‘Populism is the engine of democracy’ | Frank Furedi

The Brendan O'Neill Show

spiked

News, Society & Culture, Government, Politics

4.7 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2026

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Listen to Rod Liddle’s Times Radio show, Saturdays 10am to 1pm, on digital radio, your smart speaker or by downloading the free Times Radio app: https://www.thetimes.com/radio?utm_source=spiked&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=FY26_TML_RodLiddle_ Frank Furedi returns to The Brendan O’Neill Show to discuss his new book, In Defence of Populism. Frank and Brendan discuss why there is more to Reform UK’s rise than ‘protest votes’, why populism is not a threat to democracy, and how we can reverse the West’s slide into decline. Buy Frank’s book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Defence-Populism-Frank-Furedi/dp/1509571671 Join us for the spiked summit, our biggest ever live event, on Saturday 27 June in Westminster featuring Lionel Shriver, Katharine Birbalsingh, Toby Young, Allison Pearson, Brendan O’Neill, Tom Slater and more speakers to be announced. Get tickets here: https://www.spiked-online.com/event/spiked-summit/ Become a spiked supporter to access all of spiked’s exclusive content, and get unlimited, ad-free reading and other perks: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/ Order Brendan O’Neill’s Vibe Shift now from: 🇬🇧 📕 Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vibe-Shift-Wokeness-Greenism-Technocracy/dp/106871932X/ 🇺🇸 📕 Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Vibe-Shift-Wokeness-Greenism-Technocracy/dp/106871932X/ Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/ Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	My name is Kathleen and this is my NHS story. Having a persistent cough is quite socially embarrassing.
0:07.9	So I went to see a respiratory nurse who sent me off for an x-ray at my local CDC and they were offering Sunday appointments and evening appointments which was great.
0:17.1	The government is opening new community diagnostic centers, with many already available
0:20.8	12 hours a day, seven days a week, so the NHS can be there for all of us when we need it.
0:25.2	Find your closest one at gov.uk.com slash NHS Fit for the Future. Available England-wide.
0:31.0	My name is Beverley, and this is my NHS story. I had to make regular journeys to my local CDC of blood tests because I had lymphoma.
0:42.1	I think it really helps to know that you've got somewhere local. It was really a godsend.
0:47.1	The government is opening new community diagnostic centres with many already available 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
0:52.7	So the NHS can be there for all of us,
0:54.5	and we need it. Find your closest one at gov.uk slash NHS Fit for the Future. Available England-wide. Gosh, everything's so expensive. Going from A to B. Main prices, keep going up. Bus there and £11. £1.10. A meal deal. I won't get one free. Man, I'm going to be. Have I got my lessons planned? I write that arm before the store.
1:10.2	Spending too much stress.
1:11.6	One big, is this worth it?
1:14.2	Just want to think less about money. New government policies are making every day easier, like freezing train fares, which could save some commuters over £300 per year. This is just one of the ways the UK government is tackling the cost of living.
1:30.0	See more at gov.uk.uk slash cost of living help.
1:36.6	Populism has become the most distinct political institution in European politics.
1:40.8	More and more people feel that they need a different form of representation. We see the near death of the Tory labor duopoly. That reform is not a protest
1:47.0	party in the way that it's often represented. Populism is not a protest movement. It's a
1:54.0	movement that has got much greater moral and intellectual depth.
1:57.0	A more leftish economic populism, whereas what we have now is a populism that is really
2:02.5	about rescuing the fundamental values of life itself. The populist movement is essentially
2:08.6	concerned about family, food and it's concerned about a community, and it's concerned with
2:13.9	pre-political life, which they feel is being colonized by alien forces,
	...

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