A furious James O’Brien gasping for words after branding him a “lefty, liberal, woke idiot”.
In a volatile clash on the radio waves Mr O’Brien was speaking to a caller called “Charlie” about Labour’s controversial inheritance tax raid on farmers.
farms valued at over £1 million will now face a tax after adjustments of 20% from 2026, having previously been exempt from the levy.
Farmers and unions say the raid will mean families which have farmed for generations will no longer be able to afford to pass on their land to loved ones.
Caller Charlie told Mr O’Brien many farmers simply could not afford to pay the huge tax bill, to which Mr O’Brien quipped from the studio: “Why don’t you sell some stuff?”
When asked what farmers were expected to sell, Mr O’Brien suggested “some of your land”, but when questioned who was going to buy it, the radio host conceded “I don’t know” before he blithely made up the name “John” as a potential buyer.
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James O’Brien was given a tongue-lashing live on air (Image: LBC Radio )
The caller said they had turned down offers to build solar pannels and wind farms because they didn’t want to “concrete over the land”.
Clearly exasperated with the LBC presenter’s solution to the crisis, the farmer unleashed: “I know you’re a townie. I know you’re happy living in your liberal elite world of London. But for us the countryside is the countryside. It’s where our food comes from, James.”
Mr O’Brien, who laughed when Charlie mentioned “liberal elite world of London”, tried to counter by saying the farmer had received “offers” and said “okay mate”, but the rural worker was having none of it.
The caller blasted: “I’m not your mate, I hate you, I think you’re an idiot. I think you’re a lefty, liberal, woke, idiot.”
The on-air sparring continued as Mr O’Brien said he had “grown up on a farm” but he admitted his dad “was not a farmer”, before he went on the question if the caller had listened to his show.
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Tens of thousands of farmers descended on London to protest against tax changes (Image: Getty )
The heated conversation had begun when the farmer asked Mr O’Brien to “stop talking over me, and let someone who actually knows speak for once”, adding “I know that’s difficult for you James”.
A taken-aback Mr O’Brien responded by asking why the caller Charlie was “so rude”, before saying “it’s not my fault”.
The furious caller then interjects saying it’s Mr O’Brien who is the “rudest person on the radio” because “you sit their twiddling your knobs” to which Mr O’Brien countered by saying “he’s the second rudest person at this moment”, implying the caller is the one being ruder.
Refusing to be put off by the accusations towards his politeness, the caller continued: “When a farmer inherits his farm, and he can’t afford to pay that inheritance tax because it’s hundreds of thousands of pounds and he only makes £30,000 a year. That’s his home, James.”
The duelling pair went on to discuss the figures they believed would be involved to make a farmer liable to a significant “hundreds of thousands” tax raid.
After questioning each other’s maths, the verbal battle continued when the caller asks Mr O’Brien how he expects farmers to pay the inheritance tax bill which puts “their house a risk”.
The angry exchanges were finally brought to a close when the farmer signed off saying “you know nothing James, stick in your London liberal leftie wokeism. You know nothing about farming”, to which the host replied simply by sighing and stating it was “10:53”.