An ex-BBC presenter has been embroiled in a bitter row with an LBC caller over Britain’s house-building crisis.
Lewis Goodall, who previously worked for Sky News and Newsnight, was hosting his afternoon slot on LBC, when a caller from Essex accused him of being a “hypocrite” for his stance on property development.
However, it was Midlands-native Mr Goodall that accused the caller of hypocrisy first.
The journalist and former student Labour activist said that “countryside adjacent land in much of the south east of England” should be repurposed for housing developments.
His comments came in response to the caller, Jonathan, who moments earlier said “there would be no nature to talk about” if Mr Goodall’s house-building aspirations were met.
Retorting, Mr Goodall said that Bishop Stortford in Essex, where the caller was calling from, would be half the size if the caller had his way and all new housing developments were blocked.
The conversation continued to ratchet up in tension, before Mr Goodall said bluntly: “I think you’re a hypocrite, Jonathan”.
Mr Goodall accused the caller of “pulling up the ladder” behind him, as he owned his own home but said it was not a young person’s right to own theirs.
The caller responded branding Mr Goodall a hyprocrite in return. He said: “I think you’re a hypocrite because you just want to build, build, build.”
Mr Goodall, who co-hosts the News Agents with Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, said: “I want to liberate people. I think young people have the right to have what your generation had, which is the ability to buy.”
