Keith Simpson MP's 2016 Christmas Reading List
- 7 Dec 2016
This has been politically a roller-coaster of a year with the EU referendum which resulted in the resignation of David Cameron and the accession of Theresa May, the re-election of Jeremy Corbyn, the resignation and then American tribute tour of Nigel Farage and the success of ...
My Christmas Book Recommendations 2016
- 4 Dec 2016
Given that there is only one bookshop chain left in this country, a lot of people who are interested in political books often miss out on books they would love to read if only they knew they existed. So I thought I’d give you all some ideas for some Christmas presents for frie...
ConHome Diary: Me and Mussolini & Missing West Ham
- 2 Dec 2016
There I was, innocently presenting my radio show, when PING, an email came in which, at first sight, looked rather intriguing. The subject line was ‘Audition for Docudrama’. Well that certainly got my attention. So I opened up the email and I read on… “You have been chosen bec...
DOWNLOAD: The Launch of 'Iain Dale's Brexit Briefing'
- 2 Dec 2016
Today sees the launch of a weekly podcast, imaginatively titled ‘Iain Dale’s Brexit Briefing’. Each week I’ll be talking to two prominent voices on either side of the Brexit debate, we have a roundup of Brexit news of the week and other features too. It contains far more than...
ConHome Diary: How the Left Is Trying To Call Us All Fascists & Populists
- 27 Nov 2016
After Brexit and the election of Donald Trump I have noticed a worrying trend in the use of language by the left, and it’s potentially quite insidious. The left are now trying to define anyone right of Tony Blair as a ‘far right’, or Alt right, or a far right extremist. Or a f...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 52: Going Ten Rounds With Sajid Javid
- 23 Nov 2016
Please enable Javascript to watch this video Long time readers may remember an interview I did in 2013 with the then Treasury Minister Sajid Javid. [audio of that is at the end of this piece]. It was, shall we say, a textbook example of how, if you’re a government minister, n...
Book Review: Kind of Blue by Ken Clarke
- 19 Nov 2016
This book is like a fine old wine. It is to be savoured. Whenever I finish reading a really good book, I get a sense of grief when I read the final page. And so it has been with Ken Clarke’s memoirs. To be paid an advance of £400,000 was quite something. No one was more shocke...
ConHome Diary: Harvey, Donald and Nigel
- 18 Nov 2016
I cannot imagine what it’s like being accused of not only being a child sex offender, but also of murdering three children than I was supposed to interfered with. Especially if the allegations are a tissue of lies, but a tissue of lies which the Police tell the public are both...
Why I am Raising Money to Help Harvey Proctor - And How You Can Help Too (If You Have Any Human Compassion Within You)
- 12 Nov 2016
Harvey Proctor is penniless and destitute. He was cleared of all charges of child sexual abuse through Operation Midland and the Metropolitan Police has now issued a full apology. But apologies do not pay the bills. I published Harvey Proctor’s book CREDIBLE AND TRUE. On th...
EVENT: If You're in Norwich on Thursday Come & See Me Explain What Brexit Means Brexit Means!
- 12 Nov 2016
I spent four of the best years of my life at the University of East Anglia in the early 1980s. I studied German and Linguistics, and it was there that I got involved in politics. I wouldn’t be who or what I am today without the education UEA gave me. So when I was told, earli...
ConHome Diary: 2016 is 1968 and a Trumptastic Week
- 11 Nov 2016
In political terms 2016 is turning out to be every bit as important, in historical terms, as 1968. In Britain and America a revolution has happened, and it is one that few saw coming. Yet again it wasn’t just a political party or cause that was defeated, it was the political c...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 51: When a Scoop Slips Through Your Hands...
- 5 Nov 2016
I don’t pretend to be a journalist, but there are obviously journalistic aspects to what I do. When my blog was at its height I’d break quite a few stories, and I got a kick out of being first to do so. It happened several times. But there was always that fear that you’d be sc...
ConHome Diary: Interviewing John Howard & Why the Government is Wrong on the Article 50 Court Case
- 4 Nov 2016
For several years now, I have been trying to entice former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard onto my radio show. This week Dan Hannan kindly invited me to a dinner at the National Gallery where Mr Howard was being awarded this year’s Edmund Burke award. It really was a ga...
A Message to America From Her Majesty The Queen...
- 31 Oct 2016
To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your inde...
ConHome Diary: Who Will be UKIP Leader & Why Mark Carney is a Brilliant PR Man ... For Mark Carney
- 28 Oct 2016
It will be interesting to see the final lineup in the UKIP leadership contest when nominations close on Monday. The three leading candidates are clearly Paul Nuttall, Suzanne Evans and Raheem Kassam, but the question is whether any of the more fringe candidates like David Kurt...
ConHome Diary: The Danger of Hillary & Interviewing Ken Loach
- 21 Oct 2016
Wednesday’s debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump didn’t really move things. Trump started well but couldn’t resist becoming Mr Nasty again, leaving the floor for Clinton to wipe the floor with him. For me she won virtually every single section of the debate, with Tr...
WATCH: My LBC Interview with Ken Loach
- 20 Oct 2016
Please enable Javascript to watch this video Ken Loach talks about his new film ‘I, Daniel Blake’.
BOOK REVIEW: Politics - Between the Extremes by Nick Clegg
- 15 Oct 2016
I like Nick Clegg. Always have. He’s a transparently nice guy. I suspect he’s a very loyal person, and someone who tries to see the best in people. This can sometimes be a fatal flaw in a politician. I remember seeing Nick Clegg at the 2008 LibDem conference, less than a year...
ConHome Diary: In Defence of Craig Oliver & I Really Don't Hate Wales
- 14 Oct 2016
Well, Craig Oliver’s book has certainly attracted a degree of animosity from Her Majesty’s Press. Robbie Millen in The Times called it “hastily cobbled together”, while James Kirkup in The Daily Telegraph is crueller. He suggests that “to read this book is to suffer a form of...
Tim Farron Just Doesn't Get It - Britain Voted to Leave the EU AND the Single Market
- 10 Oct 2016
Please enable Javascript to watch this video I had the pleasure of interviewing LibDem leader Tim Farron earlier. We were talking about whether Parliament should have a vote on any deal the Government negotiates. Tim just couldn’t get it into his head that the Single Market ...