Sir John Major

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Media

Society & Culture

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2025

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sir John Major, British Prime Minister from 1992 - 1997, is our guest today. In this deeply interesting, personal and touching conversation, Sir John talks to Gyles about his childhood in South London and about his unusual and inspiring family. Sir John's background is unconventional. His father had been a successful music hall artiste, and was a great storyteller, much older than the fathers of John's friends. His mother had been a balletic dancer, and was an extremely kind and selfless wife and parent. Both of them were role models to John; his love and admiration for them shine through in this conversation, and will move you. Sir John talks about their extremely humble home and lifestyle - the family fell into hard times and were poor - and about the anger he felt at his family becoming a subject of ridicule by the press in later years. Sir John talks about how he got into politics, about what he believes is missing from today's Westminster scene, and about how he met and married Norma.

We're extremely grateful to Sir John for speaking to us with such candour, and for his delightful company, and hope you enjoy this. It really is worth your time.

Sir John Major's book, My Old Man, which Gyles mentions, is available here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This podcast is brought to you by Reserve by Warner Hotels, a collection of hand-picked destinations that are more than just a hotel.
0:10.0	Reserve is a special collection of three unique and sophisticated properties, curated by Warner Hotels.
0:17.0	It includes the Rune Mead on Thames in Windsor, the 300-year-old Haythrop Park in the Cotswills,
0:24.1	and Thorsby Hall in Nottinghamshire.
0:26.9	Each of these properties has their own distinctive setting and atmosphere.
0:31.5	But not only that, they offer you the chance to elevate your stay so it becomes something extraordinary. So, you could
0:41.2	try out to dance or unwind with a yoga session or learn to make cocktails in a mixology class,
0:48.6	or simply book in for a massage at the spa and then dine in style in the top-class restaurant.
0:56.0	No rush, no rules, just freedom to choose.
1:00.5	Discover more at warnohotels.com.ukh, forward slash, reserve.
1:06.1	This episode of Rosebud is brought to you by English National Opera. Tickets are now on sale for the 2025-26 season.
1:15.4	The season's highlight is George Bise's masterpiece, Carmen, one of my favourite operas. It's a tale of
1:23.6	seduction, obsession and possession. So, very much like an episode of my diaries.
1:30.5	And this revival by E.N.O. is truly a spectacle, set in the scorching heat of Spain in
1:37.1	the 1970s. Carmen features some of the most recognizable music in opera, including the
1:43.5	Habanera.
1:50.2	From seduction to Obsession, see English National Opera's production of Beez-Karman from the 8th of October to the 5th of November at the London Coliseum, with tickets from just 15 pounds.
1:56.9	Book now at ENO.org.
2:00.0	ENO.org. ENO.org.
2:03.1	Welcome to another episode of Rosebud.
2:06.4	I wonder what it's going to be today.
2:08.4	Would it be a slightly riotous one?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.