The long battle to be an MP
- 14 Jan 2002
Iain Dale looks at the hurdles would-be MPs must overcome just to get their names on a ballot paper. It comes as no surprise that most MPs have the hide of a rhinoceros and a highly developed ego. After all, if they've survived the candidate selection process they shou...
Guardian Diary: Lamenting the Lot of Parliamentary Sketchwriters
- 12 Dec 2001
I can think of only one reason for Robin Cook’s ridiculous reforms of the hours the House of Commons sits – to curry favour with the Parliamentary sketchwriters. After all, they are the ones who stand to gain most from a Parliamentary sitting which starts at 10am and finishes ...
Book Review: No, Prime Minister by Teresa Gorman
- 30 Oct 2001
What do the following have in common? Dennis Thatcher, Norman Tebbitt, Anne Widdecombe, David Steele, Lord McKay of Clashfern, Alistair Campbell, Frederich Hayek, Bernard Jenkins, Ian Sproat, Michael Forsythe, Michael Joplin, George Mambiot. I could go on. The unfort...
What Would a Portillo Shadow Cabinet Look Like?
- 2 Jul 2001
Iain Dale peers into the future and imagines what a Portillo Shadow Cabinet might look like. Michael Portillo has a problem. It's the same one that beset William Hague. Just how do you pick a formidable Shadow Cabinet with only 165 other MPs to choose from with several o...
Politico's & the General Election
- 13 Jun 2001
Iain Dale of Politico’s describes the fun and games at his store during a frantic election campaign. Phwam! Hardly had John Prescott’s straight left landed than Simon & Schuster were on the ‘phone asking if we wanted the rest of the stock of the Prescott ...
New Labour, Old Habits
- 2 Jun 2001
New Labour, old habits As the general election gathers pace, Iain Dale explains why readers are still political animals Political bookbuyers have rarely had it so good - assuming, that is, they can find places to buy political books. Readers outside London are lucky if t...
Guardian Diary: Election Night Prep
- 1 Jun 2001
I’ve had a curious existence in the last few months. I have had to transform myself into ITN’s political editor John Serjeant. Not a pretty sight. But it has all been in the interests of making ITN’s election night coverage run as smoothly as possible. Few people reali...
OLAS Article: Why Lots of Political Journalists Are Hammers Fans
- 5 May 2001
Article for West Ham fanzine Over Land & Sea... 5 Live Political pundit Iain Dale says the BBC is riddled with Hammers fans and the media can’t get enough of us. We West Ham fans are a bit like the Tories - we think everyone's against us. We even think the med...
Speech: Politics in the Age of Personality
- 18 Feb 2001
• We live in an age of personality and of “the personality”. It is an age where fame is an objective not a resultant, where every facet of a personality is pored over for column inches and TV sound bites. In times past scientists could become world famous for their discoveries...
Manuscript: Memories of Maggie
- 10 Oct 2000
MEMORIES OF MAGGIE EDITED BY IAIN DALE introduction The idea for this book came on a holiday to the United States when I came across a marvellous book called ‘Recollections of ...
Introduction to Memories of Maggie
- 1 Oct 2000
This is the introduction to my book MEMORIES OF MAGGIE, published by Politico's in October 2000... introduction The idea for this book came on a holiday to the United States when I came across a marvellous book called ‘Recollections of Reagan:APortrait of Ronal...
Article for Government Opportunities: Why Start a Small Business
- 12 Nov 1999
Article for Government Opportunities by Iain Dale, Managing Director, Politico’s Bookstore. Owning and running a small business - a comparatively new small business at that - is something best done by a masochist. Why else would anyone put themselves through the tortu...
Manuscript: Tony Blair's New Labour Joke Book
- 2 Feb 1999
Tony Blair’s New Labour Joke Book Compiled by Iain Dale & John Simmons The word "politics" is derived from the words "poly" meaning many, and the word "tics" meaning bl...
Sunday Mirror: Blaming Peter Mandelson
- 21 Dec 1998
Article for Sunday Mirror by Iain Dale Margaret Thatcher once famously said: “Every Prime Minister Needs a Willie”, referring to her loyal Deputy Willie Whitelaw. Peter Mandelson was Tony Blair’s “Willie” and it is his downfall which may well signal the beginnin...
Manuscript: The Blair Necessities
- 9 Sep 1998
The Blair Necessities, edited by Iain Dale was published by Robson Books in 1998. The Blair Necessities The Tony Blair Book of Quotations **************** (NEW PAGE) This book is dedicated to my parents, Jane & Garry Dale ...
Manuscript: The Bill Clinton Joke Book Uncensored
- 6 Jun 1998
The Bill Clinton Joke Book edited by Iain Dale & John Simmons For Daniel Forrester Mike Fuerst, Mark & Jane Milosch For...
Manuscript: Labour Party Election Manifestos 1945-97
- 11 Nov 1997
Labour Party: 1945 Let Us Face the Future: A Declaration of Labour Policy for the Consideration of the Nation ------------------------------------------------------------------------ VICTORY IN WAR MUST BE FOLLOWED BY A PROSPEROUS PEACE ...
Manuscript: Conservative Party Election Manifestos 1945-97
- 11 Nov 1997
Conservative Party General Election Manifestos 1945-1997 ed by Iain Dale Conservative Party General Election Manifestos 1945-1997 edited by Iain Dale ...
Manuscript: Liberal Party Election Manifestos 1945-97
- 11 Nov 1997
LIBERAL MANIFESTO 1945 20 Point Manifesto of the Liberal Party ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Liberal Party, having for five years formed part of the All-Party Government, which has victoriously guided Brita...
Manuscript: The Unofficial Book of Political Lists
- 9 Aug 1997
The Unofficial Book of Political Lists By Iain Dale ****************************** For Sheena & Tracey ******************************* Acknowledgements Most people t...