Equal Marriage: An Open Letter to MPs
- 4 Feb 2013
This is a letter I am emailing to MPs of all parties this morning. Dear Member of Parliament, Many of you have already decided to support the Equal Marriage Bill. This letter is addressed to those of you who remain undecided or who intend to oppose it. Back in 2003 I became...
The Question Closet Case Gay MPs Will Have To Answer
- 2 Feb 2013
I’ve been looking at the Coalition for Equal Marriage’s website, and their list of MPs who intend to vote against allowing gay people to marry on Tuesday. I note with interest the names of several MPs who most people in the Westminster Village know to be closet case gays. And ...
Red Trousers Are Just Plain Wrong
- 2 Feb 2013
A few days I ago I tweeted about the fact that I had just seen a man wearing red trousers walking through Leicester Square. I’ve never understood how anyone who isn’t over 60 or Hooray Henry could wear them. But there was this seemingly normal looking thirty year old saunteri...
Troughing Councillors Should Be Voted Out of Office
- 2 Feb 2013
Just when you thought politicians couldn’t get lower in public esteem, Tunbridge Wells councillors are set to vote local Cabinet members a 22% increase in allowances, and the leader of the council is due to get a 15% rise. The proposals have been accepted by the council’s fina...
The Sun Replaces Archbishop With Bishop Basher Guido Fawkes
- 2 Feb 2013
It’s not often I burst out laughing when I read a tweet, but I did just now. The Sun has announced that Guido Fawkes will be writing a column for them each Sunday. What they haven’t announced is that Guido will be replacing the Archbishop of York’s column on the Op Ed page. I...
Let's Talk About Sex Addiction, Baby
- 2 Feb 2013
On my LBC show on Wednesday we talked about addictions and how to deal with them. I guess we all know what the most commons addictions are to alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. But it goes far more widely than that. A friend of mine is addicted to Skippy peanut butter and reckons ...
Gillard Fires the Election Gun Eight Months Early
- 30 Jan 2013
Morning, everyone. I am an avid follower of Australian politics so it was with a sense of incredulity that I heard this morning that Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called a general election for – wait for it – September 14th. Yes, you read that right – in eight and a half ...
Catholic Church Shock! It Says Something Positive About Gays!
- 29 Jan 2013
Whisper it, but the Catholic Church might just have inched its way into the 1990s. This is what the Catholic Church of England & Wales said in a document today, issued to MPs and Peers…. We recognise that many same sex couples raise children in loving and caring homes....
Video: Falling Out of Love With Politics
- 29 Jan 2013
Here’s a short Daily Politics film with an ensuing discussion with Jo Coburn and myself about falling out of love with politics. The hook was my blogpost from a few days ago (scroll down).
Video: The LibDems Have Acted Shamelessly on Boundary Changes
- 29 Jan 2013
Earlier on the Daily Politics I debated the proposed boundary changes with LibDem Peer Lord Rennard and YouGov’s Peter Kellner. See how you think I did. Lord R looked a little uncomfortable at times when I pointed out a few home trut...
Why I Would Divert Childcare Funds to Sink Estates
- 29 Jan 2013
OK, you might say I don’t have a right to a view on this. I’m male, gay, and don’t have children, but I am a taxpayer, so that surely gives me a right. Anyway, deep breath, here goes. Why, dear reader, why is it that middle class parents think that the rest of us should subsi...
Book Review: West Ham - The Inside Story by Tony Cottee
- 28 Jan 2013
I think if any West Ham fan were asked to compile a list of their Top 5 greatest ever West Ham strikers, Tony Cottee would more than likely feature alongside Geoff Hurst, Syd Puddefoot, Vic Watson and Iain Dowie. OK, maybe not Iain Dowie. When I saw that Cottee had written a...
Jerry Hayes Has a New Blog
- 28 Jan 2013
One of the most popular contributors to Dale & Co was the former Conservative MP Jerry Hayes. He really built up a loyal following, and I am delighted to tell everyone that he now has his own blog, which you can find HERE Well worth bookmarking.
The Cleggs Should Send Their Child to the School of Their Choice - No One Else's
- 27 Jan 2013
Despite what people seem to think, I did not go to a private school. I went to Saffron Walden County High School which was a secondary modern turned comprehensive. My parents wanted me to go to some minor private school in Cambridge. I passed the entrance exam, but I kept aski...
Forget Gay Marriage, It Must Be Equal Marriage, And This Bill Is Deeply Flawed
- 26 Jan 2013
Apparently we are supposed to call it equal marriage, not gay marriage, but just as the government makes clear it is determined to push ahead with legislation, we learn that the resulting marriages won’t be quite so equal after all. In fact, gay people who marry will have rat...
Is David Cameron Just an Enoch Powell Tribute Band?
- 25 Jan 2013
Courtesy of Grant Tucker’s book collection!
The Mystery of Michael Portillo's Continuing Conservative Party Membership
- 25 Jan 2013
I think Michael Portillo had a rush to the brain on ‘This Week’ last night. He denied absolutely that he was still a member of the Conservative Party. How very odd then that a senior party source maintains his membership is still active and that he diligently renews it every...
Why I am Falling Out of Love With Politics
- 25 Jan 2013
Last night I watched the second half of Question Time and then This Week. Midway through this week I began to realise how little political to-ing and fro-ing means to me any longer. I tweeted that maybe I was seeing politics and politicians in a similar way to the general pub...
Poll Result: How You Voted on an In/Out Referendum
- 23 Jan 2013
Earlier today I asked in a previous pot (scroll down) how you would vote if there were an In/Out Euro Referendum tomorrow. OK, I know there isn’t, but I wanted to test the temperature of my readers. More than 800 of you have voted. Here’s the result… Stay in 22% Leave 75% Don...
Why Are We So Obsessed By Non-News From America? What About the Rest of the World?
- 23 Jan 2013
Last night, while I was broadcasting my LBC show, I noticed a Sky News flash come up on Twitter. The thought occurred to me that it is doubtful whether any news organisation woud even cover it if it had happened in a country other than the US? Shooting in school. No one dead...