Attitude Column: I'm Just Sooooo Offended!
- 7 Jul 2016
“I’ve never been so offended in all my life.” How many times have we heard that increasingly irritating phrase in recent times? Being offended has almost become a national sport in this country. The slightest off colour remark can provoke howls of outrage from people who ought...
Why I Feel Duped Over Iraq and Why Chilcot Isn't a Whitewash
- 6 Jul 2016
In twenty short but utterly devastating minutes Sir John Chilcot laid bare the errors of judgement, the errors of policy and errors of implementation that led to what I am now content to say was Britain’s biggest foreign policy misjudgement since Suez. At the time, I believed...
Conservative Leadership Runners & Riders: LIAM FOX
- 4 Jul 2016
FULL NAME: Liam Fox BORN: 22 September 1961, East Kilbride AGE: 54 EDUCATION: St Brides High School, University of Glasgow Medical School STATUS: Married to Jesme Baird FIRST ELECTED: 1992 CONSTITUENCY: Woodspring, North Somerset EXPERIENCE: Government Whip 1993-6, Foreign O...
Conservative Leadership Runners & Riders: MICHAEL GOVE
- 4 Jul 2016
FULL NAME: Michael Gove BORN: 26 August 1967, Edinburgh AGE: 48 EDUCATION: Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen. Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. 2-1 degree in English. STATUS: Married to Sarah Vine, 2 children FIRST ELECTED: 2005 CONSTITUENCY: Surrey Heath EXPERIENCE: Secretary of ...
WATCH: My Analysis of the Tory Leadership on the Andrew Marr Paper Review
- 3 Jul 2016
So there I was last night, sitting on the sofa in Norfolk watching Germany win yet another penalty shootout and I get a text from Rob Burley asking if I could do the paper review on the Andrew Marr Show this morning. Someone had dropped out at the last minute – someone, shal...
My 'Take of the Week' for THIS WEEK: The Gove/Boris Fallout
- 2 Jul 2016
Over the years I have appeared many times on the Daily Politics, but never This Week. If I am honest, it rankled a bit and I had always wondered why. It’s funny because everyone, including members of the This Week production team, seemed to think I had been on many times. A...
Conservative Leadership Runners & Riders: STEPHEN CRABB
- 30 Jun 2016
FULL NAME: Stephen Crabb BORN: January 20 1973, Inverness AGE: 43 EDUCATION: University of Bristol, London Business School STATUS: Married to Beatrice Monnier, 2 children FIRST ELECTED: 2005 CONSTITUENCY: Preseli, Pembrokeshire EXPERIENCE: Junior whip 2010-2012, Welsh Office...
Conservative Leadership Runners & Riders: ANDREA LEADSOM
- 29 Jun 2016
FULL NAME: Andrea Jacquline Leadsom BORN: May 13 1963, Aylesbury AGE: 53 EDUCATION: Tonbridge Girls Grammar, University of Warwick (Political Science) STATUS: Married to Ben, 3 children FIRST ELECTED: May 2010 CONSTITUENCY: South Northamptonshire EXPERIENCE: Councillor, Sout...
Boris Has Fewer Female Supporters Than Old Etonians
- 29 Jun 2016
You don’t have to have gone to Eton to support Boris Johnson, but it certainly helps. So far Boris Johnson has attracted the support of 30 MPs. At the last count 6* of them were Old Etonians, including Boris himself. That’s 20%. Astonishingly, it’s also more than the number o...
Conservative Leadership Runners & Riders: THERESA MAY
- 28 Jun 2016
FULL NAME: Theresa Mary May BORN: 1 October 1956, Eastbourne AGE: 59 EDUCATION: Wheatley Park Comprehensive, St Hugh’s College Oxford (Geography) STATUS: Married to Philip, no children FIRST ELECTED: 1997 CONSTITUENCY: Maidenhead EXPERIENCE: Councillor, London Borough of Mer...
Conservative Leadership Runners & Riders: BORIS JOHNSON
- 27 Jun 2016
FULL NAME: Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson BORN: June 19, 1964, New York AGE: 52 EDUCATION: Eton, Balliol College Oxford STATUS: Married, 6 children FIRST ELECTED: 2001 CONSTITUENCY: Uxbridge – Majority 10,695 EXPERIENCE: Shadow Arts Minister May-November 2004, Shadow Univ...
EXCLUSIVE: Boris Aims To Sign Up 150 MPs to Blow Rivals Out of the Water
- 26 Jun 2016
I was watching Isabel Oakeshott declare on the Sunday Politics that the only leadership team not doing much this weekend was Boris Johnson’s. Oh how I laughed. The fact of the matter is that Boris’s team have not only been very active, they are trying to sign up as many MPs ...
WATCH: LBC's Seven Hour Long Referendum Night Show
- 25 Jun 2016
This is the video of LBC’s seven hour long Referendum Night show. For the first time we filmed and live-streamed the whole thing on our website via Youtube, and also Facebook Live. There are some quite amusing moments when some of us forgot we were on camera. The programme f...
ConHome Diary: Initial Thoughts on The Most Momentous Day in My Adult Political Life
- 24 Jun 2016
I sit here in my Leicester Square hotel room. It’s 6.34 in the morning on Friday and a new dawn has broken, has it not? I’ve just had the privilege of presenting LBC’s seven hour referendum results show. I ought to be dead on my feet but I’m not remotely tired. I feel a profo...
Britain Decides: Join Shelagh Fogarty & Me From 10 on LBC For Our Seven Hour Results Marathon
- 23 Jun 2016
What an important day today is. Will it be Independence Day or no change? I’ll be on air from 4 as usual, but due to ridiculous OfCom rules we can’t even mention the referendum without risking a fine. But the main event starts at 10pm when Shelagh Fogarty and I will be hostin...
Attitude Column: Why I Love America
- 23 Jun 2016
I first went to the United States in the summer of 1987 and it’s been a love affair ever since. I feel in love with the country’s vastness, its variety and its people. I admire what it stands for, I admire its history and, yes, I admire its culture. Because, you see, America ...
Attitude Column: Can I Persuade You to Become Gay?
- 22 Jun 2016
One of the questions gay people are often asked is “if you could be turned straight, would you want to be?” My reply is to counter the question with another question: “if you could be turned gay, would you want to be?” Answer comes there none. It’s a preposterous question, ass...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 47: Election Night Programme Wins International Radio Award
- 21 Jun 2016
So, I found out this morning that Shelagh Fogarty and I have won the Gold Award at the New York Radio Festival Awards for Best Coverage of an Ongoing News Story=, for our General Election night programme on LBC. Should you wish to listen to the entire 7 hours again, you can do...
WATCH: Michael Gove Interview & Farage v Heseltine Debate
- 21 Jun 2016
Quite a show today on LBC. I started off with a one on one interview with Michael Gove, then it was an hour long debate between Michael Heseltine and Nigel Farage. To say they didn’t hit it off was an understatement. Enjoy.
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 46: Interviewing George Osborne (The Man With No Post-Brexit Plan)
- 20 Jun 2016
This evening I did a 30 minute interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, on my LBC show. It’s the longest radio interview he’s done in the EU Referendum campaign. It was originally scheduled for last Wednesday but he had to reschedule, which was a pit...