‘I don’t like being that bloke’: English radio presenter believes he’s been ‘gaslit’ over Welsh independence

Nation Cymru staff

An English radio presenter has shared how he has felt ‘gaslit’ over Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish independence movements, after learning the history of England’s colonisation and minority language eradication.

James O’Brien is an English journalist, writer, and presenter on radio and television. Since 2004, he has hosted a weekday morning phone-in discussion for talk station LBC.

He has also presented podcasts, been an occasional presenter for BBC’s Newsnight, and published several non-fiction books, including the bestselling How They Broke Britain in 2023.

The presenter discussed the historic meeting of the leaders of Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Sinn Féin in which they signed a new agreement pledging to work together on independence and called on the UK Government to prepare for constitutional change, before explaining how he came to view the movements differently after looking deeper into the history of England’s centuries of colonisation which has been largely kept out of school books.

He shared: “I think I’ve always been a little bit dismissive of independence movements and now the reason for that, the reason perhaps for my position is ignorance.

“I had no idea about the effort put in by English governments to eradicating the Welsh language from the land of Wales.

“I didn’t know about the Highland Clearances until they popped up in a historical fiction book I was reading and I thought I need to know a little bit more about this and if I’d known about that my feelings would be different.

“When people talked about Welsh nationalism or Welsh separatism or Welsh independence my entire box of Lego bricks would have been differently constituted so when I started building my opinion I would have been building it with different bricks. But I didn’t know about that and I don’t like being that bloke.”

‘I hate being that bloke.’

James O’Brien believes he’s been ‘gaslit’ over Scottish, Welsh and Irish independence… pic.twitter.com/2JBtulAUvq

— LBC (@LBC) September 15, 2026

Commenters were quick to applaud O’Brien’s admission, with one writing: “Scotland/Wales are clearly population minorities within the UK state, but everything we see, hear, discuss is from London prism.

“We are not in that prism, we see things very differently, from historical, cultural and political ways.

“Let’s be good neighbours, we don’t want masters.”

One follower shared an image of the Welsh Not, while another added: “English ignorance about Scotland, Wales and Ireland stems from the English education system that focuses entirely on England.

“This is not the case elsewhere in the UK. It is ignorance. And indifference. And arrogance.”

‘Turning point’

Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Sinn Féin’s memorandum of understanding was unveiled as the parties’ leaders met in Cardiff on Monday, with cooperation promised on areas including renewable energy, the economy and relations with Europe.

The agreement says Wales, Scotland and Ireland each have the right to determine their own future through democratic means and argues that the political landscape across the UK and Ireland is changing.

It states: “Momentum is behind our movements; we believe that constitutional change is coming.”

The parties have committed to sharing ideas on building what they describe as stronger and fairer economies, expanding renewable energy and rebuilding relationships with Europe.

They also state that they believe the future of their nations lies in the European Union and insist that Westminster should not be able to block votes on their constitutional futures.

The agreement acknowledges that the three parties have different constitutional positions and that each nation would determine its future “in its own way and in its own time”.

It calls on the UK Government to “prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change in each jurisdiction”.

Mr ap Iorwerth was joined in Cardiff by Scottish First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney, Northern Ireland First Minister and Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald.

They were meeting in their capacities as party leaders rather than representatives of their respective governments.

Mr ap Iorwerth said May’s Senedd election had been a “turning point for Wales”.

He said: “Across these islands, we are seeing a new political landscape emerge, with a growing recognition that the Westminster model is no longer working.

“Our parties have much to gain from working together, as partners and as equals, where we share common interests and where co-operation can improve the lives of the people we represent.”

The Cardiff talks come amid renewed debate over independence referendums after Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested another Scottish vote could take place if there was a “clear consensus” for one.

However, a subsequent letter to Mr Swinney said a referendum remained “off limits”.

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