ConHome Diary: Craig Oliver's Book, A Boost for the Economy & Trump's Unfitness to Govern
- 29 Jul 2016
“You may have seen I’ve signed a deal with Hodder. Hope all well.” That was a text message I received from Craig Oliver, David Cameron’s former Director of Communications, earlier this week. I hadn’t actually seen that news, so it came as a bit of a surprise to say the least. ...
One Day My Kids Will Ask: Daddy, What Did You Do When Donald Trump Came Calling
- 26 Jul 2016
Guest Post by my American friend Daniel Forrester First, you sent me Sarah Palin. Then, you created a process and vetted a bench of candidates that led to Donald Trump as the nominee. I have had enough. I am out. After a lifetime spent supporting the Republican party and th...
Attitude Column: If I Want to Watch People 'Fisting' Each Other, Why Shouldn't I Be Able To? (I Don't, By The Way)
- 23 Jul 2016
Imagine you are a member of a private WhatsApp group of friends. One day one of your friends sends a picture of an extreme pornographic act – let’s say fisting. You send a reply making a jokey remark about it but think little more about it. Some months later your phone is seiz...
ConHome Diary: From a Spanish Poolside, Cecil Parkinson's Purple Head & Theresa May's Enemies
- 22 Jul 2016
Not that I intend to inspire any jealousy with this column, but I’m writing it beside a swimming pool in the Spanish mountains overlooking a lake. I normally write four of five ‘chunks’ in my columns so I am deciding to reward myself with a swim after each chunk is finished. T...
Keith Simpson MP's Summer Reading List
- 18 Jul 2016
Guest Post by Keith Simpson MP After the recent political roller coaster of the EU referendum, the resignation of Prime Minister Cameron, the Conservative leadership contest and the triumph of Theresa May who became the Conservative leader and then Prime Minister, the continu...
Attitude Column: Why Good Sex Education is Needed
- 17 Jul 2016
The following paragraph contains possible too much information. I must have been around 12 or 13, I suppose, when I got out of bed and crept into my parents’ bedroom. “Mum, I think I’ve wet the bed,” I whispered. She got out of bed, grabbed some new sheets and ripped the old ...
ConHome Diary: Theresa May & DD - Starting As They Mean To Go On
- 15 Jul 2016
As I start writing this column, Theresa May is embarking on the second part of her reshuffle. She’s certainly hit the ground running and no one, can say, especially George Osborne, that she hasn’t been decisive in her initial choices. In her initial speech outside Number Ten I...
LISTEN: My 'Media Masters' Interview - My Career in Radio, Books & What Really Happened on Brighton Seafront!
- 14 Jul 2016
You can download the Podcast through iTunes HERE or stream it HERE One of the podcasts I subscribe to is the Media Masters Podcast hosted by Paul Blanchard. He interviews people in the media who, according to him, are “at the top of their game”. He spends 45-60 minutes with ...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 48: When to Kill With Kindness, Rather Than Lose Your Temper
- 12 Jul 2016
This evening I spent an hour on my LBC show discussing David Cameron’s legacy. I have to admit I wasn’t prepared for David in Croydon. He said Cameron had converted him from Labour and thought he was a great leader, apart from one thing – gay marriage. I don’t think he kne...
Mrs May's Cabinet Dilemmas - Whoever She Appoints, the Balance Will Be Heavily In Favour of Remain
- 12 Jul 2016
Theresa May didn’t expect to have to appoint her Cabinet until after September 9th. Instead, she has to start the process on Wednesday afternoon. It won’t be an easy task. All prime ministers seek to appoint a balanced Cabinet, but previous Prime Ministers didn’t have the Leav...
The Challenges Facing Theresa May
- 11 Jul 2016
I tweeted this earlier… You really couldn’t make this shit up. — Iain Dale (@IainDale) July 11, 2016 And no, I wasn’t referring to the fact that within six minutes Labour had sent out two press releases, one calling for an immediate general election and the second a...
21 Things I'd Like to Do, But (Almost Certainly) Never Will
- 9 Jul 2016
I have very few regrets in my life. I don’t really believe in ‘what ifs’ or looking back with a degree of wistfulness, but this ‘bucket list’ with a difference gives a clue to what some of my regrets might be, as well as list a few things that were always going to unfulfilled ...
ConHome Diary: So It's A Tory All Woman Shortlist!
- 8 Jul 2016
I was at a party on Wednesday night celebrating the 60th birthday of a Tory Party politician. Oh alright then, it was Andrew Mitchell. It was quite a do. I was amused to be approached at one point by a veteran of David Davis’s leadership of 2005 who was looking rather pleased ...
Attitude Column: I'm Just Sooooo Offended!
- 7 Jul 2016
“I’ve never been so offended in all my life.” How many times have we heard that increasingly irritating phrase in recent times? Being offended has almost become a national sport in this country. The slightest off colour remark can provoke howls of outrage from people who ought...
Why I Feel Duped Over Iraq and Why Chilcot Isn't a Whitewash
- 6 Jul 2016
In twenty short but utterly devastating minutes Sir John Chilcot laid bare the errors of judgement, the errors of policy and errors of implementation that led to what I am now content to say was Britain’s biggest foreign policy misjudgement since Suez. At the time, I believed...
Conservative Leadership Runners & Riders: LIAM FOX
- 4 Jul 2016
FULL NAME: Liam Fox BORN: 22 September 1961, East Kilbride AGE: 54 EDUCATION: St Brides High School, University of Glasgow Medical School STATUS: Married to Jesme Baird FIRST ELECTED: 1992 CONSTITUENCY: Woodspring, North Somerset EXPERIENCE: Government Whip 1993-6, Foreign O...
Conservative Leadership Runners & Riders: MICHAEL GOVE
- 4 Jul 2016
FULL NAME: Michael Gove BORN: 26 August 1967, Edinburgh AGE: 48 EDUCATION: Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen. Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. 2-1 degree in English. STATUS: Married to Sarah Vine, 2 children FIRST ELECTED: 2005 CONSTITUENCY: Surrey Heath EXPERIENCE: Secretary of ...
WATCH: My Analysis of the Tory Leadership on the Andrew Marr Paper Review
- 3 Jul 2016
So there I was last night, sitting on the sofa in Norfolk watching Germany win yet another penalty shootout and I get a text from Rob Burley asking if I could do the paper review on the Andrew Marr Show this morning. Someone had dropped out at the last minute – someone, shal...
My 'Take of the Week' for THIS WEEK: The Gove/Boris Fallout
- 2 Jul 2016
Over the years I have appeared many times on the Daily Politics, but never This Week. If I am honest, it rankled a bit and I had always wondered why. It’s funny because everyone, including members of the This Week production team, seemed to think I had been on many times. A...
Conservative Leadership Runners & Riders: STEPHEN CRABB
- 30 Jun 2016
FULL NAME: Stephen Crabb BORN: January 20 1973, Inverness AGE: 43 EDUCATION: University of Bristol, London Business School STATUS: Married to Beatrice Monnier, 2 children FIRST ELECTED: 2005 CONSTITUENCY: Preseli, Pembrokeshire EXPERIENCE: Junior whip 2010-2012, Welsh Office...