Cecil Parkinson 1931-2016: An Obituary & Personal Memories
- 25 Jan 2016
Iain pays tribute to one of his political mentors Embed from Getty Images Cecil Parkinson, who died today at the age of 84, belonged, albeit fleetingly, to that unfortunate group of politicians known as ex future Prime Ministers. At the peak of his political powers in mid ...
ConHome Diary: Seumas' Power Grab, Crispin's Poppers & Margaret's Ostrich
- 22 Jan 2016
The appointment of Seamus Milne as Jeremy Corbyn’s Director of Strategy raised many eyebrows at the time. A Labour friend of mine who knows about these things told me: “Within a few months he’ll have complete control, you just watch the purge of anyone who dares to confront hi...
ConHome Diary: Who Will Lead the LEAVE Campaign?
- 15 Jan 2016
On Wednesday afternoon I hosted the first of Alex Salmond’s weekly phone-ins on my LBC Drivetime show. Whenever you do something new on the radio there’s always a slight nervousness that it might not work and go terribly wrong. Let’s put it this way, some politicians are more ...
WATCH: The Inaugural Alex Salmond Phone-in on LBC
- 13 Jan 2016
This is the full length video of the inaugural Alex Salmond phone-in which I hosted today on LBC. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Good reaction on Twitter too.
ConHome Diary: Winston McKenzie Enters the Big Brother House
- 8 Jan 2016
So serial party defector Winston McKenzie has joined the Big Brother house. What could possibly go wrong? He’s been a member of every political party apart from Labour. In the autumn he left UKIP to join the poor old English Democrats. What on earth did they do to deserve that...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 43: Interviewing Katie Hopkins
- 8 Jan 2016
Any words are superfluous. Judge for yourself.
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 42: How to Lose a Listener
- 6 Jan 2016
Today we were talking (yet again) about Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet reshuffle. A listener phoned in to tell me how clever he had been, as a Conservative, to vote for Corbyn in the Labour leadership election. I lost my rag a little and told him he was being pathetic. It ...
My Interview with Simon Danczuk on the 'Sexting' Scandal
- 4 Jan 2016
My full, ten minute, interview with Simon Danczuk from today’s LBC Drive show. The reaction on Twitter was highly unusual, with both Danzcuk supporters and opponents commending me for the questions I asked. That doesn’t happen very often.
My 10 Resolutions for 2016
- 1 Jan 2016
Not to buy a new car. Read more for pleasure, rather than because it’s my job. Do more TV. Go abroad more often. Lose another half a stone in weight. Ditch ‘I Want it That Way’ as my Karaoke song and find another one. Start writing a new book… and think of somet...
My Predictions for 2016
- 31 Dec 2015
This time last year I made my predictions for 2015. I got 8 out of 10 right (see HERE for proof!). Not sure I’ll do as well this year. Here goes… The EU Referendum will be held in July. The ‘Stay’ Campaign will prevail, but by a margin of 55-45 or less. Nigel ...
The Twenty Best or Most Memorable Books I've Published Over the Last Seventeen Years
- 30 Dec 2015
Back in 1998 I started Politico’s Publishing. I made a very big mistake in 2003 by selling it to Methuen. I thought I had taken it as far as I could and the list would benefit from being part of a bigger company. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Within two months I knew I had done the wro...
Attitude Column: Why Do Gay People Think That Old Age Is For Other People?
- 22 Dec 2015
I don’t know how many men over the age of seventy read this magazine, but what I do know is that the twenty somethings who read it will have given very little thought to what happens when they get old. In ‘gayworld’, old age is a faraway place which merits very little thought....
My Predictions For 2015 - How Did I Do?
- 20 Dec 2015
Back on 31 December 2014 I wrote THIS article giving ten predictions for 2015. So, let’s see how I did… Three political party leaders will resign by the end of the year. CORRECT Norwich City will be promoted to the Premier League. CORRECT At least one politician associ...
My Top 100 Tweeters of 2015
- 19 Dec 2015
Each new year I compile a list of people whose tweets I have most enjoyed during the previous 12 months. I follow about 2000 people on Twitter, which is far too many to be honest, but I whenever I try to cull the number I end up giving up because it’s so difficult. Anyway, the...
ConHome Diary: My End of Year Political Awards
- 18 Dec 2015
Seeing as this will be my last column of 2015 I thought I might look back and hand out a few end of year awards and brickbats. Anyone who says politics is boring only needs to look back at the events of 2015 and look forward to next year. What a fascinating time to be commenti...
ConHome Diary: Exposed - The UKIP London Candidate, Who, Er, Is Begging for a London Address
- 11 Dec 2015
UKIP candidate for the Greater London Assembly, David Kurten, seems to have got himself into a bit of trouble. He’s number two on the UKIP list behind Peter Whittle and ahead of Suzanne Evans. I’ve been sent an email he has sent out to UKIP members pleading for one of them to ...
WATCH: My Interview With Donal Blaney on the Tory Party Bullying Scandal
- 7 Dec 2015
Today I did a 15 minute interview with Donal Blaney, chairman of the Young Britons Foundation, about the Tory Party bullying scandal. In the interview he announces the cancellation of this year’s YBF conference, is highly critical of how the Tories have handled the scandal a...
ConHome Diary: The Day Hilary Shone
- 4 Dec 2015
Sometimes the Prime Minister just can’t help himself. Up until Tuesday he had played a blinder in persuading Labour MPs of the case for air strikes in Syria. He had been calm, measured and persuasive. And then he blew it at the 1922 Committee by asking Tory MPs if they really ...
Keith Simpson MP's Christmas Reading List
- 1 Dec 2015
Guest Post by Keith Simpson MP As we look forward to the Festive Season colleagues will be looking for interesting books to put in the stockings of loved ones and friends whilst ministers will be desperate to read anything rather than civil service briefs. This selection is p...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 41: The Consequences of Radio Regulation
- 30 Nov 2015
These are two short excerpts from my LBC show today. The first was part of an interview I did with Bernadette Smyth from the Northern Irish Pro Life group ‘Precious Life’. Now I have a pragmatic view on abortion issues, but I am not unsympathetic to the pro-life lobby. But...