"I've Got 40 Pills Here, And I'm Going to Take Them..."
- 17 Dec 2018
Before I start this article, I wish to make clear that the person who it's about has encouraged me to write it. On Friday's 'Politics Live' I took part in a very constructive debate on mental health with Tom Kibasi, Faiza Shaheen and Isabel Hardman, who has talked openly ab...
Giving Birth to Gavin Williamson
- 16 Dec 2018
I feel like I've given birth. When I left Biteback I decided that one of my priorities in the second half of 2018 was to write more. In July I asked Eleanor Mills, editor of the Sunday Times magazine, if she'd like me to write a profile of a senior politician. I put a list of ...
My Top Twelve Favourite Songs of 2018
- 15 Dec 2018
You're going to think this is my job application to be a presenter on Smooth FM, but my favourite songs of 2018 are a bit middle of the road. Indeed, three are from The Greatest Showman, which surely has to be the musical soundtrack of the decade. I must admit to downloading l...
My Long Read Profile/Interview with Gavin Williamson in This Week's Sunday Times Magazine
- 14 Dec 2018
Some time ago I wrote a long read profile of the Miliband brothers for GQ, followed up by a profile of Nigel Farage. But when I started Total Politics magazine and started doing monthly long-read In Conversation interviews I didn't really write any more profile as I didn't hav...
The Chances of Us Leaving the EU on 29 March Are Receding
- 14 Dec 2018
I said on Good Morning Britain (when I could get a word in edgeways with Labour MP Rupa Huq) that I couldn't recall a worse week for a British Prime Minister in living memory. Theresa May leaves Brussels today humiliated, and not for the first time. I have no idea why she thou...
David Dimbleby: Master of Question Time
- 13 Dec 2018
Tonight marks the end of an era. One of the greatest broadcasters of our age, David Dimbleby, hosts his last Question Time, after 25 years in the job. I am a typical TV viewer. I hate change. I hated it whe Robin Day left the programme. I thought Peter Sissons was treat...
Tory Leadership 'Spill': It Could be the Cabinet That Decides Theresa May's Future
- 12 Dec 2018
It's finally happened and the 48 letters which are needed to trigger leadership challenge have finally been received by the Chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. What the Australians would call a 'leadership spill' will take place tonight, and voting in a vote of ...
My Top Ten Books of 2018
- 11 Dec 2018
2018 hasn't exactly been a bumper year for the kind of books I like to read. I should explain that I mostly like to read political memoirs, biographies and diaries, with the odd football book thrown in for good measure. I hardly read fiction at all, which is something I want t...
Brexit Deal Poll Results
- 10 Dec 2018
Given the Prime Minister, in her infinite wisdom, has pulled the vote tomorrow, some questions in this poll have proved to be somewhat academic. However, I'll post them anyway. For the record, 2,318 people took part in this poll. I must emphasise that there is nothing scientif...
Poll: The Withdrawal Deal, a Second Referendum & a Government of National Unity
- 9 Dec 2018
We could be entering one of the most momentous weeks in British politics for a few decades. Or maybe not. Rumours are rife that the government might 'pull' the meaningful vote on Tuesday. Theresa May is so far resisting advice to do so, but who knows what will happen. Ther...
Conservative Leadership Poll Result: Boris Wins!
- 9 Dec 2018
Last night at around 8pm I launched a 13 question Conservative leadership poll. Since then more than 4,000 people have voted. I don't pretend that this is anything other than a bit of fun. It's certainly not scientific. Polls like this cannot be taken hugely seriously because ...
Poll: Who Would Win a Conservative Party Leadership Contest?
- 8 Dec 2018
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that by this time next week, a Conservative Party leadership contest could be underway. I know, I know, we've been here before, but if the Brexit vote goes ahead on Tuesday, and the government loses by a substantial three figure major...
The Perils of a Second Referendum & Why Remain Must Not Be on the Ballot Paper
- 7 Dec 2018
Let me make this clear from the start. I am wholly opposed to a Second Referendum, a People's Vote, a Loser's Vote, call it what you will. In 2016 we were told that it was a 'once in a generation vote' and that the government would 'implement what you decide'. Since then, t...
My Ten Favourite Pubs & Bars
- 6 Dec 2018
The pub is a uniquely British thing. They come in a variety of styles, but the sad thing is that they're disappearing at an alarming rate. So I thought I'd celebrate some of my favourite pubs, plus one US bar which I used to go to a lot in Washington DC, but has sadly now also...
Keith Simpson's Christmas 2018 Reading List For His Fellow MPs (And You!)
- 5 Dec 2018
This guide to interesting books published this autumn has been compiled at a time of great crisis over the future of the Brexit agreement, the ability of the Prime Minister to continue and a Parliament and nation divided. Thirty years ago the late Julian Critchley, MP for Ald...
Watch: Video Interview with James O'Brien
- 5 Dec 2018
This is the full video version of my ‘Iain Dale Book Club’ podcast with my colleague James O’Brien. We talk about his book HOW TO BE RIGHT, which has climbed to number five in the Sunday Times bestseller charts. It’s 55 minutes long.
House of Lords Slams HMRC Over Loan Charge
- 4 Dec 2018
If you’re unfamiliar with the Loan Charge, read my initial blog on it HERE and my Spectator article HERE. Today there’s been a major development with the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee issuing a damning report about HMRC’s conduct. It says taxpayers are being treate...
Sneak Peek of my Interview with James O'Brien
- 3 Dec 2018
Tomorrow on my ‘Iain Dale Book Club podcast’ we’ll be releasing a 50 minute interview I have recorded with my colleague James O’Brien about his book ‘How to be Right’. The book has been a huge commercial success and is now Number 5 in the Sunday Times bestsellers chart. Here’s...
Starting in January: My New Weekly Column in the EDP & EADT
- 2 Dec 2018
As many of you know, I’m an East Anglian boy at heart. I was born in Cambridge and spent the first 18 years of my life being brought up in a little village in the Essex/Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border called Ashdon, near Saffron Walden. I then spent six years in Norwich, firs...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 65: Changing Producers - Saying Goodbye to Jagruti Dave
- 2 Dec 2018
The last time I wrote about the producer/presenter relationship was almost exactly two years ago when my lead producer Matt Harris left LBC after ten years to join Newsnight. The other member of our team, Jagruti Dave, who had already been working on the show for two years ste...