Behind the Scenes at the Bedford Open Primary
- 15 Sep 2009
If I had been paid a fee for chairing last night's mayoral Open Primary in Bedford, I reckon I would have been worth every penny. Why? Because there were so many people registering to attend, the start time had to be delayed from 7.30 until 8.50. Imagine it. You have a hall...
If Brown Is Ill He Deserves Our Compassion, Not Our Insults
- 12 Sep 2009
Last week I began to write a blogpost about an allegation that the Prime Minister was alleged to be taking powerful anti depressants. The story had appeared on a blog run by John Ward. In the end I didn't run it as it was impossible to stand up. However, since then it's become...
It All Comes Down to Trust
- 11 Sep 2009
From time to time I am invited to give talks in schools about politics. If I understand it correctly, if I am to continue doing this in the future I will have to register on a new government anti-paedophile database, so that people can be reassured I am not likely to interfere...
My Trip to Armenia
- 8 Sep 2009
Today has been a whirlwind. Three very different TV interviews in Yerevan, a visit to the Genocide museum & memorial, a trip outside the capital to see a 1st century AD pagan temple and a monastry, a meeting with a dozen Armenian political bloggers, drinks with an organisa...
Meeting the Armenian Margaret Thatcher
- 7 Sep 2009
Having only had four hours sleep, today got a bit of getting through. Eyelids were drooping at one stage. This morning was spent in meetings with the British Council here in Yerevan and then meeting the British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Lonsdale (pic) at the embassy. We t...
In Defence of Lord McColl
- 19 Aug 2009
It's stories like THIS in today's Times, which make me despair about the quality of some of our political journalism. Full of innuendo, attempts to smear, but backed up by very little. Lord McColl is a junior Tory health spokesman. Heard of him? No, me neither. In real life...
Killing Speed
- 14 Aug 2009
This morning I attended a two and a half hour long speed awareness course, having been caught doing 37 mph in a 30 limit in Brixton at 3am one morning in early June. I will admit to being slightly sceptical of what it would entail, but I have to say I found the whole thing ver...
Where are the Female Right Wing Pundits?
- 14 Aug 2009
Tim Montgomerie has an interesting post headlined "Which is more influential, Newsnight or Today"? He says he never turns down a slot on the Today Programme because of its influential audience. He also reckons it has an audience of 5-7 million at any one time. I don't think he...
We Should Obsess About the Nation's Health, not the NHS
- 14 Aug 2009
The campaign via Twitter to force people to declare their "love" for the NHS is not one I shall be participating in. I do not "love" the NHS any more than I "love" other major national institutions like the Police or the armed forced. These institutions are not there to be "lo...
Upon Reflection
- 13 Aug 2009
The great thing about having a blog and a Twitter feed is the ability to judge whether you have hit the right note. Or not. Readers are not slow in coming forward to give their views and they cannot be ignored. OK, there are always some people who if I said the sun was hot, wo...
What United Roger Helmer and Me
- 11 Aug 2009
There's much spluttering on some left wing blogs today about a blogpost by Conservative MEP Roger Helmer in which he says he is against gay marriage and questions whether homophobia exists. Having failed to "get" Michael Kaminski, they are now turning their attention to Helmer...
Funny Interview Stories No 94
- 5 Aug 2009
Earlier on today I twittered "A sentence not often heard in a job interview: "I'm between bands right now." This was said by a candidate for the job of Total Politics Political Correspondent, for which we are interviewing today. I thought it was quite hilarious and ...
Biteback Launches New Publishing Company
- 28 Jul 2009
Here's a self explanatory press release we're sending out today. We think it will fill a big gap that has been left in the world of political publishing. So few people are publishing political books nowadays. Big publishers will only publish a book if they think it will sell a...
EXCLUSIVE: Andrew Mackinlay Quits Parliament
- 24 Jul 2009
There are some MPs, no matter which party they belong to, who command respect from their opponents. Andrew MacKinlay is one of those MPs. But he has decided tonight to tell his Constituency Labour Party in Thurrock that he will not be a candidate at the next election. It's got...
The Things You Hear on the Doorstep
- 10 Jul 2009
This afternoon I spent a few hours canvassing in the Thorpe St Andrew area of Norwich, along with nine or ten others, including for a time, the Conservative candidate Chloe Smith. It is one of the better areas for the Conservatives in the constituency, it has to be said, but I...
In Conversation with Alan Duncan
- 7 Jul 2009
This interview took place in 2009 and an edited version was published in Total Politics magazine. ID: What is it with you and Harriet Harman? AD: On a personal level I really like her. We joke, we spar and we tease but I think it shows something two very important things...
Walking Through a Dockers' Picket Line
- 6 Jul 2009
Two months ago I wrote about my part in the abolition of the Dock Labour Scheme. Tonight, it was if the clock had been turned back 20 years, as I had to walk through a dockers' picket line to attend a dinner at the National Liberal Club marking the 20th anniversary of the Sche...
Amusing Canvassing Stories No 94
- 5 Jul 2009
This doorstep conversation is from yesterday morning in the Norwich North by election... Tory MP: Have you decided who you will be voting for? Male voter: I normally vote UKIP, but I was thinking of voting Conservative. Tory MP: That's what I like to hear. Male voter:...
An Open Letter to Ben Bradshaw & Chris Bryant
- 3 Jul 2009
Dear Ben and Chris, I have read your attacks on the Conservative Party and its attitude to homosexuality with a mounting sense of despair. I do not believe there is anything the Conservative Party could do to stop these partisan attacks. Michael Howard apologised for Sectio...
Why I Won't Appear on Press TV
- 1 Jul 2009
Press TV is a relatively new station. They've just got onto the Sky platform. It's funded by the Iranian government. When I was first invited to appear on it, I wondered whether I should. But I decided engagement was the best way forward and decided that if ever I was censored...