The Quiet Rise of Nicky Morgan
- 22 Mar 2014
If David Cameron wants to promote more women to the cabinet he need look no further than Nicky Morgan, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. I’ve known Nicky and her husband Jonathan for more than ten years, although we’re no close friends. She was selected for Loughborough...
A Tribute to Corinne De Souza 1955-2014
- 18 Mar 2014
This site seems to have become a repository for obituaries and tributes in the last week, and I am afraid here’s another one. John and I first met Corinne De Souza back in 1997 just after we opened Politico’s. It turned out that unbeknown to me at the time I had taken over he...
WATCH: Tory MP & Putin Supporter Clash (Again) Over Crimea
- 17 Mar 2014
Two weeks ago I hosted a debate on Ukraine between Tory MP Brooks Newmark and former Kremlin advisor Alexander Nekrassov. Today I hosted Round 2. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.
A Tribute to Tony Benn
- 14 Mar 2014
Even before I first met him in the mid 1990s, Tony Benn was always a source of endless fascination for me. I remember buying a volume of his diaries from a second hand bookshop in Cambridge and being transfixed. By the time I met him I had bought all the other volumes and I r...
Two Extended Interviews With Tony Benn
- 14 Mar 2014
I’ ll write a proper tribute and obituary to Tony Benn later. I first met Tony in the 1990s and we became quite friendly. He said he regarded me as his “favourite Thatcherite entrepreneur”. I am not sure how many other Thatcherite entrepreneurs he knew, but I took it as a comp...
A Tribute to Bob Crow
- 11 Mar 2014
Sometimes you find out something which just leaves you reeling in shock. And so it was about ten minutes ago, when I learned that Bob Crow had died. He was only 52 years of age. There’s no use pretending that Bob Crow and I agreed on anything. We didn’t. But he had my total ...
An Evening of Taboos and Dogging With 'Fascinating Aida'
- 9 Mar 2014
How is it that ‘Fascinating Aida’ rarely get on television, when vastly inferior acts do? Having just seen them perform in Norwich it’s a question which continues to baffle me. I emerged from the Theatre Royal with my cheekbones aching, as did the rest of the audience. How co...
A Tribute to Marion Thorpe 1926-2014
- 8 Mar 2014
If I were to compile a list of the 20 most impressive women I have ever met, Marion Thorpe would be right up there. I first met her back in 1998 when I published a book by her husband, Jeremy Thorpe. I went to their magnificent home in Orme Square, off the Bayswater Road, whe...
International Women's Day: Waste of Time & An Insult to Women?
- 8 Mar 2014
Yesterday on my show I hosted a panel discussion on women’s issues to mark International Women’s Day. Harriet Harman, Mary Beard, Zoe Williams and Cristina Odone joined me for a sparky hour long discussion. Click HERE to listen. But before that, Katy Hopkins had her say too....
Sadiq Khan on Why He Uses Vaseline on His Nipples...
- 4 Mar 2014
listen to ‘Iain Dale and Sadiq Khan on Ed Balls, running the London Marathon and chafing’ on Audioboo
The Quislings Who Give Putin A Free Pass
- 3 Mar 2014
Sometimes I despair of my own countrymen. Tonight on my LBC show I have endured listening to calls from a succession of people who seem quite happy to think the worst of their own country and yet think the best of an illiberal, intolerant, state which thinks nothing of invadin...
Attitude Column: Would I Have Been a Good Dad?
- 27 Feb 2014
Call me a hard hearted bastard but I have never wanted children. My nieces refer to me as ‘Uncle Herod’ so perhaps it’s just as well. Some of us have the child-rearing gene and others of us don’t. My partner would love to have had children and it’s only recently that I have co...
Attitude Column: Why Prostitution Should Be Legalised
- 26 Feb 2014
An episode of the final series of the superb Danish politico-drama Borgen concerned itself with the vexed subject of legalising prostitution. Like the legalisation of drugs, it’s a subject politicians shy away from debating in real life. Most people labour under the illusion ...
Harman & the NCCL: What Has the BBC Really Learnt?
- 25 Feb 2014
One of the most irritating phrases you will ever hear on television is “the BBC has learnt”. You’d think it meant that due to an original piece of journalism, the BBC has found out something nobody else has. Invariably it means the BBC has switched on Sky News. Sky use a simil...
Attitude Column: It's Not Just Women Who Are Victims of Domestic Violence
- 23 Feb 2014
I’m lucky. I have been with my partner for more than eighteen years and in that time we have barely exchanged a cross word. We’ve never had a full scale row. ‘Yeah, right’, I can hear you saying. But it’s true. Of course we have the odd disagreement, but I can’t recall a singl...
Clegg v Farage Debate: LibDems Must Now Promise to Support an In/Out Referendum
- 20 Feb 2014
These phone-ins we do at LBC do have a habit of generating a few headlines, and today’s CALL CLEGG was no exception. Nick Clegg has challenged Nigel Farage to a live debate on the EU. As it’s PHONE FARAGE tomorrow morning, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get an answer from th...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 15: Going National, New Imaging Music & RAJARS
- 16 Feb 2014
It’s been quite a week for us all at LBC. In case you missed it the station went national on Tuesday on the Digital One DAB platform. If you think about it, it is quite ludicrous that this country has never had a national newstalk station. Talk Radio, in its various incarna...
Michael Gove Renews His Banter With Simon Cowell
- 12 Feb 2014
Last night I interviewed Michael Gove on my LBC show. We covered a lot of ground, but at the end of the interview I asked him about his spat with Simon Cowell, which occurred just before Christmas. He admitted he had instigated it and wasted little time in responding to my qu...
My Ten Most Interesting Politicians
- 9 Feb 2014
You know how I like a Top Ten list. Well today John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday has compiled his Top Ten Most Interesting Politicians. You’ll have to read it yourself to find out just why Grant Shapps merited inclusion in such a list. Well, anything John Rentoul can d...
The Ugly Face of 'Muslim' & 'Christian' Patrols
- 7 Feb 2014
Yesterday on my LBC Drivetime Show we talked about the rising tide of extremism in some areas of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Last year there was a lot of publicity about the so-called ‘Muslim Patrols’ who were seeking to impose Sharia Law by ordering people to sto...