Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins

Ian Collins asks whether the Right should unite as fresh polling shows Kemi Badenoch closing in on Nigel Farage, but Reform UK and the Conservatives still failing to outpace a fractured Left. Green Party councillor Martin Abrams and Reform UK board member Gawain Towler debate the case for and against an election pact, as senior Tories openly discuss cooperation and questions grow about whether division is handing Labour an advantage.Later, Annunziata Rees-Mogg, Head of Communications for Popular Conservatism and former MEP, responds to the EHRC chief’s claim that migration should not be described as a threat to Britain. She also reacts to reports of an Albanian kingpin allegedly smuggling migrant criminals out of the UK, raising wider questions about enforcement, border control and whether the political establishment is refusing to confront reality.

Kevin O’Sullivan sits in for Ian Collins as the show tackles the growing row over free speech and protest in Britain. Journalist Nicole Lampert joins us to discuss police moves to arrest pro-Palestine demonstrators who chant “globalise the intifada”, and whether the line between public order and political expression is being dangerously redrawn.Later, Talk international editor Isabel Oakeshott reacts to the case of a man jailed over anti-immigrant social media posts seen by just 33 people, raising fresh questions about proportionality, policing online speech, and whether Britain is drifting towards criminalising opinions rather than actions.

Ian Collins examines the mounting pressure on the NHS as junior doctors begin a five-day strike at the same time hospitals are grappling with a sharp winter flu surge. Dr Dean Eggitt, GP and CEO of Doncaster Local Medical Committee, breaks down the impact of industrial action on frontline services, staffing levels and patient safety, amid warnings that elderly patients could be left stranded in hospital over Christmas and into the New Year.We then turn to the future of the BBC, as Labour proposals raise the prospect of free TV licences for benefits claimants, the introduction of advertising, and major programmes being placed behind a paywall. Rebecca Ryan, Campaign Director at Defund the BBC, joins the show to discuss whether the licence fee is finally becoming unsustainable, what BBC reform could look like, and how these changes would affect audiences, public trust and the broadcaster’s long-term future.

Ian Collins asks whether diversity really is Britain’s strength in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre and the wider debate around multiculturalism and antisemitism. Philip Kiszely, senior fellow at the New Culture Forum, examines whether decades of multicultural policy have failed, while Danny Stone, CEO of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, discusses the surge in antisemitic rhetoric and activism following the attack, including protests chanting “long live the intifada” and revelations about the attacker’s radicalisation.Reform UK chairman Dr David Bull joins us as fury grows over junior doctors pressing ahead with a five-day strike despite a worsening flu outbreak, and warnings that elderly patients could be left stranded in hospital over Christmas. We also hear from Sun columnist David Wooding, as he reacts to the sentencing of Paul Doyle following the city’s parade attack.

Ian Collins examines the Bondi Beach massacre after gunmen were revealed as a father and son who killed 15 people in an attack described as an act of pure evil at a Jewish festival. Security analyst and international terrorism expert Duncan Gardham breaks down what we know about the attackers, the ideology behind the violence, and the wider terror threat facing Jewish communities. Keith Fraser, founder of an Israel solidarity movement, joins us to discuss the impact on diaspora communities and fears of rising antisemitic violence.Later, Reform councillor in Westminster and former Crown Prosecutor Laila Cunningham analyses mounting tensions over migration policy, as thousands march in Crowborough for a sixth consecutive week against plans to house 600 migrants in army barracks. We also examine Labour’s admission that its small boats strategy is failing after 40,000 crossings this year, and the controversy over migrants citing trauma and PTSD in court to seek reduced sentences for serious sexual offences.

Ian Collins examines whether Britain is sliding back toward pandemic-style measures after Wes Streeting warns the NHS could “collapse” under record flu hospitalisations and looming strikes. Professor Karol Sikora analyses why hospitals are overwhelmed, whether masks or lockdown-style steps could return, and what the government should be doing instead.Richard Kilpatrick from the European Movement and Gawain Towler of Reform UK debate explosive claims from leaked US documents suggesting Donald Trump wants to push four countries out of the EU as part of a “Make Europe Great Again” strategy — and what this could mean for Britain and Europe.

Ian Collins asks whether ethnicity should play any role in how Britain understands and tackles crime. Former Labour adviser James Matthewson joins us to break down the row after Labour MPs complained about a minister’s comments on race, as the Government prepares a new grooming-gangs inquiry that will explicitly examine the ethnicity and religion of offenders. Social commentator David Shipley assesses whether this marks a necessary moment of reckoning or a dangerous political shift.Later, Amy Gallagher — commentator at the New Culture Forum and former NHS nurse at the Tavistock Clinic — reacts to growing outrage over Labour’s new puberty-blocker trial for 220 children, branded “grotesque” by critics and accused of amounting to “chemical castration”.

Ian Collins examines Sir Keir Starmer’s call to curb the powers of the European Court of Human Rights as Labour scrambles to get a grip on illegal migration. Liam Deacon, former Brexit Party Head of Press, breaks down the scale of the asylum crisis from spiralling absconding rates to a Home Office that can’t even say how many migrants have vanished. Dr Mike Galsworthy of the European Movement UK joins to challenge the premise, arguing that stripping back ECHR protections would create legal and diplomatic chaos rather than solutions.James Melville responds to extraordinary guidance from NHS leaders urging people with a common cold to wear masks in public, raising questions about public health policy, social pressure and whether Britain is drifting back towards a “new normal” without debate.Later, Dorset publican Andy Lennox, spokesman for the “No Labour MPs in Pubs” campaign, explains why hospitality bosses are banning Labour MPs over business-rates changes they say could devastate the sector, and what the industry wants Rachel Reeves to hear before it’s too late.