Gary Lineker on the BBC, Boris Johnson, and The Rest is Politics

we don't need to retread it but the whole palava recently with the BBC do you think there was a bit of lost meaning in what you were saying I don't take a word back what I say I think I was I think I was factually correct I kept thinking this is really about not very much at all they're chasing me with microphones and cameras it was a surreal surreal few days we don't need to retread it but the whole palava recently with the BBC do you think there was a bit of lost meaning in what you were saying and yeah absolutely and that was probably a prime example of it where I wouldn't have seen that um reply that I got under the old Twitter so I wouldn't have been kind of I wasn't angered but I was just you know I did it I did a repost that I wish I hadn't done only because of the Ferrari that followed I don't take a word about what I say I think I was I think I was factually correct and that and which is you know why I stood my ground I don't think it was like a necessarily opinion thing I think it was factual so um but yes I probably wouldn't have seen that otherwise and life would have been a bit calmer um it was it was a surreal surreal few days I kept thinking this is really about not very much at all but anyway yeah I mean it was I remember it was massive I mean reporters kept outside your house right you six days you got six days even more until night doorsteps walking filbert I think I did walk in Phil but um I remember on the Friday I had a i when it really kind of oh hit the fan yeah as it so to speak um I remember thinking I was gonna have lunch in town with um a couple of friends and I thought great I'm gonna get I don't want them all following me to the restaurant but I always get the train anyway but I'm thinking Oh They'll Come and I'll be on the bloody train now embarrassing will that be so it's kind of about six minute walk to the station from mine I always get the training so as I did today and and I normally leave about seven or eight minutes before the trains due check it out so on this occasion I thought right I'll leave it four minutes before the train go and run so so I came out the door and it was like you're alone that's coming up with Mike do you want to say anything to us really sorry guys I'm really late for my train I've got to run so I'll go running right well it was like it was like but I bet it's seen from Benny Hill yeah yeah he's like dude and they're all chasing me they're chasing with microphones and cameras and they used to do a pretty fast hundred meter wow okay but I am I'm fairly ancient now so anyway so I'm running around I'm getting and I'm moving away from them and this guy is the report who's been given the microphone the big gray furry thing so he's chasing me with it Gary said he said you're too fast for us I said you're half my age so far and I get to the station I've seen them off they've given up and I remember I got I got on the platform I was like that's gonna kill over I was sweating buckets on the train um but I I made my lunch and um they didn't um they didn't disrupt it yeah yeah yeah good to hear good sir let's go back to what we're talking about um finding that common ground and having nice um calm conversations that that need for discourse yeah do you think um that's something unique to the the podcast that's why it's been so popular do you think there's something broader in sort of the population that people want to be able to have these conversations without let's say the tribalism typically I think I think that's definitely one of the things I think that is that you know the the good-natured aspect to it but I think it's also incredibly informative I mean these two guys have been around everybody between them I mean Alistair obviously was you know Blair's comms for for 12 years um he's a big personality um he's met everybody in politics um Rory's kind of been there around for around to be prime minister ran to lead the Tory party I should say yeah um ran to be Lord mayor he's met everyone he's been close up with Boris Johnson and Gove and all these characters that were we've had to endure over the last few years and um so you know that they just know everybody and I think it's a mixture of I mean I I've sometimes fail well I'm fairly thick anyway but I sometimes feel like I mean their knowledge of worldwide events and politics is but it is their field so you expect them to be I mean I if if I had a similar conversation about football then I'd and I I do on many occasions but I think it's it's their knowledge the people they know their contacts and and the way the way they well I think the way they get on together even though obviously there are differences but not that many differences because it's going back to that thing Rory is a little bit to the right of the center and and alistair's definitely to the left at the center um so it's it's if you'd have told me that um it's only been going just over what it's about 15 months now I mean if you'd have told me 16 months ago that that this is a podcast that will be super successful that would um would sell out big venues like the Albert Hall in 20 minutes for 5 000 people watching two middle-aged white blokes talk about politics completely mad yeah yeah yeah but yeah it's been it's been a surprise one thing they do agree on obviously is Boris Johnson and unfortunately we lost him this weekend he stood down as an MP uh a great share pull one out sad day um I imagine they were probably your group chat with them probably was quite spicy um they're not spicy it was we need an emergency pod all right where are you oh Rory's just flying into I'm on oh okay we'll have to wait half an hour and then he's bringing back to his house so it was more about trying to organize that than than um yeah no I don't get involved in spicy Channel groups no no not at all not at all obviously um will you will you miss our daily departed former prime minister um I I sense he won't go far [Laughter] within us yeah quite some time I think so he'll be back in some way shape or form um let's talk let's move on then and talk a little bit more about the BBC because um obviously we were just talking about it right this big Ferrari around it I don't want like I said I don't want to go into that but to talk about perhaps changes that could happen at the BBC so that perhaps that situation doesn't happen again do you think the political involvement that perhaps Boris