So I Said to the Doctor, "Am I Going Blind?"...
- 7 May 2023
“Am I going blind?” That was the question I blurted out to a specialist doctor on Wednesday afternoon. Last week, many of you commented on the number of typos in last week’s newsletter. I’m a terrible proof reader at the best of times, but last week, while typing this I could ...
A Reflection on the Local Elections
- 7 May 2023
On my local election overnight show on Friday morning I remember saying that all successful prime ministers need to be lucky generals, as Napoleon might have put it. I claimed that Rishi Sunak was indeed a very lucky general given that by Friday evening the whole news agenda w...
Why Political Parties Fear the Self-ID Debate
- 27 Mar 2023
This article first appeared in the Daily Telegraph. You’ll lose the election on day one of the campaign, unless you change your position on trans rights.” That was the stark warning issued to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer by a key adviser earlier this month. Focus groups a...
Honours & Privileges
- 27 Mar 2023
Boris Johnson is not a politician who stays out of the headlines for very long. Having got through the Privileges Committee last week, this week may well herald the publication of his resignation honours list. Batten down the hatches. Johnson’s list is likely to be as long as ...
The Ambassador's Reception
- 1 Mar 2023
I'm typing this in my hotel room in Washington DC as I prepare to head out to the dreaded Dulles Airport to fly back to the UK later tonight. I arrived on Friday, so it's been a short but really productive and enjoyable trip. DC is not the city I used to love. I always ...
NEW: The Irish Taoiseach Podcast Is About to Launch
- 27 Feb 2023
This is the press release Global Radio have just issued. LBC – the UK’s number one commercial news talk station – is launching a brand-new, 15-part weekly podcast hosted its award-winning evening presenter Iain Dale. The Irish Taoiseach podcast will examine the life ...
Why Jeremy Corbyn Could Prevent Keir Starmer From Becoming Prime Minister
- 20 Feb 2023
This article first appeared in the Daily Telegraph. When Keir Starmer announced last week that his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, wouldn’t stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election, he didn’t know his declaration would almost immediately be eclipsed by Nicola St...
How Boris Johnson Could Return to Number 10
- 20 Feb 2023
This article first appeared in the Daily Telegraph Ever since the day of Boris Johnson’s departure from Number 10 last July, Westminster watchers have been speculating about his return. It’s almost become a ritual parlour game among some Tory MPs. He nearly had a go at risi...
Four Days in Berlin
- 5 Feb 2023
I’m from a generation which grew up in the shadow of the Second World War. We had a bomb shelter in our primary school. Boys would run round the playground pretending to be spitfires and chanting “we won the war in 1964”. Slightly inaccurate, but a six year do...
A Tribute to Bubba (2011-2023)
- 19 Jan 2023
This afternoon, at 4.25pm, a light went out of our lives. Our beloved miniature schnauzer Bubba died. Back in mid October John took Bubba to the vet as he seemed to have lost a lot of weight and his appetite wasn't what it was. Over the next few weeks all sorts of ...
My Predictions for 2023 (And How my 2022 Predictions Turned Out)
- 29 Dec 2022
So how did my predictions for 2021 pan out? Here were my 2022 predictions. In 2021 I got 7.5/10, this year, not so good! Laura Kuenssberg will take over the Andrew Marr Show and joins Today HALF RIGHT Faisal Islam will join Channel 4 News as a lead newsre...
My Favourite Photos of 2022
- 28 Dec 2022
Taken in March in our back garden in Kent. Taken from a passing train at Tonbridge station by Radio Kent presenter Dominic King. At Dan's wedding in October. With cousin Richard Dale, on a visit to north Devon in September. Bubba. ...
My Top Twelve Books of 2022
- 27 Dec 2022
Well I've certainly read a variety of books this year, and these are the twelve that I've enjoyed most. I can highly recommend them all. I haven't listed them in any particular order. Listen to my Book Club interview with Vernon Bogdanor HERE. # ...
My Top Ten Songs of 2022
- 26 Dec 2022
My musical tastes are, shall we say, not to everyone's liking. I like pop, pure and simple. I like misery ballads. I also like electro-pop and African music. You'll find lots of examples here in my list of ten favourite songs of 2022. These are songs I discovered in 2022, but ...
My Top 20 Podcasts of 2022
- 23 Dec 2022
Time for my top 20 podcasts of the year. I have to say my podcast listening habits have changed somewhat in recent times. I'm listening to far fewer political or news podcasts than I used to and tend to use podcasts nowadays to escape the world of current affairs. As you w...
My Top Tweeters of 2022
- 22 Dec 2022
This is a list of 250 Tweeters I have most enjoyed during 2022. This is the ninth year I have compiled this list. I follow about 4400 people on Twitter. Anyway, these are the ones who have entertained, informed, educated, annoyed and, most of all, made me laugh most this y...
Bubba
- 11 Dec 2022
As many of you all know, our two dogs, Dude and Bubba, are the lights of our lives. Now that they are both 11, you start to think about the awful day when they'll no longer be with us. This week, I'm afraid that the dreadful prospect of one of them leaving us ...
Please Help Repair the Cello That I Obliterated When I Fell Off A Stage In July
- 11 Nov 2022
DONATE HERE On 23 July this year, I obliterated a cello in the orchestra pit of Buxton Opera House by falling off the stage on top of it. You can read the gory details HERE. I was lucky to have landed on the cello. If it hadn't been there my injuri...
The Trials Down Under of Hatt Mancock
- 7 Nov 2022
In principle, there’s nothing wrong with politicians appearing on reality TV shows. Yet whenever they do it they get a shed load of abuse, especially if the show is taking place when parliament is in session. Politicians only seem to get away with it when the show is prerecord...
The Challenges Rishi Sunak Faces in Forming His Government: Reshuffle Predictions
- 25 Oct 2022
The first task facing any new prime minister is to form a government. This means sacking existing ministers and appointing new ones. It means rewarding allies and penalizing those whose faces don’t fit. For Rishi Sunak this is not going to be the most pleasurable of experience...