Have You Ever Met a Nice South African?
- 22 Feb 2013
I’ve never been to South Africa, which is probably just as well. I’d spend the whole time drooling. You see, I am that very unusual example of someone who finds South African accents rather sexy. Erotic even. That probably marks me down as some kind of linguistic pervert, but ...
Mystic Dale Has a 'Birds Eye' Premonition
- 22 Feb 2013
I was doing the News Review, with Petrie Hosken, on ITV’s THIS MORNING at 10.30 today and the final item was a picture of a ready meal of Steak and Chips in which a lady had found a dead bird. ‘What do you think of that then?’ chirruped Eamonn Holmes. Quick as a flash, I resp...
Saying Sorry Has to Mean Something
- 22 Feb 2013
We live in a society where ‘Sorry’ seems to be the easiest word. Apologies are demanded from public figure for the most minor transgression, preferably with tears. And if the apology is not forthcoming, the weight of the media descends. Politicians in recent years have thrown ...
New Glasses, Possums?
- 22 Feb 2013
I’ve had to wear glasses ever since I was in my mid-twenties. I’m a bit short sighted so need them for driving and watching TV, but I don’t wear them all the time. This week I went for my annual eye test, and I had imagine my eyesight had got slightly worse. Instead I was told...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter: No 2 - Dealing With a Shouty Guest
- 21 Feb 2013
Israel. Never touch the subject. That’s what one producer told me when I started presenting on LBC. I didn’t listen. It’s one of those issues which will fill the phone switchboard within minutes. It attracts zealots on both sides of the debate, but it can also attract some dam...
The Tories Won't Admit It, But Ed Balls Secretly Impresses Them
- 21 Feb 2013
Ed Balls is the one Labour politician virtually every Tory loves to hate. He gets under their skin like no other. The very sight of him sends them into paroxysms of vitriol. He is also, it has to be said, not the most popular figure in the Labour Party. But despite all that, ...
Truth & Consequences: Five Decisions That Changed the Course of My Life
- 20 Feb 2013
Have you ever made a decision that has turned out to completely alter the course of your life? Without it, you know your life would have been completely different. I can’t remember why I was mulling this over today, but it occurred to me that there have been quite a lot of tho...
George Osborne Sets 'The Agenda'
- 19 Feb 2013
I don’t know how many of you watch ITV’s The Agenda, fronted by the excellent, and mischievous Tom Bradby, but if you don’t you ought to. He has four guests on a panel and they chat about four or five issues in the news. It usually includes a high profile politician. Cameron,...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter: No 1
- 19 Feb 2013
If you’re in the media, people inevitably have opinions about you. Some good, some bad.. They’re rarely shades of grey. The praise tends to be OTT (“You’re simply the greatest presenter ever to appear on the radio”) as does the criticism (“You have the voice of John Major cros...
'The New Normal' - Best US Sitcom Since 'Scrubs'
- 18 Feb 2013
Nowadays I very rarely watch any TV programme when it is actually shown. Sky Plus is my friend. Anyway, last night I was wondering what to watch and I remembered I had been recording a new American sitcom called The New Normal. It’s been hailed as the new Will & Grace, an...
Why The Right Needs To Spread the Gospel of Low Taxes
- 18 Feb 2013
I have always believed that a low tax economy is always going to be more successful than a high tax one. We now seem to be in a period where all three main political parties seem quite happy to be entering a competition to see who can come up with the whackiest ideas for impos...
Meeting Sir David Attenborough
- 18 Feb 2013
One of the great things about doing my job at LBC is that I get to meet and interview some of my all time heros. Today was one such day. Of course the challenge when interviewing them is not to go all gooey and just indulge in half an hour of fan worship. I always try to remem...
An Encounter with Anjem Choudary
- 17 Feb 2013
This morning The Sun did what the News of the World used to do. It had a front page piece of proper investigative journalism. which exposed the radical cleric Anjem Choudary as a thoroughly nasty piece of work. They taped a three hour lecture in which he called Cameron and Oba...
Eastleigh By-Election Gets Dirty
- 16 Feb 2013
By-elections bring out the worst in normally quite sane people. It’s all “my party right or wrong”. And today we have seen the Eastleigh by-election descend to the depths, courtesy of the Liberal Democrats. I don’t know why I am surprised. However, I am surprised by Stephen Ta...
Why Rachel Frosh Is Right - Fascism IS Intrinsically Left Wing
- 15 Feb 2013
Over the last few weeks I have had several people ask if I intend to stand for Parliament again. No matter how often I say ‘no’ the message never quite seems to get through. I can use phrases like ’I’d rather stick needles in my eyes’ or ’I’d rather eat my own sick’, but stil...
Who Will Next Face the Horse Heat?
- 15 Feb 2013
I was talking to a friend earlier, who has a loose association with the Contract Catering Industry. These are the people who supply schools, hospitals and the armed forces. We both agreed that those sectors might well be the next sectors to come under the scrutiny of the media...
Book Review: A Kick Against the Pricks by David Norris
- 15 Feb 2013
Let me from outset say that this is one of the best autobiographies I have read in recent years. It’s entertaining, witty, thought provoking, moving and well written. You can’t ask for much more than that. Senator David Norris is an independent member of the Upper House of t...
Stand Up Mehdi Hasan, Future Leader of the Labour Party?
- 15 Feb 2013
I’ve never quite worked out how the Huffington Post survives in the UK. Millions of pounds have been chucked at it, and yet it’s a vanilla site with little ‘must-read’ element to it. Most of its comment pieces are PR puff and little else. Its news stories are ones that you ca...
Listen: Rachel Reeves Repeats the Same Point 8 times in 80 Seconds
- 14 Feb 2013
I rather like Rachel Reeves. She’s got some original ideas and is clearly very clever. You don’t get to work at the Bank of England if you’re not. But tonight on my LBC show she gave a car crash of an interview on the 10p tax rate and the mansion tax. It bore all the hallmark...
Ed Miliband on the 10p Tax Rate: Then & Now
- 14 Feb 2013
This is Ed Miliband making the case for abolishing the 10p tax rate in 2008. “When you make a big set of changes in the tax system, some people do lose out. That is a matter of regret. Of course it is. But overall these changes make the tax system fairer.” (Source: IFS) ...