Johnson was involved in with selecting let's say Richard Sharp Etc that whole thing do you think that needs to that needs to go I think that should have that I think that the fact that the government of the day now whether that's labor or conservative or any other party that may emerge um is is by the buy I just don't it doesn't seem right if you're so if you're so kind of driven by trying to find impartiality then you've got to start from the top um so yes I agree I I've said that publicly many times that I don't think that's right and that's nothing against Richard Sharp I don't know him I've met him briefly for a few seconds um so I think I think that's important but it's it's very difficult and it's very difficult for the BBC because the impartiality thing is is is so tough to to get right because you've you know if most people if they're on the right they are absolutely convinced the BBC is has a left-wing bias the people on the left are absolutely convinced that the BBC has a right-wing bias so you constantly fighting that so it is very difficult um my personal view is is that it was okay as it was with you know proper staffers people on news and current affairs um and and and the rest of us have to try and be sensible um without being having these guidelines that were brought in after I signed my contract so the you know the goal posts were shifted halfway through that it suddenly became applicable to everyone and I you know I tried I I tried my best I never say I never tell anyone who I vote for I'm never going to tell anyone what to do um so I noticed you wouldn't be drawn on that Boris Johnson question I just asked you as well you can tell but there you go I do my very best at all times what do you see as the role though for the BBC let's say it's a broader conversation about England Britain kind of I think the BBC needs to be more proud of itself yeah and needs to shout out a little bit more about what the how good it is and it it is you know in difficult times yeah in difficult times it's still an incredible um institution it's got you know it's got its faults and it and it's it's it's a strange place in many ways and it's and it's very difficult sometimes you know it's become more difficult to work for you know we get a pub we get a salaries published now which I you know and I'm one of those that has been dead open about my salaries with you know so it's you know I don't do any tricky means to try and pay less tax or anything like that so you know so you know I don't have it going via a production company so I'm at the top of it and I'm I'm pretty sure there'll be one or two people that earn more but um so I get battered every July and it's now June and it's coming oh we're gearing up free it's coming again something to look forward to yeah it's it's I'm so used to it now it's the same but um but I think what we what we should do is is remind you know people of of how good at we do sport how good we do news of how could we do drama of how good do we do so many different different things and how good value it is um the license fee you know it's like the price of a cup of coffee a week um and I think there's a lot of good in there and I think sometimes rather than be defensive all the time it's actually got out on the attack yeah and and sell it for what it is it's like it's a fantastic product let's talk well can we delve a bit more into um the phrase you use there difficult times are you talking in general are you talking about something specific right now in Britain what did you mean by that well I think I think it's probably the shift with social media right that that that perhaps there's so many more opinions are heard and particularly those that you know are on either side either wherever it is it goes back to that point about people that you know the most extreme shout out is so so I think the BBC's trying to has to try and comes to terms with that and I think that's you know it's one of one of the downsides of social media I think there's a lot of upsides but um I think you know you could say it gives lots of people Ordinary People a voice so you could say it's a thing of of good but I think it's it does make it more difficult for a kind of national broadcaster I guess on the one hand you can um say positive things or make statements about climate change or refugees and then on the other hand it might be Richard magley shouting at you in an interview going viral and this campus kind of uh that was very odd yeah it was it was a bit Partridge wasn't it a little bit a little bit was that at the time no that was more recently wasn't it that happened uh yeah it's just a couple of weeks ago three weeks ago weird um could we talk a little bit about the World Cup if that's all right absolutely yeah sorry we'll stick to football we've done faster politics football um how how was it working guitar what was what was the what were the conditions I know there's a lot of talk beforehand about the politics of it yeah it was it was as I expected really it was um is it different and there were pros and cons you didn't quite get the you know that atmosphere that you normally get a World Cup because there weren't as many visiting fans particularly from Europe although there was a different kind of different kind of fans were coming from different areas of the world um like a lot of fans came from North Africa um which which was good you even had you know a lot of Asian supporters coming um so it was but it was a different kind of atmosphere probably the fact that it there was there were no alcohol around but um bar um so that probably calmed things down which is not necessarily a bad thing either so it was very it felt very safe um it was it did feel a little bit different in in the atmosphere sense but at the same time it was it was pretty well organized although it was very controlling you know cues around things and stuff was um which was was different um but the the real positive from a personal and selfish point of view was that normally when we go to a World Cup we're parked up in some important place in that country's capital like in Red Square we were overlooking in Moscow um Table Mountain in South Africa the beach in Rio which is um which was bearable but we hardly got to see a game yeah we'd watch it on the Telly like everybody else would watch and we're trying to do the analysis and stuff off there whereas in Qatar because it's so small the furthest journey to any game was 40 minutes