ConHome Diary: The Pathetic Al Murray
- 11 Apr 2015
Michael Fallon exudes ‘bottom’. Well, you know what I mean. His article in The Times yesterday filleted the SNP and its leader Nicola Sturgeon and contained a bitterly personal attack on Ed Miliband. He should be used more. He sticks the knife in without appearing to do so, wh...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 24: Hosting an Election Debate
- 10 Apr 2015
Last night’s LBC Women Leaders’ Debate debate took a lot of planning. It all started back in February when my producer Jagruti Dave sidled up to me and said ’wouldn’t it be a good idea to do a women’s debate during the general election campaign’, seeing as all the other debate...
WATCH: The LBC Women Leaders' Debate
- 9 Apr 2015
Scroll in four minutes to miss the adverts… This is what a proper debate looks like. Even the Daily Mirror agrees. They’ve just published an article headlined: “7 things we learnt from the LBC Radio all-women General Election debate”. Here are their conclusions… LBC Rad...
Future Leaders Series 2: Who Will Succeed Nigel Farage?
- 6 Apr 2015
This is the second in a series looking at the runners and riders in post-election leadership contests. You can read my article about the runners and riders in a post election LibDem leadership contest HERE. I’ll be looking at the other two parties over the next few weeks, but ...
Who Would be in A Miliband Cabinet After May 7th?
- 6 Apr 2015
Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to look at a few post-election scenarios in terms of possible cabinet line-ups and who might stand in any of the various leadership contests the election result might throw up. I’ve already covered… Who would be in a Cameron Cabinet? Wh...
Want to 'Be Your Own Politician'?
- 5 Apr 2015
During the next month of over-familiar political sound-bites and opinion-slinging some fresh perspectives from outside politics could be a refreshing antidote, especially if those perspectives come someone informed and politically active rather than yet another armchair criti...
LBC to Host Women Polical Leaders Debate on Thursday Evening
- 5 Apr 2015
Four of the most senior female politicians in Britain have signed up to a live election debate on LBC. Nicky Morgan for the Conservatives, Labour’s Harriet Harman, Lynne Featherstone representing the Liberal Democrats and UKIP’s Suzanne Evans will clash on Thursday April 9 a...
Future Leaders Series 1: Who Will Succeed Nick Clegg?
- 4 Apr 2015
This is the first in a series looking at the runners and riders in post-election leadership contests. I’ll be looking at the other three parties over the next few weeks. This is the first election after which there could be scenarios where all four party leaders are replaced w...
ConHome Diary: I Must Learn to be Biased Towards the Liberal Democrats
- 3 Apr 2015
‘David Cameron was the clear winner in last night’s debate. He clearly showed the difference between the Conservative long term economic plan and the chaos that would ensue if Alex Salmond put Ed Miliband into Downing Street. Only with a Conservative government can hard workin...
Iain Dale to Replace Lord Ashcroft in the House of Lords
- 1 Apr 2015
It’s being officially announced later this morning, but I wanted my esteemed readers to be the first to know, that I am being raised to the peerage to replace Michael Ashcroft in the House of Lords. It’s a great honour and I am very grateful to Michael for resigning his seat a...
Football Mad: The Story of Mental Illness & Suicide in the Beautiful Game
- 30 Mar 2015
NOTE FROM IAIN: This is an article written for my West Ham Till I Die blog by one its readers whose pen name is ‘Iron Liddy’. She has written several articles for the site before, but none which has attracted the level of interest or comment that this one has. When you have fi...
Tales from an Edinburgh Taxi
- 29 Mar 2015
I was in a taxi in Edinburgh this morning, and got talking to the driver, as you do. “Who are you going to vote for,” I asked after a while. “I’ve always voted Labour, but I don’t think I’m going to this time,” he replied. “I imagine it’ll be the SNP then,” I suggested. “Ne...
Should I Go To A&E For Something That Is Neither an Accident Nor an Emergency?
- 28 Mar 2015
I’m in Edinburgh this weekend to attend a wedding. I’m in a very nice hotel and they let me check in early. So far so good. You may recall that a couple of weeks ago I had to have an unexpected operation. It all went well, but every day I have to go to my doctors to have the ...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 23: The Power of Talk Radio
- 27 Mar 2015
This morning, I got a call from a journalist asking me to explain the power and influence of Talk Radio for an article he was writing. I explained that people’s stereotypical views of people who phone in are just wrong. It’s not just white van men or cabbies who phone in. Depe...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 22: When A Caller Turns the Question Back onto the Presenter
- 27 Mar 2015
listen to ‘Move over Kate Moss! Iain Dale takes a call from a photographer and ends up with a modelling contract!’ on audioBoom Today on my LBC show I tackled quite a difficult subject – why 100,000 students are funding their degree by going on the game or selling various ...
ConHome Diary: When Answering a Straight Question Can Work
- 27 Mar 2015
Those of you of a certain vintage will remember Sir Anthony Garner, the formidable Director of Campaigning in Central Office in the 1980s. I am very sad to tell you that he has died. I remember attending a Saturday campaigning seminar at CCO in Smith Square back in 1986. Sir A...
Labour Triumph Over Channel 4/Sky Debate Format
- 27 Mar 2015
In the post below I mused as to why Ed Miliband didn’t face Jeremy Paxman first and answer audience questions second, like David Cameron did. It seemed very odd that the format was different for both leaders. I’ve now found out the reason. According to a souce close to the ev...
Miliband v Cameron Live: Miliband Shaded it But Will It Change Anything?
- 26 Mar 2015
In some ways that was a prime example of how not to produce a programme. The format didn’t work, the selection of audience questions was lax in the extreme and the whole thing was clunky. Why on earth did Sky and Channel 4 not ditch their adverts? The programme wasn’t 90 minut...
My Twenty Pieces of Advice to General Election Candidates
- 22 Mar 2015
This is a rehash of a blog I wrote at the beginning of the 2010 election campaign, having just re-read my blogposts from the 2005 election, when I was Conservative candidate in North Norfolk. The experience brought back lots of memories – not all of them bad! But it did make ...
Who Would Be in a Cameron Cabinet After 7 May?
- 22 Mar 2015
Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to look at a few post-election scenarios in terms of possible cabinet line-ups and who might stand in any of the various leadership contests the election result might throw up. Let’s start by looking at a possible Cameron Cabinet. I’m g...