Intelligence Squared

Sir Sajid Javid – Lessons From the Front Bench (Part One)

February 6, 2026

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  • Sir Sajid Javid chose to write a memoir about his childhood, *The Colour of Home*, rather than his political career to avoid betraying confidences from his time in government. 
  • Javid's early life was marked by significant poverty, racism (including being targeted by skinheads and witnessing a friend attempt to scrub off his own skin color), and his father's experience with union discrimination, which ultimately led the family to support Margaret Thatcher in 1979. 
  • A pivotal moment in Javid's youth was being caught fiddling fruit machines with his brother, which resulted in a police caution instead of a charge due to his father's emotional plea, an event Javid credits as stopping him from continuing a life of crime, culminating decades later in him, as Home Secretary, presenting his brother with his senior police command certificate. 

Segments

Introduction and Memoir Rationale
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(00:01:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Sir Sajid Javid chose to write a memoir about his childhood, The Colour of Home, stopping before politics, to offer an honest account of his early life.
  • Summary: The episode introduces Sir Sajid Javid and his memoir, The Colour of Home, which details his journey from poverty and racism to politics. Javid explained he declined political memoir offers to maintain confidence but felt compelled to write about his formative years. He cited Alan Johnson’s childhood memoir, This Boy, as inspiration for his own approach.
Parents’ Journey to UK
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(00:06:33)
  • Key Takeaway: Javid’s father arrived in the UK in 1961 from Pakistan, seeking work after his family lost everything during the partition of India.
  • Summary: Javid’s father came to the UK in 1961, initially settling in Birmingham before moving north to Rochdale, where he secured a stable job in a mill due to his strong work ethic. His mother arrived later, initially struggling significantly as she did not speak English, exemplified by needing to physically show shopkeepers what sugar or salt she required.
Early Political Influence
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(00:10:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Watching the 9 o’clock news with his father, despite the family’s cramped living conditions, ignited Javid’s interest in politics.
  • Summary: Javid watched the news nightly with his father, who would switch off entertainment programs to ensure they watched the broadcast. This routine, coupled with his father’s strong approval of Margaret Thatcher’s stance against union activity during the late 1970s, significantly shaped Javid’s early political leanings.
Childhood Racism Experiences
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(00:18:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Javid recounted severe childhood racism, including being pelted with stones by skinheads singing about ‘packy bashing’ on the walk to school.
  • Summary: Javid described walking to school with his cousin past skinheads who would throw stones and chant racist songs. A more impactful incident involved his Black friend, Derek, who was so hurt by racism that he tried to rub the black color off his arm with glass paper, stating he did not want to be black anymore.
Father’s Union Discrimination
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(00:14:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Javid’s father faced union policy barring ‘coloureds’ from becoming bus drivers, forcing him to fight for the position he eventually attained.
  • Summary: After working as a conductor, Javid’s father sought to become a bus driver, a more prestigious role, but the trade union had a policy against non-white drivers. He successfully challenged this by citing that no law prohibited it, eventually becoming one of the first drivers in that bus company, which instilled a lasting dislike of trade unions in him.
Poverty and Career Choice
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(00:26:18)
  • Key Takeaway: The constant insecurity of childhood poverty influenced Javid’s decision to pursue a career in finance to ensure money would never be an issue again.
  • Summary: Javid acknowledged that his upbringing, characterized by constant financial hardship rather than just occasional famine, likely steered him toward the stability of international finance. He admitted that his relationship with money, rooted in that early insecurity, still impacts him despite his later success.
Arrest and Life-Altering Caution
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(00:27:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Getting caught for fiddling fruit machines at age 12 was a crucial turning point that led Javid to change his life path.
  • Summary: Javid and his younger brother, Bass, were arrested after being caught rigging fruit machines in Weston-super-Mare, an act they learned from other local youths. The police officer, moved by their father’s tearful plea for his sons to be given a chance to make the country proud, issued Javid a caution instead of a charge, which would disappear if he stayed out of trouble until 18.
Full Circle Moment
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(00:38:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Thirty years after being arrested together, Javid, as Home Secretary, presented his brother Bass with his certificate upon passing the Senior Command Course at the National Police College.
  • Summary: Javid expressed gratitude for being caught, believing it prevented him from continuing down a criminal path. The story concluded with a poignant moment where Javid, serving as Home Secretary, presented his brother Bass—who became a Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the Met—with his graduation certificate, bringing their mother to tears of joy.