It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 69: When Political Parties Won't Provide Guests
- 27 Nov 2019
Three weeks ago I provisionally booked Emily Thornberry to do one of our 8pm hour long interviews. It was supposed to take place at 8pm yesterday evening. On Sunday afternoon I was told that Emily wouldn't be coming. Reading between the lines it seemed apparent that she had be...
Thirty Things to Note About Germany and the Germans
- 22 Nov 2019
Back in the 1980s I did my gap year in Germany, in a spa town called Bad Wildungen, and then spent another year teaching English in a school not far from Stuttgart. I love Germany and would love to be able to spend more time there, but given my life at the moment, that's unlik...
Why I Find It Difficult to Speak to School Audiences
- 21 Nov 2019
I don't do a lot of speaking in schools and I feel guilty about it. I do get quite a few invitations, but if I am honest, I turn most of them down. Why? Because I am never sure I strike the right tone. As a 57 year old is it ever really possible to relate to a group of 11-18 y...
NEW ALL TALK TOUR DATE: Exeter with Jonathan Dimbleby
- 13 Nov 2019
I'm delighted to announce a new IAIN DALE ALL TALK theatre booking. Jonathan Dimbleby will join me on stage at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter on the evening of January 31 2020 to talk about his career in broadcasting, hosting ANY QUESTIONS for 32 years, his various books a...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 68 - When a LibDem Hasn't Done Her Homework
- 13 Nov 2019
Last night on LBC I interviewed LibDem environment spokeswoman Wera Hobhouse about the floods in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. She's been on my show several times before and always been rather impressive. This interview, however, turned into a bit of a car crash for her. She...
A Tribute to Brian Mawhinney 1940-2019
- 12 Nov 2019
Brian Mawhinney, who died on Saturday, was a tough talking Ulsterman, who rose to the heights of political power in John Major's government. He became one of Major's main confidantes and was a highly effective and competent cabinet minister. He was a man of some contradictions...
The Week That Will Decide Nigel Farage's Place in History
- 10 Nov 2019
Nigel Farage has a big decision to make this week. He will put up or shut up. He will either put up 600 candidates to fight seats all over Great Britain, or he will pull back from the brink. He made an offer of an electoral pact to Boris Johnson which he knew the Prime Mini...
If I Had to Vote (or Speak) For...
- 9 Nov 2019
Politics has always been a tribal sport. Political allegiances are often handed down through the generations. Some people find it unthinkable that they would vote any way other than their parents and grandparents did. Other people change their votes as often as they change the...
Iain to Chair Orwell Prize Judging Panel on Exposing Britain's Social Evils
- 6 Nov 2019
It's being announced this morning that I am to chair this year's Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils. The prize is worth £3,000 to the winner and is sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The prize is free to enter and independent of any editorial agenda. En...
My Interview with Sir Lindsay Hoyle
- 6 Nov 2019
The Bercow era is over and the Hoyle era has begun. Not before time, many would say. I genuinely believe Sir Lindsay Hoyle has it in him to become one of the greatest Speakers we have ever had. His no nonsense style is just what is needed and his transparent love of the House ...
What Bush Fires Can Teach Us In the UK
- 5 Nov 2019
This evening I received an email from Mark, a listener to my radio show. It was in response to the furore about Jacob Rees-Mogg's remarks on Grenfell, which have made headlines today. The LFB's 'stay put' advice has rightly come under scrutiny. There have been 5,000 fires in L...
Are We Destined to Have December Elections Forever?
- 5 Nov 2019
Last week someone emailed a question to the For the Many podcast, which I record each week with Jacqui Smith about election dates. They asked if we would now have to go to the polls in December every five years, given the Fixed Term Parliaments Act. I confidently said, yes,...
Election Predictions, Debates, Shows and More...
- 30 Oct 2019
Well, off we go for the first December election since 1923. A governing party has never won a winter election, so if Boris Johnson attains a majority he will have broken a political record. The last winter election was in February 1974 when Ted Heath went to the country asking...
LibDem MEP Questions Motives of Poppy Wearing Brexiteers
- 29 Oct 2019
We wear red poppies for remembrance and hope for a peaceful future (Royal British Legion). But the EU provides more than hope, after centuries of conflict it was created to ensure that it must never happen again. Am I wrong to be cynical about Brexiteers wearing poppies? — ...
Podcast: Iain's Interview on the 'Delingpod'
- 28 Oct 2019
What is a true conservative? And note the small ‘c’. On this week’s Delingpod you’ll find a 75 minute chat between James Delingpole and myself in which he accuses me of not being a proper conservative and being a bit ‘squishy’. I am apparently not ‘sound’ enough...
Calm Down, Calm Down...
- 27 Oct 2019
I really should know better. On Tuesday night, I was on a Newsnight panel which included the rather impressive Liam Thorp, political editor of the Liverpool Echo. Emily Maitlis threw him a question about Boris Johnson, and he immediately launched into a little spiel about how ...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 72: Corpsing
- 19 Oct 2019
We all do it from time to time. Something happens and we just start to laugh uncontrollably. Sophie, my producer unearthed this clip from last year. The context is that around 6.30pm each day, she and I disappear into a recording booth to record a 10 second trail, which is the...
The 2019 Top 100 Conservative Influencers List
- 30 Sep 2019
Each year for the last twelve years, in the runup to Conservative conferences I have convened panels to compile a list of the most influential Conservatives in the country. To be included you have to self identify as a Conservative. So anyone associated with UKIP, the Brexi...
Broad Church Political Parties Win Elections, Narrow Sects Do Not
- 19 Sep 2019
A few of weeks ago I wrote in my EDP column about the retirement from the Commons of long-serving LibDem MP Norman Lamb. Retirement resignations are a bit like red buses. You write about one and inevitably another one is following on right behind. At the beginning of this m...
Telegraph Column: 'Question Time' Has Become a Bear Pit & Needs to Change
- 11 Sep 2019
In 15 years of political TV punditry it had never occurred to me to walk out of a show, live on air. But it nearly happened on last Thursday’s Question Time. The thought flitted through my mind as, yet again, the other panellists talked over each other and I was barely ...