In 2022, Burley joined Global as executive editor of Andrew Marr's LBC programme Tonight with Andrew Marr. [11] Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying To Me? – a question famously asked by grand inquisitor Jeremy Paxman – is Rob Burley’s deliciously irreverent and gossipy insider’s account of 25 years working at the very top of British political television – and the unique insight he’s gained on the country’s politicians on the way. Ten years ago, John Humphrys made a documentary about the welfare state for BBC2. When he was growing up in Cardiff, he said, hardly anyone was on benefits. Now, vast numbers are. Why? What had gone wrong? A good question – but, as he found out, a suicidally dangerous one for any BBC journalist to ask. He was hauled in front of a BBC star chamber, accused of supporting Tory policy, then found guilty of breaching guidelines on impartiality and accuracy. I spoke to him about it afterwards: his lesson, he said, was never to do something like that again. Clearly things have been very badly handled,” said Burley. “They’ve lost a lot of good political presenters. I don’t know if there is much BBC expertise along those lines left in the building. The funding cuts are real and hard decisions have to be made, but Tim Davie doesn’t really understand journalism, in my view, and so has waved through lots of these cuts.

Burley grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and was interested in politics from a young age. He obtained a degree in American studies from the University of Nottingham. [2] Editorial director Joel Simons won the UK andCommonwealth rights, excluding Canada,from Martin Redfern at Northbank Talent Management. The book is due to be published in February 2023.Congratulations to Rob Burley on the publication of Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?, out today from Mudlark, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Kakar, Arun (14 February 2018). "Andrew Marr editor to head up live political programmes at BBC as Victoria Derbyshire editor leaves for Channel 4 Dispatches". Press Gazette . Retrieved 7 December 2019. Dolan – by virtue of being a young, female, Irish author – is often compared to Sally Rooney. Both novelists write about the personal relationships of twenty-somethings in contemporary Dublin, but Dolan’s writing feels less pored over, which makes for a zippier read, although one where the characters feel almost too zeitgeisty to be real. Archie is in many ways a formulaic corporate lawyer, taking drugs on weekdays and playing tennis against his firm’s partners at weekends – that he is queer and open-hearted saves him from becoming a caricature. Dolan is known for her humour and light touch, but here it is the more introspective moments – such as when Celine’s sister Phoebe suggests that her habit of playing the piano in her head is a means of dissociation – that stand out. Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me? – a question famously asked by master TV inquisitor Jeremy Paxman – is a history of thirty years in British politics viewed through the prism of political television, from Thatcher’s fall to the crash and burn of Liz Truss via the Iraq War, austerity, Brexit and Partygate. Rob Burley’s deliciously irreverent insider’s account of a career spent trying to get straight answers from politicians offers a unique insight into the British political class and their complicated relationship with the truth. Mayhew, Freddy (6 November 2019). "Claim Question Time put BBC editor's son in audience as Brexit supporter debunked as hoax". Press Gazette . Retrieved 7 December 2019.

Why is this lying bastard lying to me? That’s the question Jeremy Paxman famously asked when trying to pin down slippery politicians, and it’s the title of Rob Burley’s new book, published on 11 May. With 25 years of experience working with the great political interviewers of our age – from Andrew Neil to Emily Maitlis, and Andrew Marr to Beth Rigby – he joins Rachel Cunliffe to dissect what makes a great TV political interview, and why scrutiny of our leaders is more important now than ever. Also featuring Why is this Lying Bastard Lying to Me? by Rob Burley and The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan. It is a key part of a democracy and the BBC has pretty much thrown it away,” he said. “They seem to have lost a lot of those people, as well their faith in the idea. They don’t believe viewers want it.”