Blog
What Does Nick Candy's Appointment as Treasurer Mean for Reform UK?
- 18 Dec 2024
This arrticle first appeared in the i Newspaper. To survive and thrive as a political party and ultimately to achieve power, you need four things: charismatic politicians, a professional party organisation, money and, of course, votes. At Reform UK’s party conferenc...
Can Angela Rayner Really Build Enough Houses?
- 8 Dec 2024
It seems hard to believe that Labour’s first five months in power have been so dispiriting. They came into government with bellows of goodwill behind them. Now not only have they resembled the shambles that preceded them, but the green shoots of economic growth have been st...
From 'THE DICTATORS: The Real Bashar Al Assad by Brooks Newmark
- 8 Dec 2024
Given current events in Syria, I thought it might be a good idea to post Brooks Newmark's essay from THE DICTATORS here. Brooks actually met Assad several times and has a unique insight into him. You can order a signed copy of THE DICTATORS here. Bashar al-Assad Sy...
Booking.com - Never Again
- 1 Dec 2024
You know how I like to tell you about my customer service experiences, both good and bad. On Thursday I was asked to stand in for Lewis Goodall this morning on LBC. I always like doing the Sunday morning slot, so I was happy to do it, but I explained that I was speaking in ...
Is the Church Really to Blame for our Obesity Crisis?
- 1 Dec 2024
There’s nothing like kicking a man when he’s down, is there? Having resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury for his handling of child abuse claims, Justin Welby (and other religious leaders) now stands accused of being responsible for Britain’s growing obesity epidemic. Yes, you ...
Some Reflections on Leaving Norfolk
- 24 Nov 2024
We’ve just spent our last night at our Norfolk house. I sit here in the rather bare vaulted sitting room typing this on the red sofa, with faithful Dude by my side. My friend Dan is on his way up in a huge can to collect the rest of our furniture and belongings. In a few hours...
The Story Behind my Gall Bladder Removal
- 23 Nov 2024
This is an interview I did for the Benenden Hospital website HERE. LBC Broadcaster and author Iain Dale had a gallbladder removal at Benenden Hospital on 6 September after using his private health cover to reduce his 18-week wait time. "As I speak now on 22 October, I fe...
Breakfast is the hardest show in radio – I understand why Zoe Ball has quit
- 22 Nov 2024
This article first appeared in the iNewspaper on Wednsday 20 November One of the miracles of the modern media world is that not only did the advent of TV and video not kill off radio, nor has the advent of the internet and podcasts. Yes, radio has changed, and what we used ...
The Archbishop of Canterbury's Fatal Character Flaw
- 17 Nov 2024
This article first appeared in the iNewspaper. Watching a wounded animal in its death throes is never an edifying experience, and that is exactly how it’s felt observing the Archbishop of Canterbury failing to recognise, until now, that he was stipendiary toast, that his po...
How Not to Appeal to 'Working People'
- 1 Nov 2024
It’s almost as if on 5 July Labour strategists had sat down and discussed with each other how they could offend the largest number of people in the shortest possible time. First, it was the nine million pensioners who will be losing their winter fuel allowance, worth up to ...
A Love Letter to Germany
- 1 Nov 2024
iNews column Take two world wars out of the equation and Britain and Germany have always been relatively close allies. The two countries have a shared history, not least the fact that the Germans gave us our Royal Family 300 years ago; that development alone should not b...
The Misjudgements of Philip Schofield
- 23 Oct 2024
Watching Phillip Schofield baring his soul on the Channel 5 show ‘Cast Away’ is something I watched so you don’t have to. For the uninitiated he was sent to a desert island off Madgascar, alone, with no cameraman or sound person. His task was to survive for ten days and to rec...
My Personal Tribute to Alex Salmond
- 12 Oct 2024
The news of the death of Alex Salmond has come as such a shock to everyone who knew him. I heard the news from my LBC boss as I was driving home on the M25. I couldn’t believe it. Alex was such a force of nature, the kind of person who you might imagine could survive death...
So It's Cleverly Versus Who?
- 9 Oct 2024
This article was written for the iNewspaper minutes after the result of the third Conservative Party leadership ballot was announced at 3.30pm on Wednesday 8 October 2024. The original can be read HERE. The Conservative Parliamentary Party rarely ceases to amaze, and usual...
Starmer Will Rue the Day Sue Gray Has Departed
- 6 Oct 2024
They’re only 93 days in and they already run the risk of cementing their reputation as a government that is divided, incompetent and on the take. Quite an achievement, when you come to think about it. Even though I am on the other side of the political fence, I take little ...
The Tory Leadership Drag Race
- 5 Oct 2024
f you listen to the For the Many podcast, you'll know that one of my listeners, Oliver Turner, sends us some hilarious pieces on political drag names. When I knew I was speaking to the LGBT Tories Annnual Curry Night at the Birmingham Conference, I asked him for some help. Her...
Prime Minister Nigel Farage - This is How it Could Happen
- 29 Sep 2024
Each Tuesday I write a column for the iNewspaper. Here is this week's offering, which you can also read HERE Over the last decade, Britain has got used to the unexpected happening. People are now more ready to believe that scenarios which would once have seemed impossible c...
The Changing Nature of Party Conferences
- 24 Sep 2024
On Sunday afternoon I arrived in Liverpool, and amazingly they let me in! This is the 20th Labour Party conference I have attended. I first started going in 1998 when Politico’s started running the bookshop at all three party conferences. Next week it will be my 38th Conservat...
Time & Space Feature in the Sunday Times
- 22 Sep 2024
Last Sunday I featured in the Sunday Times Homes supplement in their Times & Space feature. Our house near Tunbridge Wells in Kent isn’t beautiful by any stretch of the imagination, but when my husband, John, and I bought it in 2003 we thought it was quite big. Actually...
Iain Dale Media Training
- 18 Sep 2024
Whether you’re a politician, a businessperson, a charity representative or trade union leader, putting your case professionally is a must. Iain Dale can help you to do that, whether it’s on television, radio, social media or in the written press. Iain has run polit...