Forks in the Road: How My Life Might Have Turned Out Very Differently
- 22 Oct 2018
Have you ever made a decision that has turned out to completely alter the course of your life? Forks in the road or sliding door moments, call them what you will… Without them, you know your life would have been completely different. There have been quite a lot of those in my ...
In Defence of Nick Clegg - The Man Who Likes Taking Risks
- 21 Oct 2018
I remember back in around 2003 my friend Duncan Brack, a leading figure in backroom LibDem politics, told me about a Liberal Democrat MEP called Nick Clegg. “He’ll be LibDem leader one day,” said Duncan. Two years later Nick Clegg swapped the European Parliament for Westminste...
20 of my Favourite Places in the Whole Wide World!
- 20 Oct 2018
I love traveling, and in my younger days I’d be off somewhere at every opportunity. However, with the work I do now, it’s difficult to go away for any length of time and I’m married to someone who doesn’t like foreign holidays! And owning two dogs makes it quite difficult, as ...
Why I'm a Petrolhead & All the Cars I've Ever Owned
- 19 Oct 2018
This may be a blogpost that is of no interest to anyone else, but I’m going to write it anyway. This is a very unfashionable thing to admit nowadays, but I’m a petrolhead. I love cars. Not quite as much as my partner John does, given he has more than a dozen of them, but my ca...
What's New on My Podcasts?
- 19 Oct 2018
As many of you know, I have three weekly podcasts running at the moment and you’d do me an enormous honour if you’d try each of them out. And if you like them, subscribe so you’ll automatically get new episodes on your phone each week. Cross Question is a weekly programme th...
Would I Want to Join A Club That Would Want me As a Member?
- 18 Oct 2018
I’ve never been a very ‘clubby’ person. Maybe I’m not very clubbable either, but I’ve never felt the need to join one of these members only clubs. Well, when I say never, that’s not quite true. Around 20 years ago I joined the National Liberal Club, not because I was a Liberal...
Harry & Meghan's Baby: This Is Not News, It's Showbusiness, Yet We'll All Pretend Otherwise
- 15 Oct 2018
Today the world will go mad. A man and a woman are having a baby and that will now lead the BBC news, the LBC news and every other news. The plight of Jamal Khashoggi will be relegated to a footnote. The Brexit backstop? Nah, not so important. The government’s new Loneliness S...
My Top 100 Songs Of All Time 1-25
- 14 Oct 2018
Sunday evening used to be the time when we’d all listen to the radio and find out who the number one now. Nowadays no one really cares. It’s easy to forget what an appointment to listen it really was for anyone under the age of 30. Anyway, given I decided I wasn’t go to think ...
My Top 100 Songs of All Time 26-50
- 14 Oct 2018
To view 51-75 click HERE. And for 76-100 click HERE. To see 1-25 click HERE. 26. Denis Blondie 27. The Number One Song in Heaven Sparks 28. The Day Before You Came Abba 29. Search for the Hero Inside Yourself M People 30. I Like Chopin Gazebo 31. Into the Fire ...
My Top 100 Songs of All Time 51-75
- 14 Oct 2018
To see 76-100 click HERE. To see 26-50 click HERE. To see 1-25 click HERE. 51. Candle in the Wind Elton John 52. My Love, My Life Abba 53. Grow Kubb 54. Both Sides Now Clannad & Paul Young 55. American Pie Don McLean 56. Alone Heart 57. Our Town James Ta...
My Top 100 Songs of All Time 76-100
- 14 Oct 2018
Sunday evening used to be the time when we’d all listen to the radio and find out who the number one now. Nowadays no one really cares. It’s easy to forget what an appointment to listen it really was for anyone under the age of 30. Anyway, given I decided I wasn’t go to think ...
Interviewing a Hero - Kevin Keegan
- 13 Oct 2018
Over the years, I’ve got to interview quite a few major league celebrities, who have been vague heroes of mine. Joan Rivers is one that springs to mind. Joan Collins is another. I tried not to be too much of a fan boy, and by and large succeeded. Or at least, I think I did! H...
Two Ways Conservative Conferences Need to Change
- 10 Oct 2018
I’m getting heartily sick of conferences in Birmingham and Manchester. Because of the cost of accommodation many party members are put off attending. They just can’t afford it. One of the joys – if that’s the right word – of going to Bournemouth or even Blackpool was that anyo...
The Teachers Who Inspired Me
- 6 Oct 2018
I was flicking through Twitter this afternoon and came across a tweet from Jeremy Corbyn, which he posted on International Teachers Day, yesterday… On #InternationalTeachersDay I wanted to share this clip of Ian Wright talking about an inspiring teacher.It's incredibly moving...
The Three Podcasts...
- 2 Oct 2018
As many of you know, I have three weekly podcasts running at the moment and you’d do me an enormous honour if you’d try each of them out. And if you like them, subscribe so you’ll automatically get new episodes on your phone each week. ‘For the Many’ has been going for a ye...
The Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives of 2018
- 1 Oct 2018
Each year for the last eleven years I have convened panels to compile lists of the Top 50 Liberal Democrats, the Top 100 Most Influential People on the Left, and the Top 100 Most Influential People on the Right. This year, due to workload, I have wimped out of doing the Lib...
Political Counterfactual: The Day Michael Portillo Became Prime Minister
- 29 Sep 2018
I wrote this political counterfactual back in 2004, as the lead chapter in the [‘Prime Minister Portillo & Other Things That Never Happened’](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prime-Minister-Portillo-Things-Happened/dp/1842750690/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=153...
Imposter Syndrome & Dealing With Insecurities
- 28 Sep 2018
Max Foster, my CNN Talk colleague has started a new podcast called Cloutology. In each episode he’s going to talk to people about how they achieve success in their careers and what their insecurities are. Here’s 30 minutes of me explaining how I try to deal with my own career ...
Men Are Raped Too - It Nearly Happened To Me
- 27 Sep 2018
This whole article is probably going to come under the category of ‘Too Much Information’, but on CNNTalk today I revealed that I was once the victim of a sexual assault, which could have turned into something far worse. It’s not something I have spoken about in public before,...
The Consequences of Keir - Could He Now Be Reshuffled?
- 25 Sep 2018
Sir Keir Starmer may have had a bit of a moment this morning when he was cheered by Labour conference delegates for going off script and making clear his view that any future referendum could include the option of remaining a member of the EU. But might it turn into a somewhat...