The Perils of a Second Referendum & Why Remain Must Not Be on the Ballot Paper
- 7 Dec 2018
Let me make this clear from the start. I am wholly opposed to a Second Referendum, a People's Vote, a Loser's Vote, call it what you will. In 2016 we were told that it was a 'once in a generation vote' and that the government would 'implement what you decide'. Since then, t...
My Ten Favourite Pubs & Bars
- 6 Dec 2018
The pub is a uniquely British thing. They come in a variety of styles, but the sad thing is that they're disappearing at an alarming rate. So I thought I'd celebrate some of my favourite pubs, plus one US bar which I used to go to a lot in Washington DC, but has sadly now also...
Keith Simpson's Christmas 2018 Reading List For His Fellow MPs (And You!)
- 5 Dec 2018
This guide to interesting books published this autumn has been compiled at a time of great crisis over the future of the Brexit agreement, the ability of the Prime Minister to continue and a Parliament and nation divided. Thirty years ago the late Julian Critchley, MP for Ald...
Watch: Video Interview with James O'Brien
- 5 Dec 2018
This is the full video version of my ‘Iain Dale Book Club’ podcast with my colleague James O’Brien. We talk about his book HOW TO BE RIGHT, which has climbed to number five in the Sunday Times bestseller charts. It’s 55 minutes long.
House of Lords Slams HMRC Over Loan Charge
- 4 Dec 2018
If you’re unfamiliar with the Loan Charge, read my initial blog on it HERE and my Spectator article HERE. Today there’s been a major development with the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee issuing a damning report about HMRC’s conduct. It says taxpayers are being treate...
Sneak Peek of my Interview with James O'Brien
- 3 Dec 2018
Tomorrow on my ‘Iain Dale Book Club podcast’ we’ll be releasing a 50 minute interview I have recorded with my colleague James O’Brien about his book ‘How to be Right’. The book has been a huge commercial success and is now Number 5 in the Sunday Times bestsellers chart. Here’s...
Starting in January: My New Weekly Column in the EDP & EADT
- 2 Dec 2018
As many of you know, I’m an East Anglian boy at heart. I was born in Cambridge and spent the first 18 years of my life being brought up in a little village in the Essex/Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border called Ashdon, near Saffron Walden. I then spent six years in Norwich, firs...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 65: Changing Producers - Saying Goodbye to Jagruti Dave
- 2 Dec 2018
The last time I wrote about the producer/presenter relationship was almost exactly two years ago when my lead producer Matt Harris left LBC after ten years to join Newsnight. The other member of our team, Jagruti Dave, who had already been working on the show for two years ste...
A Tribute to President George H W Bush
- 1 Dec 2018
It was sad to learn of the death of President George H W Bush this morning, but what a life he had led. I never felt he got the recognition he deserved while alive, so let’s hope that’s corrected in the many obituaries which will appear over the next few hours and days. The...
In Conversation with Jacqui Smith... Ten Years Ago
- 29 Nov 2018
I first met Jacqui Smith more than ten years ago at a Foreign Office event which she was addressing. I was writing a profile of the then Foreign Secretary David Miliband so was spending the afternoon with him. After her speech he beckoned me over an introduced me to her. Havin...
Tory MPs Go To War Over John Hayes 'Utter Cock' Knighthood
- 24 Nov 2018
It’s no secret that the parliamentary Conservative Party is riven with splits over Europe, but when Tory MPs start laughing uncontrollably about government decisions and taking little notice of government whips, you know it is a government in trouble. Yesterday Downing Stre...
Tory Rebels Need to Bide Their Time Before Toppling Mrs May
- 19 Nov 2018
The Germans have a phrase ‘Immer mit der Ruhe’. Keep calm at all times. The Conservative Party would do well to heed that message. Voters don’t like divided parties. The fall in support for the Tories in the weekend opinion polls is more to do with voters not liking the disuni...
The Incomparable Cliff Richard - Still Wired for Sound
- 17 Nov 2018
I have very few heroes. Margaret Thatcher is clearly one, but beyond one other person I can’t immediately think of any more. Who’s that other person? Well if you’ve clicked on this article because of the headline, you’ve probably guessed already. Yup, Cliff Richard. I suppo...
Theresa May is Trying to Deliver a Brexit That No One's Happy With, Apart From Her.
- 17 Nov 2018
A version of this article first appeared in Friday’s London Evening Standard It’s almost as if Alastair Campbell has been advising Theresa May. When Tony Blair was ever in political trouble, he adopted a “masochism” strategy. He let voters beat him up. And it worked. Yeste...
In Praise of Gyles Brandreth (And Listen to our Book Club Podcast!)
- 16 Nov 2018
I first met Gyles Brandreth around twenty years ago. He used to come to booklaunches at Politico’s and was always the life and soul of the party. He then invited me on to his Sunday afternoon arts show on LBC, when it used to be based at ITN in Grays Inn Road. I loved it. He’d...
If Not Theresa, Then Who?
- 15 Nov 2018
Theresa May has been written off many times before and each time bounced back. She is a woman of tremendous resilience, as she has proved many times over the past two years. She proved it again this morning in the Commons, putting in an outstanding performance in a chamber whi...
If It's a Choice Between This Awful Brexit Deal and Remaining in the EU, This is What I'd Do...
- 14 Nov 2018
I’ve been debating with myself since last night whether to write this, but in the end I have to, otherwise I become just as supine as those Cabinet ministers who will no doubt find yet another reason to cling onto their jobs today and not do what their consciences tell them th...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 64: Herding the Brexit Cats
- 13 Nov 2018
Each Monday night on LBC we covene a panel to debate what we think is going to be one of the big issues of the week. Sometimes we have panellists that no-one has ever heard of. Sometimes we deliberately invite younger pundits. On Friday my producer, Sophie, and I agreed that B...
Remembrance Day: The Fascinating Reason Why World War One Ended At 11am
- 11 Nov 2018
On my way to pick up the Sunday papers I switched on the car radio to listen to Nigel Farage talking about the World War 1 Armistice. He was interviewing a descendant of Admiral Sir Rossalyn Wemyss, who was the senior British representative at the signing of the armistice 100 ...
The Tale of Clifford Norden - My Great Uncle Who Was Killed 12 Days Before The End of WW1
- 4 Nov 2018
October 31st was the hundreth anniversary of the death of my Great Uncle, Clifford Norden. I say, death, but what I really mean is it’s the 100th anniversary of the day he was killed in the First World War, only twelve days before the Armistice. I often wonder what might ha...