i think it was michael portillo who said - michael portillo who said he was a scottish politician, butat was known across the uk. we politicians that was known across the uk.— politicians that was known across the uk. we have seen tributes from _ across the uk. we have seen tributes from the _ across the uk. we have seen tributes from the former - across the uk. we have seen l tributes from the former prime minister david cameron, and the current feminist keir starmer, and that is evidence of someone who made an impact will be on the scottish border. when we consider his time in office, for all the good and bad and the rest of it, no one can take away from him that he was a substantial generational politician.— substantial generational olitician. ., ,., ., politician. on that point, how important — politician. on that point, how important was _ politician. on that point, how important was the _ politician. on that point, how important was the 2014 - important was the 2014 referendum that many people believe it was him that secured that with the prime minister david cameron? in that wit

thank you very much indeed welcome back to sunday morning with michael portillo .van beethoven. he's already written seven books on the subject, and next week his eighth is released. it's called in search of beethoven, and it stands apart as a deeply personal account of john suchet's relationship with the great composer as he follows his footsteps from bonn to vienna. yes, i introduce author, journalist and classic fm presenter john suchet . hello, presenter john suchet. hello, michael, it's delightful to have you here. and you have, as i say, written now eight books on beethoven. so the question is , beethoven. so the question is, why beethoven? >> well, the word that is often used that i don't like is obsession obsessive because somehow there's something not quite right about that. the word that i quite right about that. the word thati use quite right about that. the word that i use is passion. i have a passion for this man's life and music that began, i suppose, around 50 years ago, sometime in my early 20s. i can't remember the exact moment he kind of crept up

you're watching michael portillo and gb news, news channel welcome back to sunday with michael portillo, a talented saxophonist and clarinettist from london, has had a remarkable journey in the music industry, marked by significant achievements and an unusual crossover into the political sphere. having honed his musical skills from a young age, he played in both the national youth orchestra and the national youth orchestra and the national youth orchestra and the national youth jazz orchestra. in 2012, he became the solo saxophonist for pop legend george michael . his reputation george michael. his reputation in music opened doors in politics, where he's worked with various leading conservative members of parliament and played a role in a number of major campaigns. to tell us more about the harmonious relationship between music and politics, i'm delighted to be joined by ed barker. this is quite puzzling, actually. how does a how did a reputation in music get you into politics? >> it's a good question. it's probably a question i'm still wrestling with at the age of 40. how is it, how ha

i think michael portillo said he was the first politician from scotland who was recognisable in englandas known everywhere. so he was obviously a huge force but he was perhaps less of a force in the independence movement and uk politics as a whole. he was an elder statesman who would chip in with his thoughts on his campaigns with without ever having to cut he was accustomed to and used to. when we talk about his legacy, it was one of scottish nationalism, he had left the snp and the snp had perhaps left him behind them, so maybe there was this idea that for the snp at least, the party has to go forward with new ideas and nationalism needs to go forward with new ideas and new people to take it to that next stage. what will you be filing in the next thing you write for the scotsman about alex salmond? i'm very luckily not the one working today so my thoughts are with my colleagues but i imagine it will bejust the fascinating westminster reaction and the reaction from his colleagues. he was obviously an incredibly divisive figure and he was cleared of all charges after the trial of allega

you might have noticed we've taken over michael portillo's show to analyse boris johnson's interview.superstar to do that . but by a superstar to do that. but first let's remind ourselves of how boris sees his pandemic legacy . when you reflect on your legacy. when you reflect on your pandemic legacy, it doesn't look great. you've got dominic cummings describing you as a shopping trolley . you've got shopping trolley. you've got people still not forgiven you for partygate. rightly or wrongly . now for partygate. rightly or wrongly. now you're for partygate. rightly or wrongly . now you're saying for partygate. rightly or wrongly. now you're saying on lockdowns. i'm not saying that lockdowns. i'm not saying that lockdowns achieved nothing. i'm sure they had some effect . but sure they had some effect. but were they decisive in beating back the disease, turning that wave down, all i can say is i am no longer sure which all sorts of amounts to you. having mismanaged this pandemic quite badly. >> well, on the contrary, i would say, actually, if you look at what we did in that period and,

i remember in 2001 when i had just come into the house of commons, ids famously kept michael portillon won in the end , so generic is currently in end, so generic is currently in the last two. if he gets into the last two. if he gets into the final two tomorrow, which i hope and believe he will, he has every chance of winning in the end. >> should the party go back to the centre, or does it need to go to the right? >> i've got 20s. i think robert is the man with a plan. i think he's the best guy to defeat keir starmer . so i hope and believe starmer. so i hope and believe that in the end it will be robert jenrick. that's my view. >> mark francois, always an absolute pleasure to have you in the studio. thank you very, very much. now still to come, more reaction to that announcement. the final three tory leadership candidates as tom tugendhat is eliminated, eliminated from the race, even cleverly on 39 votes. robert jenrick putting on 18. robert jenrick putting on 18. robert jenrick putting on 18. robert jenrick on 31, going down from 33, kemi badenoch on 30, up from 33, kemi badenoch o

you might have noticed we've taken over michael portillo's show to analyse boris johnson's interview.d ourselves of how boris sees his pandemic legacy . when you reflect on your legacy. when you reflect on your pandemic legacy, it doesn't look great. you've got dominic cummings describing you as a shopping trolley . you've got shopping trolley. you've got people still not forgiven you for partygate. rightly or wrongly . now for partygate. rightly or wrongly. now you're for partygate. rightly or wrongly . now you're saying for partygate. rightly or wrongly. now you're saying on lockdowns, i'm not saying that lockdowns, i'm not saying that lockdowns achieved nothing. i'm sure they had some effect. but were they decisive in beating back the disease ? turning that back the disease? turning that wave down, all i can say is i am no longer sure which all sorts of amounts to you. having mismanaged this pandemic quite badly. >> well, on the contrary, i would say that actually, if you look at what we did in that penod look at what we did in that period and, and, and beyond , it period and, and,

welcome to sunday with michael portillo, but with me emily carver this morning. now it's been a big week in politics. there's an even bigger week ahead. chancellor rachel reeves. she says her budget will match the greatest economic moments in labour history and reverse years of tory decline. but the big question on everyone's lips remains how will it shape up for taxpayers? then, after insisting slavery reparations were off the agenda completely, keir starmer has been forced to promise commonwealth countries that britain will, in fact discuss reparation payments for slavery next year. now this after he failed to quash an official call for damages and with businesses shutting up shop ahead of reeves so—called growth budget, is britain becoming the entrepreneur capital of the world? andrew barclay, founder of yopa and policy fellow at onward, will be here to discuss that a little bit further . and that a little bit further. and it's been a big hit on netflix in the past week. so i don't know if you've seen it. the documentary sweet bobby, my catfish nightmare, wher

alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gb news forward slash >> now welcome back to sunday with michael portillot seems that the younger generation's interest in literature is waning, with a preference for shorter, more visually engaging books over lengthy classics, partly due to the influence of smartphones and social media. academics argue that educational policies have failed to encourage reading for pleasure, contributing to declining numbers of english literature students and a shift towards young adult books rather than classic novels. according to 2023, figures from the national literacy trust , the number of 8 literacy trust, the number of 8 to 18 year olds who say they enjoy reading has sunk to its lowest level for almost 20 years, with a quarter fewer reading each day over that same time period. to share more with us about this topic, i'm joined now by the journalist charlotte lytton. charlotte. welcome back. lovely to talk to you again. tell us your perspective on this issue. what is happening? >> well, speaking to academics, we can't deny it seems that there is a big problem here. >>