Back in the day, BBC Radio Scotland did a panel show that was a bit like Any Questions. Sadly, it fell victim to budget cuts about six years ago, but it was great. And part of the reason was it didn’t just have people from inside the Holyrood or Westminster Bubbles on it. I did it several times over the years and really enjoyed the experience.

LBC have a similar show, Cross Questions, that has the same approach with a good variety of guests

Last night, former Lib Dem Councillor and friend of this site Mathew Hulbert was on the panel and he had had his Weetabix. `He articulated a clear, liberal position with real passion. He also had a go at Labour, saying Keir Starmer was so cautious he was constipated.

You can watch the whole thing here, but here are some of the highlights.

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'People are literally dying as a result of the system being so broken.'

Political commentator Matthew Hulbert says that the crisis in the NHS should be a 'national emergency', revealing his mum died after waiting for an ambulance for eleven hours.@AliMiraj | #CrossQuestion pic.twitter.com/nV2KK0s1Lq

— LBC (@LBC) June 20, 2023

WATCH: "The party that made the problem should fix the problem."

This is a clip from my appearance on #CrossQuestion on @LBC last night.
Talking here about the issues still being faced by mortgage borrowers and renters, after the Tories disastrous mini-budget last year.#LBC pic.twitter.com/MVCFjqJoQj

— Mathew Hulbert 🔶️ 🏳️‍🌈 (@MathewHulbert) June 21, 2023

WATCH: "Keir Starmer is that cautious he's constipated."

In this clip, from yesterday's #CrossQuestion programme on @LBC, I set out in no uncertain terms my disdain for this disgraced Tory government, and I urge Labour to be braver and bolder.#LBC pic.twitter.com/DWptQx6sfF

— Mathew Hulbert 🔶️ 🏳️‍🌈 (@MathewHulbert) June 21, 2023

Nowhere is Labour more constipated, to coin Mathew’s phrase, than on immigration. They are a few flights to Rwanda short of the Tories, which is a disgraceful position for any progressive party. So it was good to see some good, proper liberal thinking.

We clearly need more safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to come to the UK says @mathewhulbert. He challenges Conservative panellist to say what safe and legal routes a persecuted gay Ugandan would have to come to the UK. #crossquestion #lbc

— Caron Lindsay 🔶 🇺🇦🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺 (@caronmlindsay) June 20, 2023

And then a swipe at the former Tesco boss John Allan who said that men were nervous of working with women in the current climate:

Men have had it our own way for too long, says @mathewhulbert. Women should be speaking out about their experiences and men should listen. If men are feeling hard done by, get over it and improve your behaviour. He calls on men to call out bad behaviour. #lbc #crossquestion

— Caron Lindsay 🔶 🇺🇦🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺 (@caronmlindsay) June 20, 2023

It isn’t actually that difficult to choose to behave appropriately. Emma Revell was right to point out that Allan’s comments showed a danger that women could be cut out of workplace power structures.

.@emmarevell was right to point out that the answer to workplace sexism is not for men to retreat back into their boys networks and to cut women out of workplace power structures. #lbc #crossquestion

— Caron Lindsay 🔶 🇺🇦🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺 (@caronmlindsay) June 20, 2023

After the programme, Mathew told me:

It was a real privilege to be asked to appear on the LBC ‘Cross Question’ panel once again and to, I hope, be true to my and our values as Liberals in discussing the big issues of the day.

Watching Mathew reminded me of the adrenaline rushes I used to feel when I did these things. Or maybe that was just the stress of waiting to register for Taylor Swift tickets at the same time….

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social