
Liam Byrne: What happens when populists win?
From Media Confidential by Prospect Magazine
May 11, 2026 · 32 min · Season 3 · Episode 67
About this episode
The episode discusses the rise of populism and its impact on media and democracy with Liam Byrne.
In this episode of Media Confidential Alan and Lionel talk to Liam Byrne, Labour MP for for Birmingham Hodge hill and Solihull and author of Why Populists are winning; and how to beat them. The three discuss the rise of populism and what happens to the media and democracy when they win—including how foreign influence and money can corrupt the UK media landscape. They’ll talk about GB News, with Alan asking why Ofcom isn’t dealing with the channel’s biased coverage and what the government could be doing to make the regulator act. The three discuss the media’s role in shaping public opinion and will talk about what needs to be done to protect the BBC and institutions like it before it is too late. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Hosts: Alan, Lionel
Guest: Liam Byrne
Topics covered
- populism
- media influence
- democracy
- public opinion
- regulation
- BBC
Keywords
- populism
- media
- democracy
- GB News
- Ofcom
- BBC
- public opinion
- foreign influence
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Labour, GB News, Ofcom, BBC
Books & works: Why Populists are winning; and how to beat them
Places: UK, Birmingham Hodge hill and Solihull
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