It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 42: How to Lose a Listener
- 6 Jan 2016
Today we were talking (yet again) about Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet reshuffle. A listener phoned in to tell me how clever he had been, as a Conservative, to vote for Corbyn in the Labour leadership election. I lost my rag a little and told him he was being pathetic. It ...
My Interview with Simon Danczuk on the 'Sexting' Scandal
- 4 Jan 2016
My full, ten minute, interview with Simon Danczuk from today’s LBC Drive show. The reaction on Twitter was highly unusual, with both Danzcuk supporters and opponents commending me for the questions I asked. That doesn’t happen very often.
My 10 Resolutions for 2016
- 1 Jan 2016
Not to buy a new car. Read more for pleasure, rather than because it’s my job. Do more TV. Go abroad more often. Lose another half a stone in weight. Ditch ‘I Want it That Way’ as my Karaoke song and find another one. Start writing a new book… and think of somet...
My Predictions for 2016
- 31 Dec 2015
This time last year I made my predictions for 2015. I got 8 out of 10 right (see HERE for proof!). Not sure I’ll do as well this year. Here goes… The EU Referendum will be held in July. The ‘Stay’ Campaign will prevail, but by a margin of 55-45 or less. Nigel ...
The Twenty Best or Most Memorable Books I've Published Over the Last Seventeen Years
- 30 Dec 2015
Back in 1998 I started Politico’s Publishing. I made a very big mistake in 2003 by selling it to Methuen. I thought I had taken it as far as I could and the list would benefit from being part of a bigger company. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Within two months I knew I had done the wro...
Attitude Column: Why Do Gay People Think That Old Age Is For Other People?
- 22 Dec 2015
I don’t know how many men over the age of seventy read this magazine, but what I do know is that the twenty somethings who read it will have given very little thought to what happens when they get old. In ‘gayworld’, old age is a faraway place which merits very little thought....
My Predictions For 2015 - How Did I Do?
- 20 Dec 2015
Back on 31 December 2014 I wrote THIS article giving ten predictions for 2015. So, let’s see how I did… Three political party leaders will resign by the end of the year. CORRECT Norwich City will be promoted to the Premier League. CORRECT At least one politician associ...
My Top 100 Tweeters of 2015
- 19 Dec 2015
Each new year I compile a list of people whose tweets I have most enjoyed during the previous 12 months. I follow about 2000 people on Twitter, which is far too many to be honest, but I whenever I try to cull the number I end up giving up because it’s so difficult. Anyway, the...
ConHome Diary: My End of Year Political Awards
- 18 Dec 2015
Seeing as this will be my last column of 2015 I thought I might look back and hand out a few end of year awards and brickbats. Anyone who says politics is boring only needs to look back at the events of 2015 and look forward to next year. What a fascinating time to be commenti...
ConHome Diary: Exposed - The UKIP London Candidate, Who, Er, Is Begging for a London Address
- 11 Dec 2015
UKIP candidate for the Greater London Assembly, David Kurten, seems to have got himself into a bit of trouble. He’s number two on the UKIP list behind Peter Whittle and ahead of Suzanne Evans. I’ve been sent an email he has sent out to UKIP members pleading for one of them to ...
WATCH: My Interview With Donal Blaney on the Tory Party Bullying Scandal
- 7 Dec 2015
Today I did a 15 minute interview with Donal Blaney, chairman of the Young Britons Foundation, about the Tory Party bullying scandal. In the interview he announces the cancellation of this year’s YBF conference, is highly critical of how the Tories have handled the scandal a...
ConHome Diary: The Day Hilary Shone
- 4 Dec 2015
Sometimes the Prime Minister just can’t help himself. Up until Tuesday he had played a blinder in persuading Labour MPs of the case for air strikes in Syria. He had been calm, measured and persuasive. And then he blew it at the 1922 Committee by asking Tory MPs if they really ...
Keith Simpson MP's Christmas Reading List
- 1 Dec 2015
Guest Post by Keith Simpson MP As we look forward to the Festive Season colleagues will be looking for interesting books to put in the stockings of loved ones and friends whilst ministers will be desperate to read anything rather than civil service briefs. This selection is p...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 41: The Consequences of Radio Regulation
- 30 Nov 2015
These are two short excerpts from my LBC show today. The first was part of an interview I did with Bernadette Smyth from the Northern Irish Pro Life group ‘Precious Life’. Now I have a pragmatic view on abortion issues, but I am not unsympathetic to the pro-life lobby. But...
WATCH: Iain Dale on Sky News Sunrise on the Tory Bullying Scandal
- 29 Nov 2015
The Tory bullying affair continues to dominate the political news headlines, which must come as a relief for many in the Labour Party, given the headlines they are generating at the moment. Here’s a six minute interview I did in my garden this morning with Steve Dixon on Sky...
WATCH: Lord Feldman Has Questions To Answer - Interview on Channel Four News
- 28 Nov 2015
This evening I appeared on Channel Four News to talk about the resignation of Grant Shapps and the bullying scandal that has beset the Conservative Party. It was a close run thing as the Sat truck was late arriving and the camerawoman arrived four minutes before I was due to...
WATCH: Jacqui Smith & I Have a Chinwag About the Autumn Statement
- 27 Nov 2015
I don’t normally post these, but I do love doing the Sky paper review with Jacqui Smith and Anna Botting. To be honest I don’t do an awful lot of TV nowadays, mainly because I don’t particularly enjoy it. I only do things I like or think I’ll be any good at. And the Sky pape...
ConHome Diary: This Scandal Could Result in Two Resignations
- 27 Nov 2015
The Mark Clarke scandal has moved from the Sundays to become a nightly stream of stories across the dailies, each more horrific and shocking than the last. My very real concern, as someone who has got to know Elliott Johnson’s father, Ray, through my radio show, is that too ma...
WATCH: Syria Debate on BBC Sunday Morning Live with Owen Jones, Iain Dale et al
- 22 Nov 2015
This is a 20 minute debate on whether we should bomb Syria, chaired by Sian Williams on Sunday Morning Live. It features myself, Owen Jones, Bishop Stephen Cottrell and Emily Dyer from the Henry Jackson Society. Hattip to @liarpoliticians for the video
Reconstruction: Twenty Five Years Ago Today Margaret Thatcher Chaired Her Final Cabinet Meeting Where She Announced Her Resignation
- 22 Nov 2015
This is a dramatic reconstruction of the Cabinet Meeting which took place on 22 November 1990 – 25 years ago today – at which Margaret Thatcher dramatically announced her resignation. It was intended to be part of a book on her downfall, but in the end I never got around to wr...