Who is Paul Marshall?

The LRB Podcast

London Review of Books

Society & Culture

4.4 • 581 Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2025

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A decade ago, the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall was known as a Lib Dem donor and founder of the Ark academy chain. Now, as the owner of UnHerd, GB News and, since last September, the Spectator, he’s a right-wing media tycoon. Peter Geoghegan joins Thomas Jones to discuss Marshall’s transformation. He explains the ‘symbiotic relationship’ between Marshall and Michael Gove, their shared connection to evangelical Christianity, and the changing shape of conservative politics in Britain. Find further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/marshallpod Sponsored links: Use the code ‘LRB’ to get £150 off Serious Readers lights here: https://www.seriousreaders.com/lrb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	G.B. News have asked us to correct an inaccuracy in this episode. At one point, Peter Gagin
0:06.4	says that Gagin lost over £100 million last year. That is not correct. According to the
0:12.4	Press Gazette, the cumulative losses since launch are now over £100 million. Last year's
0:18.2	losses were £33 million, down from 42 million the year before.
0:24.2	This episode of the LRB podcast is sponsored by Serious Readers, whose high-definition
0:30.0	reading lights allow you to read in comfort for longer during the dark evenings. Words really
0:35.1	stand out on the page with the high contrast that the HD light provides.
0:40.0	Serious Readers lights are hand built in Britain, and LRB podcast listeners can get £150 off any
0:46.1	HD light with free delivery in the UK by going to Seriousreaders.com forward slash LRB, and
0:53.9	there's a 30-day risk-free trial. That web address again, Seriousreaders.com forward slash LRB, and there's a 30-day risk-free trial.
0:56.5	That web address again, Seriousreaders.com forward slash LRB, or enter the code LRB at checkout,
1:04.1	to make reading enjoyable again without straining your eyes.
1:24.3	Music training your eyes. You're listening to the London Review of Books podcast. I'm Thomas Jones and today I'm joined by
1:28.9	Peter Gagan, the author of Democracy for Sale, Dark Money and Dirty Politics, who writes a
1:33.9	newsletter, also called Democracy for Sale, on Substack. He has a piece in the latest issue of the
1:39.0	LRB on Paul Marshall, the hedge fund manager and media tycoon, owner of GB News unheard and since last
1:45.3	September, the spectator. Hello, Peter, and thank you very much for talking with me today.
1:50.2	Hello, Tom. Delighted to be on the show. So, I suppose a very, very broad question to start with. I suppose
1:56.0	the question for this whole episode is, who is Paul Marshall, Sir Paul Marshall, and why does it matter?
2:02.6	I think it's a really interesting question. And when I started off writing this piece a good
2:06.4	few months ago, I probably thought it would be easier to answer than it was in many respects.
2:11.5	Like I ended up talking to dozens of dozens of people who have worked with him over the last
	...

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