New Statesman Diary: A Visit to Frankfurt & Being Nervous About Speaking German
- 24 Oct 2015
This week I have written a diary of the New Statesman. Here it is… * And so to the Frankfurt Book Fair. I’ve managed to escape going for the last four years, but this year I thought I’d better make the effort. My company, Biteback (publishers of THAT book on David ‘Hameron’) h...
ConHome Diary: When the PM Signed 'Call Me Dave' & A Tribute to Michael Meacher
- 23 Oct 2015
David Cameron seems to have become remarkably more relaxed about the Ashcroft/Oakeshott book CALL ME DAVE. On Monday he sat down in the Commons tea room with a group of Tory MPs for a chinwag, and noticed the book on the table. Keith Simpson had a copy as he is reviewing it fo...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 40: When a Caller Tells You She Thinks You Should Be Killed...
- 21 Oct 2015
If you think the battle for gay equality is won, listen to this shocking call from Zainab, a 22 year old muslim woman who truly believes gay muslims (and presumably all other gays) should, a la Isis, be thrown off the top of buildings and be killed. She is followed by Soha...
Attitude Column: What Makes Long Term Relationships Work?
- 20 Oct 2015
At the end of August my partner, John, and I marked our twentieth anniversary together. In many ways this is unremarkable. Virtually every male couple I know are in very long term relationships – even friends of mine who are in their twenties or thirties seem to be destined to...
ConHome Diary: Sajid Javid's Charisma & Why Tom Watson Shouldn't Be Unreservedly Condemned
- 16 Oct 2015
It was obviously a cunning plan by the Prime Minister to let Jeremy Corbyn get the better of him at PMQs yesterday. A clear sign of the government’s ‘Keep Corbyn in Place’ plan. Clearly. * I’m writing this diary in my hotel room in Frankfurt, the very definition of a soulless ...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 39: And Over to the Travel
- 10 Oct 2015
For reasons best known to myself I have always wanted to read a travel bulletin. Well, on Thursday I did! I blackmailed James Rea, Managing Editor of LBC, into letting me do it on Shelagh Fogarty’s show by offering to donate money to the Global Radio Make Some Noise Appeal. He...
ConHome Diary: The Tory MP Who Imagines Boris & Putin Mudrestling
- 9 Oct 2015
The Conservative conference was never going to be exciting. Party strategists decided to make it as boring as possible. Yes, there would be the odd big policy announcement, but in general if the Tories could escape Manchester with no adverse headlines, it would be a job well d...
The Top 100 Most Influential People on the Right 2015
- 6 Oct 2015
(+1) David Cameron Prime Minister Having won an unexpected majority at the election, David Cameron takes over the top place in this list once again, having lost it to both Nigel Farage and George Osborne in recent years. He now has two to three years to create a last...
ConHome Diary: Number Ten Bans Ministers From Ashcroft Book Launch
- 2 Oct 2015
The Labour conference was an odd experience, but I suspect next year’s will be even odder. Out with the smart suited twenty something men. In with the Trots. That’s if Jeremy Corbyn survives that long. My own view is that he will, but it was astonishing that more or less every...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 38: When an Interviewee Goes Rogue...
- 30 Sep 2015
Yesterday on my LBC show I did something I’ve never done before. I terminated an interview because the guest wouldn’t stop ranting and refused to engage with the questions I was putting. We were discussing whether Britain should pay reparations to Jamaica for its part in t...
The Top 100 People on the Left 2015
- 29 Sep 2015
(NEW) Jeremy Corbyn Leader of the Labour Party There is no doubt that Jeremy Corbyn’s election to Labour’s leadership has changed the political weather. He’s galvanised the Labour left in a way no one has since Tony Benn or Ken Livingstone. But can he stick to his pr...
Book Review: Roy Jenkins - A Well Rounded Life by John Campbell
- 27 Sep 2015
It’s taken me several months to read this magnificent authorised biography of Roy Jenkins. I thought I knew all there was to know about the man whose tenure as Home Secretary heralded the so-called ‘permissive society’ and went on to lead the SDP, but I was wrong. My bedtimes...
ConHome Diary: The Truth About Me, Michael Ashcroft, Isabel Oakeshott & THAT Book!
- 25 Sep 2015
Well, this week certainly has not been dull. And as with any roller coaster ride, it’s had its highs, its lows, and I’m still a bit dazed. I published and was then damned! Some of you will say, “serves you right, you shouldn’t publish books that question anything about David ...
The Top 50 Liberal Democrats 2015
- 22 Sep 2015
Each year I convene three panels to compile lists of the Top 50 Liberal Democrats, the Top 100 People on the Left and the Top 100 People on the Right. Each list is published to coincide with the three party conferences. This is the eighth year I’ve been doing this, and a curso...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 37: Six Years on LBC - But It's Not About Me...
- 20 Sep 2015
Six years ago this week I broadcast my first show on LBC. Five years ago today I started my first daily show. It’s the most wonderful privilege and the best job I have ever had, in part due to the the people I work with but mainly due to the people who take the time to call in...
Attitude Column: Why Nightclubs Are Closing
- 20 Sep 2015
I’ve never been a great frequenter of bars or nightclubs, gay or otherwise. I don’t know what it is about nightclubs but I can’t actually think of a visit to one I have enjoyed. Don’t get me wrong, I like to strut my funky stuff (oh yeah) with the best of them, but spending an...
ConHome Diary: Have the Corbyistas Learnt From the Cybernats?
- 18 Sep 2015
I really think some politicians are injected with some sort of serum before they go on the broadcast media, and that this serum turns normally sparkling, interesting people into complete drones whose only thought is to bore us to death about the long term economic plan and h...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 36: When a Politician Insists on Sticking to a Script (Yes, You Priti Patel!)
- 12 Sep 2015
I love interviewing people. I even love interviewing politicians. I usually manage to get them to say interesting things. But there are some politicians who, no matter how hard you try, are always going to stick to a script that has been drilled into them by a party spin d...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 35: Staying Classy When Saying Goodbye
- 12 Sep 2015
Every radio presenter knows that at some point, they will leave their radio station. Some see it coming. Some don’t. Some get to broadcast a final show to say goodbye, others don’t. Today XFM’s breakfast show host Jon Holmes broadcast his final show for the station. His...
ConHome Diary: Herding the Tory Mayoral Cats
- 11 Sep 2015
Herding cats is probably the best way of describing it. After hosting a Labour leadership debate and a Labour London mayoral hustings I expected the Conservative mayoral hustings to be a slightly more sedate affair. Boy was I wrong. It was spiky, tetchy and much more argumenta...