It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 56: LBC's Achieves Record Audience Figures
- 3 Aug 2017
If you don’t work in the Radio industry then you won’t ever have felt that slight empty feeling in your stomach that we all feel four times a year, when the audience listening figures are announced. Inevitably, there are downs as well as ups, and when they’re down it’s alm...
ConHome Diary: A Dispatch From Spain
- 28 Jul 2017
OK, I admit it, I’m not exactly in the mood to write this column today. Why? I’m sitting by the swimming pool on the side of a Spanish mountain, overlooking a lake, struggling to actually see the screen because of the sun. The water beckons, but I’m determined not to succumb t...
ConHome Diary: Interviewing the PM
- 24 Jul 2017
I imagine The Spectator’s Andrew Neil and Fraser Nelson must have been rather pleased at the ensuing publicity from their annual summer party last Thursday. I arrived rather late on and it was in full swing. Virtually the first two people I clapped eyes on were Robbie Gibb and...
Keith Simpson's Summer Reading List
- 12 Jul 2017
By Keith Simpson MP The electorate and colleagues are exhausted after a six week election campaign which resulted in no one party achieving an overall majority. The government continues with DUP support with an enthused Labour Party and the SNP licking their wounds. An autumn...
ConHome Diary: Bim Afolami, Ignoring David Cameron's Norway Plea & My Weird Few Days
- 7 Jul 2017
Nick Watt is one of the political broadcasters I always take notice of. He has a keen ear for shifts in government policy and is very good at keeping his ear to the ground. On Wednesday night he made a film about how the government is being urged by “senior Tories” to adopt ...
ConHome Diary: Golf, Vince & Why the BMA Make Me Sick
- 1 Jul 2017
On reflection, I was a little harsh of Sajid Javid in last week’s column, where I criticised him for his response to the Grenfell Tower crisis. I still think there were aspects of his department’s immediate response which were lacking, and the PM seemed to endorse this when sh...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 55: The Fortunately Podcast - Feeling Unworthy of the Garvey/Glover Lovebomb!
- 25 Jun 2017
One of my favourite podcasts at the moment is the FORTUNATELY podcast, made every week by two of my favourite presenters, Fi Glover and Jane Garvey. It’s all about the world of radio – chiefly Radio 4, although from time to time they stray outside the world of the BBC. I first...
Who Will The Next Tory Leader Be?
- 25 Jun 2017
This is an extended (and unedited) version of an article I wrote for today’s Sunday Telegraph. And they say election campaigns don’t change anything… Only two months ago Theresa May was mistress of all she surveyed – respected by most, liked by many, getting on with the job s...
WATCH: This Week's CNNTalk on Brexit & Trump
- 24 Jun 2017
CNN Talk is thirty minutes of chat about the big events of the week with me, Ayesha Hazaria, Liam Halligan and Max Foster. This week we cover Brexit and Trump. Delighted to say the show’s initial success has meant that we’re now going to a permanent fixture on CNN, every Fri...
ConHome Diary: Remainers Triumph in the Conservative Reshuffle
- 16 Jun 2017
I write this in light of what has happened at Grenfell Tower in West London and I am fully aware that picking apart a reshuffle after so many people have tragically died, makes the ‘game of politics’ seem rather petty. But writing about politics is what I do, so here goes. ...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 54: Knowing When Not to Interrupt an Epic Listener Rant
- 12 Jun 2017
On the day after the election, Mark phoned the show. Normally, if a caller gets three minutes on my show, they’re doing well. It’s Drivetime and it has to be fast paced. But every now and then you get a caller when you think, just let them go, no need to interrupt. Mark...
Watch: The LBC Election Night Show with Iain Dale & Shelagh Fogarty - All 7 Hours Of It!
- 9 Jun 2017
As well as on the radio we broadcast LBC’s Election Night Results Show on Facebook Live. The viewing figures were incredible. If watching radio is your thing – and it seems to be for a lot of people – you should love this! If you prefer just to listen, rather than watch, ...
General Election Seat by Seat: My Final Predictions - A Tory Landslide Is Still On
- 5 Jun 2017
On the day the election was called, I predicted a Conservative majority of 74, but I decided to test this out by going through all 650 seats individually. Back in early May I completed my Seat by Seat predictions and ended up predicting a Conservative majority of 134. This wa...
If You Think Labour's Manifesto Is Fully Costed, Read On...
- 5 Jun 2017
Margaret Thatcher once said: “The trouble with socialism is that you always end up running out of other people’s money.” The Labour Party manifesto is proof of this – well, it would be if it were ever implemented. I came across this little tale on one of my friend’s Facebook p...
Iain Dale & Shelagh Fogarty to Present LBC's Live Election Night Show
- 4 Jun 2017
LBC TO BROADCAST 12-HOUR ELECTION RESULTS SPECIAL THURSDAY 8 JUNE FROM 10PM TO FRIDAY 9 JUNE • Iain Dale and Shelagh Fogarty reunite to anchor election night programme • Nick Ferrari presents extended breakfast show from 5am • James O’Brien gives his verdict and opens the l...
ConHome Diary: Who Will Theresa May Reshuffle? Brandon Lewis Is My Tip To Replace Lizz Truss & Other Stories
- 2 Jun 2017
So it’s the midday on Friday June 9th. The results are in and it may not be quite the landslide she had hoped for but Theresa May is back in Downing Street and sitting down to form her new Cabinet. Reshuffling a cabinet after barely eleven months poses several dilemmas. If you...
New European Election Diary: The Perils of Twitter Polls
- 2 Jun 2017
I’ve come to the conclusion that the “Left” have conquered Twitter. Last weekend, my LBC Radio colleague Maajid Nawaz conducted a Twitter poll, which asked ‘who do you trust more on national security issues – Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn’? Now I’m not being funny, but in any n...
What Should the Tories Do to Get their Campaign Back on Track? Answer: Let Lynton be Lynton & (Maybe) Ditch the Social Care Policy Altogether
- 28 May 2017
There’s nothing the Conservative Party seems to enjoy more than a midcampaign wobble. It usually lasts a couple of days before things get back on an even keel. This one has lasted more than ten days. Election campaign wobbles often happen when the chain of command isn’t clear ...
ConHome Diary: Diane Abbott's New Nickname & Credit To Donald Trump (Yes, Really)
- 26 May 2017
Let’s give credit where credit is due. Donald Trump’s first trip broad as President was tipped by everyone to be a disaster. People assumed there would be gaffe and gaffe and he would embarrass himself, his country and his hosts. Well it hasn’t happened, has it? Even his speec...
Number of Gay MPs Likely to Increase to 41 - The Most of Any Parliament in the World
- 21 May 2017
Last week I posted a blog on the number of female MPs there are likely to be in the new House of Commons. Today, I’m turning my attention towards the number of gay MPs there will be. I am grateful to Tim Carr for providing much of the information. At the date of the dissoluti...