so we did every single match in the stadium and watching the game which is so much better yeah for us and that was that was a real plus um so that you know the pluses and minuses and some people had really good experiences there and I I know perhaps you know some found it more difficult than others perhaps you know because of the kind of homophobia that is kind of coursing through the their veins you felt that you felt the need as well at the beginning I think it was literally the first broadcast wasn't it you guys did a piece about migrant rights about LGBT rights you focus on a little bit and I think that was fairly extraordinary really for sort of a World Cup broadcast I mean unless yeah I think there was a reason really because I think that made this one different was not necessarily the human rights issues because you know every World Cup that we do has issues in some ways so you know we went we went to Moscow a few years after that in you know they already invaded before um we we were in Rio in a massive demonstrations everywhere about the fact they shouldn't be spending fortunes on building stadiums when when they've got social problems um in the safety in South Africa was was a big thing um and in talked about before so there's always been kind of something um but I think what made this one different was the fact the way they got the World Cup that it was it was corrupt and we know that their evidence is is all there and that and I was in the room when it was given to Qatar it wasn't about the fact that England didn't get it because we weren't up for that World Cup anyway yeah it was the one with Russia that we lost to but it was just Qatar in the summer it's 50 40 50 degrees that you can't play football yeah and it was like yeah you just I remember I felt like I needed a shower when I got out it was that bad but um so it was more that and then the other things within that you know the the workers the migrant workers and the way they were treated and the lives that were lost they were kind of just factual things they were just factual things like lead animals but I think the fundamental thing was that why we did that as an opening and it you know obviously it was decided by a lot of people but we wanted to make it basically telling people the facts yeah and we got you know heavyweights involved you know you know from from BBC News Department as well to make sure that it was it was it was right um we should have done it in Russia to be honest um in hindsight probably after you know what they've done and now you know if it had been after Ukraine it which was you know if they did it in 2014 first but um so yeah we probably should have done it then that's the one I criticism I would gladly accept without go I don't want to go too far into the BBC editorial processes but just quickly how much input do you personally have on a decision like that you know obviously you're the person reading words yeah so obviously I very much oh yeah yeah strong part okay um we've spoken a lot about father-son relationships and uh being you being a role model your father being a role model I'd like to ask you getting towards the end of the interview now to sort of make a value judgment about whether you think you've been a good role model over the course of your life I've never set out to be a role model yeah um I regardless I think you probably are well I think we are and footballers are and they they don't you know you don't ask for you're going to football because you love playing football you don't go into football for money you don't go in football for um to be a role model um you don't go into football to be famous you're going to football because you love playing football um and that was certainly the case with me obviously you know you Branch out as a human being as you progress I would like to think I think it's inevitable that you do become a role model if you become a big football star I've been really proud of the the young footballers and the way they've used their platforms for good I hope I've been a good role model some people that agree with my stance on on things will think I'm a good role model people who disagree with my stance on things will think I'm an awful role model yeah it doesn't really matter what I think um what's the final question then what what's the difference between the public Gary lineker and the private Gary lineker not much what you see is what you get yeah I think what you see is what you get yeah and I think that's what happens if you if you in the public high for a long time particularly on television you can kind of blag it for a while who whatever you are but in the end your personality will come out people find out people find out and I think um whatever they found out they'll probably I think that's what they'll get when they yeah would you do it again go on TV and you know become the sort of media man I love my I love my life I enjoy I enjoy Fame people are lovely that you know you can it's so easy to be distracted by the tiny percentage on on Twitter it really is where in the real world it's not like that at all every I mean I think I've had only two instances in my entire life where people have had a pop verbal pop one old lady elbowed me in the back she was on her way to a Tommy Robinson rally really yes okay nice old lady yeah and then I had another one where I was going shopping my groceries and some bloke shot out of the road you ate Britain you ate Britain don't you okay no I really love Britain but anyway so that the only two examples I can think of in my entire life um and yet you open Twitter and it's well it's not it's it's just it's the same it's the same lot yeah every time it's the same people so it's not but in in the street it's amazing it's really people are lovely and I I enjoy that I don't I don't mind admitting hello

Channel: PoliticsJOE

Views: 147,410

Keywords: Politics, UK politics, British politics, Parliament, Government, Westminster, news, breaking news, conversation, politics news, politicsjoe, joe songs, boris johnson song, boris johnson speech, keir starmer song, keir starmer speech, new media, novara, rishi sunak, labour party, conservative, tory party, conservatism, brexit, gary lineker, bbc, gary lineker interview, refugees, boris johnson, the rest is politics, rory stewart, alastair campbell, gb news, politics of diplomacy

Id: NdFcGom_Gx0

Length: 19min 43sec (1183 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 15 2023