Weekend Diary: I'm Going to be a Stand Up Comedian Iain Dale reveals he's a
- 8 Oct 2011
Well, that’s the party conference season over and done with for another year. I’m beginning to question the point of them to be honest. I went to all three this year for work related reasons and looking back, and given the choice, I wouldn’t have bothered with any of t...
Why Foxy Foxy Is In Trouble
- 8 Oct 2011
The fact that supporters of Liam Fox, like Tim Montgomerie, are openly talking about his likely successors, demonstrates just how deep in the doo-doo the Defence Secretary is in. In some ways this is one of those political squalls all politicians go through at some point in th...
Diary: Could I Be a Standup Comedian?
- 8 Oct 2011
Well, that’s the party conference season over and done with for another year. I’m beginning to question the point of them to be honest. I went to all three this year for work related reasons and looking back, and given the choice, I wouldn’t have bothered with any of t...
The BBC Cuts: Hit The Weakest Where It Hurts
- 8 Oct 2011
Anyone would think someone had died. No, it was just the screams emanating from the BBC once reality had set in and the BBC management announced how it was implementing its 20 per cent cuts. In typical BBC fashion they have gone for the soft targets and put off the difficult d...
Thoughts on Ed Miliband's Reshuffle
- 7 Oct 2011
The big test of any reshuffle – either in government or opposition- is this: does it make the top team stronger or not? On balance, I would say that this reshuffle does indeed make Ed Miliband’s team stronger, especially from the point of view of getting on the media. That may...
The Top 100 People on the Right 2011
- 6 Oct 2011
Governing is a hell of lot tougher than opposition. Governing in Coalition, doubly so. The pace of change set by the coalition has been intense. Not content with merely cutting, project Cameron has also been about reform. Root and branch change that will do a lot more than mer...
Labour Conference Diary: Why Liverpool Is Ghastly
- 27 Sep 2011
There is always one politician who goes totally over the top and loses credibility at a party conference. We all remember Michael Portillo’s ‘Who Dares Wins’ speech in 1996. Last week it was Tim Farron’s turn. This week Ivan Lewis has covered himself in glory by sugges...
The Top 100 People on the Left 2011
- 27 Sep 2011
Many he might turn to for advice are leaving the stage. The old guard gradually gives up. One by one they slip, after the temporary spotlight of memoir publishing, into respected backbench obscurity. Jack Straw and Alan Johnson both move out of the top 100. Alistair Darling cl...
Labour Conference Diary 2011 - I Find Liverpool a Ghastly City
- 27 Sep 2011
There is always one politician who goes totally over the top and loses credibility at a party conference. We all remember Michael Portillo’s ‘Who Dares Wins’ speech in 1996. Last week it was Tim Farron’s turn. This week Ivan Lewis has covered himself in glory by sugges...
Tuesday LibDem Conference Diary
- 20 Sep 2011
Sarah Teather has been wandering round the conference with a face like thunder. As well she might. Her off colour jokes about the Chancellor, George Osborne, went down like a lead balloon among the delegates here, but what should worry her is the reaction of Nick Clegg, who, I...
LibDem Conference Diary: Day 1
- 18 Sep 2011
Listening to many of the speeches both on the platform and on the fringe at this conference, you could be forgiven for forgetting that the LibDems are in government. Their whole attitude indicates an oppositionalist attitude which may make them feel better, but won’t g...
The Top 50 Liberal Democrats 2011
- 18 Sep 2011
If the opinion polls prove accurate - the last three showed the Liberal Democrats on 10% - this might be the last time we can find enough elected Liberal Democrats to form a viable top 50. The stark reality they face, and the internal debate that is now raging, is reflected in...
Top Ten Things To Be Overheard At The LibDem Conference
- 17 Sep 2011
Don’t you think Danny Alexander’s a bit of a Tory? Isn’t it terrible all this new security? I’d rather risk being bombed. Well I don’t care what anyone says, I’d happily take Chris Huhne’s speeding points. Don’t mention the AV referendum. ...
Top Ten Things Overheard at the LibDem Conference
- 17 Sep 2011
Don’t you think Danny Alexander’s a bit of a Tory? Isn’t it terrible all this new security? I’d rather risk being bombed. Well I don’t care what anyone says, I’d happily take Chris Huhne’s speeding points. Don’t mention the AV referendum. ...
Cameron Intervenes on Gay Marriage
- 16 Sep 2011
I well remember David Cameron’s first speech as party leader back in 2006. I remember the frisson that went round the conference hall when he said these words… “There’s something special about marriage. It’s not about religion. It’s not about morality. It’s about commitmen...
Liberal Democrat Conference Diary 2011
- 11 Sep 2011
Listening to many of the speeches both on the platform and on the fringe at this conference, you could be forgiven for forgetting that the LibDems are in government. Their whole attitude indicates an oppositionalist attitude which may make them feel better, but won’t g...
'Oh My God, It's Going To Hit The Other Tower'
- 11 Sep 2011
I was sitting at my desk on the balcony at Politico’s talking to my bookkeeper when I suddenly noticed that Sky News had switched to Fox and were showing smoke coming from a tall tower. As the situation became clearer I remember seeing a spec on the skyline coming closer to th...
http://www.iaindale.com/posts/why-i-would-vote-for-murdo-fraser
- 6 Sep 2011
Regular readers of my old blog will know critical I have been of Scottish Conservatives and their poor leadership over the last few decades. Back in April 2007 I wrote… If reports are true the Scottish Conservative Party is to be given its freedom to go its own way. It is lik...
Abortion Counselling: Case Unproven
- 6 Sep 2011
It is indeed risible that Nadine Dorries comes under attack from the pro-Choice lobby (whose attack on her is largely based on ther contention that she is mad) and also the pro-Life lobby, who reckon she’s selling out by not wanting to ban abortion altogether. The Society for ...
My Any Questions Experience (3)
- 3 Sep 2011
Yesterday I made my third appearance on Any Questions. The old saying that once you have done something once it’s easer the second or third time doesn’t really apply to Any Questions, as there is so much scope to make a complete tit of yourself. One stupid answer to a question...