that may be listening on radio, how would you prepare in massive letters. you know that capital balding really like emphasising that word prepare. you know it's sort

of it reminds me a bit of george orwell dare i say. you know, it might as well say big brother says, how would you prepare for an emergency? am i going too far ? >> 7- >> no, i 7— >> no, i don't 7 >> no, i don't think you are. and i think, as i said, project fear two. we've all lived through all of this with with 2020 and the pandemic. and interestingly , in which we were interestingly, in which we were told not to panic buy in stockpile when we kind of needed to. and now that there is no immediate defined threat, as i said, there are lots of threats, but nothing defined . and we're but nothing defined. and we're told, right, go and get all this stuff. and, you know, i think people have just had enough of being spoken down to and told to do the obvious, but equally, as i say, the timing doesn't escape most people's notice. with rishi sunak announcing this snap general election in july, which, you know, has has shaken everybody, to have this at the same time, as you say, with a big logo, the big website , it's big logo, the big website, it's just it's fishy to me. darren it's fishy. >> well, fishy, fishy, that's

what some people are calling of julie. >> but i mean, surely though after after the pandemic. right? do you remember when everyone was rushing out of the shops? in the shops were there because people were stockpiling all sorts of loo roll, there were shortages of loo roll and the loo roll companies, manufacturers had to say , hang manufacturers had to say, hang on a minute, we're not running out of liberal, calm down. but actually to avoid scenarios like that, you know, is this just natural, preparedness for , for natural, preparedness for, for eventualities that may arise? i mean, goodness, only knows what could happen, but all eventualities ought to be considered, especially if you're, for example, someone with a young family. >> yes. of course, as i say, you know, common sense. but most of us do have common sense. i think there's a sense of being talked down to a little bit, you know, having some tins in the cupboard, having a tin opener, having some batteries and a torch, i'd say pretty much most of us have a few of those items

anyway. but what interested me was it was the three days worth of food and i think that's what's got people talking and panicking because it's kind of like, well, if there's a nuclear disaster, it doesn't matter whether you've got three days or 30 days, you know, it's game oven 30 days, you know, it's game over, frankly, but if it's any other kind of disaster, i don't know, flooding, electricity problems, whatever . i mean, problems, whatever. i mean, really is three days of tins. the answer i think . i think we the answer i think. i think we live in such a sophisticated society now that's so dependent on technology, internet, phone. you know, for example, you mentioned the wind up radio. well, how are we going to get the radio now that pretty much all of radio is digital anyway? you know, are they have the juice to get their programmes out for us to get to. so yes, it all just seems very obvious, common sense. and yet there's no real defined threat of what it is we're meant to be for. prepared and i think that's what's getting people anxious. >> all right , julie, though, >> all right, julie, though, thank you very much for that analysis on the prepared notes that the government is, shouting in capital letters . in capital letters. >> julie cook there. now, we're

going to read out a statement from his majesty's government who say this. the information on this site is designed to help you prepare for emergencies, be more informed about hazards , and more informed about hazards, and get involved in activities to support yourself and your community before, during and after an emergency . there's also after an emergency. there's also specific advice for disabled persons and carers . taking persons and carers. taking action now will make it easier to manage if an emergency does happen. to manage if an emergency does happen . well, what say you at happen. well, what say you at home? do you actually view this as yet more scaremongering, or do you think actually calm down, darren, you're being a bit conspiratorial. we'll see what george actually thinks or as well, the freelance journalist who still joins me in the studio when you were reading all of this, did, because we're being told to print out a list of numbers not printed out. have you printed off a list of numbers? did you dash and say, well, my phone might die of battery, so all these other things might happen preparing for all eventualities? have you

doneit for all eventualities? have you done it , no. done it, no. >> no, i think if i, you know, had children or something, i think it'd be something that was more at the front of my mind, i agree that governments instilling fear in people makes people more compliant, which can be useful for governments. however our our current government, i don't think they could organise a proverbial in a brewery. i don't think it's coordinated that this was released . and there's also released. and there's also a general election. i don't think it's coordinated at all. there's no evidence of that, i think to an extent it can be seen as patronising, but i also think that, as we're saying, with things being so digital now, you know, you're saying , oh, most know, you're saying, oh, most people might have a torch in their house. i don't actually have that. >> i just use my phone, to be honest. so many things. the amount of people that couldn't afford to get three days of suppues afford to get three days of supplies on top of their weekly. yeah, that's a lot, actually. >> you know, i probably have maybe not a day or something, depending depending . but, yeah, depending depending. but, yeah, i think people who may be a bit older, they have their own houses, you know, you have a house, things just accumulate

like my parents house. >> oh, absolutely. we have space. the space. you're living in a flat in london. >> you're a young person. >> you're a young person. >> exactly. >> exactly. >> you don't just have loads of kind of emergency things or lots of food, that kind of thing. i think the government might be aware that people sort of our age are a bit less prepared, and age are a bit less prepared, and a lot of people may well be saying this proves that they're all a bit out of touch, to be perfectly honest. >> but there, georgia, thank you very much for your company today. that's freelance journalist there, georgia killeely. now folks, that's it from me for this week on telly. but for more chats about the dangers of artificial intelligence, please do go onune intelligence, please do go online to the neil oliver show online to the neil oliver show on gb news. i'll see you there. on mark dolan tonight in the big story were nigel farage's comments on sky news about some brits not sharing our values islamophobic. we'll hear from both sides. in my take at ten, i'll be dealing with shocking allegations about one of the professional dancers on bbc's strictly, plus royal author angela levin on

>> good evening. i'm ray addison in the gb news room. free speech nafion in the gb news room. free speech nation is coming right up. but first, our top stories and we start with some breaking news. the raf pilot who died when his spitfire crashed near raf coningsby, has now been named as squadron leader mark long. police and emergency services rushed to the scene on langrick roadin rushed to the scene on langrick road in lincolnshire just before 1:20 pm. on saturday. described as a passionate professional aviator for the last four years, he'd been a pilot with the battle of britain memorial flight. the ministry of defence has described the incident as a tragic accident and an investigation into its cause is now underway . eight people have

now underway. eight people have been taken to hospital after severe