BBC Parliament Tonight: Harold Wilson Evening Starts at 6pm
- 14 Feb 2013
I was two years old when Harold Wilson first became Prime Minister, and 13 when he left office. But I do remember him. I remember telling my parents in one of the 1974 election why they should vote for him. Even then I was a Eurosceptic and held it against Ted Heath that he h...
Valentine's Special: The Talk Radio Top Totty List 2013
- 13 Feb 2013
Every Valentine’s Day, Adam Boulton and his Sky News colleagues reveal their Top 20 Most Fanciable MPs. Some years ago I caused a bit of a stir by turning the tables and compiling the Top 20 Most Fanciable Political Journalists. To be honest it was a struggle to get to 20. So,...
For Labour in Eastleigh Things Just Got Better
- 12 Feb 2013
This was always going to be a fascinating by-election but tonight’s selection of John O’Farrell as the Labour candidate could make it even more interesting. My suspicion is that he could well attract not just LibDem votes but also a few Tory ones too. He’s a bit of a name, bu...
My Interview on Why I Returned to Blogging With the Mars Hill Blog
- 11 Feb 2013
This is an interview I did at the weekend with Paul Burgin (pictured) of the Mars Hill blog. I hope it may be of interest to my readers PB: In 2010 you seemed to land a blow in the political blogosphere by deciding to quit. Remind us why you made that decision and do you fee...
Remembering Armenia's Karine Kazinian
- 11 Feb 2013
When I went to Armenia a few years ago I met a politician called Karine Kazinian At the time she was the Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister and she had quite an effect on me. Indeed, I wrote THIS blogpost about her. Here’s an excerpt… I had the pleasure of having an uproari...
Remember You're a Conservative, Mr Hunt
- 11 Feb 2013
When I heard that the new much needed social care reform were going to be paid for by raiding the Inheritance Tax tin, I was frankly incredulous No one who calls themselves a Conservative should have any truck with increasing the burden of Inheritance Tax. It is a tax on aspir...
My Ten Favourite Places in the World
- 10 Feb 2013
On my old blog, I used to do a lot of lists. Some people liked them. Others found them annoying. Well, I think it’s time for one on my shiny new blog, don’t you? So, here are my ten favourite places in the whole wide world… in no particular order… Washington DC Washington ha...
Owen Paterson Tells Me: Horsemeat Could Be "Injurious to Human Health"
- 10 Feb 2013
A nice little scoop from Environment Secretary on my LBC show this morning. We spent ten minutes discussing the horsemeat scandal and towards the end of the interview (you can listen to it HERE) this exchange took place… ID: There are no health implications, are there? OP...
Political Book Awards: Bollocks Story in the Mail on Sunday
- 10 Feb 2013
There’s a story in today’s Mail on Sunday with the headline MARY’S REVENGE ON LABOUR PEER WHO ATTACKED CAMBRIDGE Simon Walters, the Mail on Sunday political editor, alleges that Professor Mary Beard, a judge at this year’s Paddy Power/Total Politics Political Book Awards , ...
It's Not Size That Counts! Oh, Really?
- 9 Feb 2013
Now, I post this purely as an educational tool. Tool. Geddit? I suppose we all knew that the French were the biggest pricks in Europe, and now we have proof! What I would love to know is how they worked this out. I doubt whether the research cost much to put together. I imagi...
LibDems Pick Mr Charisma
- 9 Feb 2013
This is the candidate the LibDems selected tonight to fight the Eastleigh by-election. His name is Cllr Mike Thornton. This is him at a council meeting. Hardly a surprise that he was so bored, listening to all those LibDem councillors drone on. I suspect this picture is going...
How Eric Pickles Forces Councils to Subsidise Local Newspapers
- 9 Feb 2013
You know those rather boring adverts at the back of local newspapers? Pages upon pages of public notices and planning applications, all put there courtesy of your local authority. Many people wonder why on earth in the days of websites all these adverts appear, week after wee...
Right & Left Is So 1990s...
- 8 Feb 2013
What do the terms right and left mean any longer? These two words have defined political discourse and debate for most of the last century, yet they are becoming increasingly irrelevant as supposedly right wing politicians adopt what have been traditional left wing causes. In ...
An Evening at the IMAX: The Political Book of the Year Awards 2013
- 7 Feb 2013
This time last night we were nearing the end of the 2013 Paddy Power & Total Politics Political Book of the Year Awards. It seemed a long time since the idea first emerged in a brainstorming meeting last summer. It really was the most fantastic evening. Four hundred peopl...
Pryce & Huhne Phone Call: When Prurience Goes Too Far
- 7 Feb 2013
I’ve got Sky News on the TV at the moment and have just heard the phone conversations between Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce. I think it is scandalous that they have been made public. I almost felt dirty listening to them. I’m not sure what is proved by their release. Indeed, why...
Imagine the Outcry if Stafford Had Been A Private Hospital
- 6 Feb 2013
I’ve spent the last 90 minutes watching the Prime Minister’s statement on the Francis Report into the terrible goings on at Stafford Hospital. What was allowed to happen there was terrible, and an indictment of all those who sat by and watched this catastrophe developing. Let’...
Looking Forward to the Political Book of the Year Awards
- 6 Feb 2013
Tonight at the IMAX it’s the Political Book of the Year Awards. I have to admit I am getting pre-ceremony nerves. I had the idea for this event in the middle of 2012 and it’s certainly been a challenge to organise everything in such a short time. But my team at Biteback have ...
Well At Least Chris Chope Avoided Referring to a 'Buggers' Muddle'...
- 6 Feb 2013
A majority of 225 is probably the highest the government has ever achieved at the end of a Second Reading debate. And yet it doesn’t feel like that, does it? And it certainly won’t in Number 10 today. I can’t for a moment imagine that the champagne corks were popping last nigh...
A Question for John Redwood: Are MPs Representatives or Delegates?
- 5 Feb 2013
John Redwood is a man of many opinions. Most of them are ones I agree with. He is a man I have immense respect and admiration for. I regard him as a friend. He’s also a superb blogger. So it was with some degree of horror that I read his blogpost on today’s gay marriage vote....
The Trials of Chris Huhne
- 4 Feb 2013
I’ve sat here for five minutes looking at a blank screen, not quite knowing what to write. You see, when a friend ends up in trouble, the last thing you want to do is stick the boot in. You want to empathise, sympathise and do what friends do. Stick by each other no matter wh...