Meteorite Fell on the Dale Homestead in 1923
- 27 May 2006
I've just found a story from The Times from 7 June 1923 which relates the tale of a meteorite falling on my father's farm in Ashdon, near Saffron Walden in Essex. According to the website there have only been twelve such instances in the last 100 years. The Natural...
My Tribute to Eric Forth
- 18 May 2006
Eric Forth, who died last night, was someone I am proud to call a friend. Indeed, if you were a friend of Eric's he was the most loyal friend you could wish for. And the mark of a loyal friend is that he will tell you the truth, even when it is uncomfortable. I am sure his car...
Why I Feared a Writ From Lady Falkender
- 18 May 2006
The Daily Telegraph reports today that Marcia Falkender is considering taking the BBC to court over their portrayal of her in the BBC4 drama The Lavender List. I would be most surprised if she carried through her threat, for the drama was based upon allegations made in two boo...
TRG Article: The Challenges of Setting Up a New Business
- 18 May 2006
Iain Dale, Managing Director of Politico’s Bookstore in Westminster explains the pitfalls faced by those starting new businesses. Since Politico’s first opened its doors in February 1997 we like to think it has firmly established itself on the Westminster scene. ...
Guardian: A Tribute to Eric Forth
- 18 May 2006
Rightwing thorn in the side of Blairism The Conservative party has lost a parliamentarian of the first order in Eric Forth, who has died aged 61. Eric Forth, who died last night, was someone I am proud to call a friend. Indeed, Eric was the most loyal friend you could wi...
New Statesman Diary: DD the Nutter from Grandstand
- 18 May 2006
Oh to be a member of the non-political classes. I was at a dinner party over the weekend and was asked what I made of the candidates in the Tory leadership contest. I started to talk about David Davis when someone piped up: "Isn't he that religious nutter who used to ...
Sunday Times Article: My Reaction to Not Being on Cameron's 'A' list
- 14 May 2006
It wasn’t a political academic this week who told the Conservative Party the scale of the challenge facing it, it was its leader. David Cameron said: “We need to win over 120 seats; wipe out a third of the LibDems; win back seats in Scotland. It’s a big task.” He’s right. But ...
Losing a Cup Final But Winning Too...
- 13 May 2006
I am in a bit of an emotional state as I type this. Firstly, let me say it was an absolute privilege to have attended one of the greatest FA Cup Finals in history. There were three winners in this game. Liverpool, West Ham and football itself. I spent most of the game on the v...
So I Got the 'A' List Letter...
- 10 May 2006
I heard this morning that I am not on the Conservative Party's 'A' List of candidates for the next election. I can't deny that I'm not disappointed but perhaps not wholly surprised. I'm afraid I shall be disappointing those who will be expecting me to get bitter and twisted ab...
Back to Work at Politico's
- 9 May 2006
I'm back at work today after about 6 weeks away from the office. I suppose I can be forgiven for the odd melancholy thought about the new MPs going through their induction today in the Commons. However, I don't have too much time to dwell on what might have been as I have an a...
What Will be in the Saturday Papers?
- 8 May 2006
Back in the mid 1970s my Father decided he wanted to show me how they used to harvest wheat in "the olden days" ie when he was my age. So he bought an old binder - the forerunner of the Combine Harvester. He then grew wheat which produced straw which could be made into 'corn...
The Little Book of New Labour Sleaze
- 7 May 2006
Guido and I have been busy little beavers tonight, putting the finishing touches to the Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze. We now have 84 of the 100 entries in our greasy little mitts. The rest will be finished off in the morning, when the typesetter (who is a Labour Party ...
Prescott: What Does the Public Have a Right to Know
- 4 May 2006
When it comes to sex scandals involving politicians, we should constantly ask ourselves why such things are of any relevance to the public. There are two questions which we need to ask, to determine whether such a scandal is of public relevance or not. Firstly, is there any wh...
Prescott Chiploata Story Is My Fault
- 4 May 2006
Yesterday morning I got a call from The Sun. Cue slightly faster than usual beating heart. They had read THIS on my blog and wondered if I might be able to furnish them with a little more information. Sadly I didn't have any, so I was a little surprised to see a full page arti...
Book Review: The Little Book of New Labour Sleaze
- 3 May 2006
Schooled in scandal Iain Dale and Guido Fawkes's timely litany of New Labour's failings overemphasises the same sins that brought down the Tories. With the tide of public support that once buoyed the good ship New Labour now slipping away to leave it high and dry, a...
Prescott Would Be Unwise to go to the PCC
- 30 Apr 2006
Before I start, just a quick advert for my Diary column in the Independent on Sunday - I hope you've all bought your copy today! So John Prescott has, according to the Sunday newspapers, come out fighting. Possibly not the wisest word to use with regard to Prezza. He is thr...
EXCLUSIVE 2: LibDems Face Having to Pay Back £2.4 Million Donation
- 21 Apr 2006
The LibDems were faced tonight with the prospect of having to pay back the £2.4 donation received from Michael Brown (left), who was arrested in Spain today on 53 charges allege forgery, perjury, dishonesty, perverting the course of justice and obtaining a passport by deceptio...
EXCLUSIVE: LibDem Donor Faces Fraud Charges
- 21 Apr 2006
THIS BLOG WAS TWO HOURS AHEAD OF THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA ON THIS STORY! 1pm: I've just been told that later today we will hear that Michael Brown, the guy who donated £2 million to the Liberal Democrats, is facing fraud charges in the UK and an application has been made for hi...
Officially Nominated
- 18 Apr 2006
A comparatively dry day for a change. The first door I knocked on this morning in North Walsham was a LibDem switcher and a minute later a lady came up to me and asked me for a poster. I suppose it could only go downhill from there! I hear that several LibDem councillors ar...
How to Spot a Right Winger
- 15 Apr 2006
ConservativeHome and Harry Phibbs on the Social Affairs Unit have both written very interesting pieces on the concept of being 'Right Wing', a term the BBC usually applies to anyone it considers a 'baddie'. Ming Campbell, in a rare public statement this week, decided to avoid ...