ConHome Diary: Jeremy Corbyn is a Modern Day Harry Perkins
- 31 Jul 2015
OK, I’ve got to say this. I can’t stand Sir Alastair Graham. Whenever there’s any political scandal, up he pops to dispense his holier than thou brand of puritanism. Yes, Lord Sewel was stupid, yes he broke the law, but for God’s sake, apart from the feelings of his wife and f...
LISTEN: Am I Really Responsible for Putting the Idea of Running for Leader into Jeremy Corbyn's Head?
- 28 Jul 2015
This audio suggests so. It’s an interview I recorded with Jeremy Corbyn on May 9th, the Saturday after polling day. Scroll in 14.10… Surely, Prime Minister, that’s got to be worth at least a Knighthood?!
LISTEN: Political Books Podcast with Andrew Roberts
- 27 Jul 2015
I talk to historian Andrew Roberts about his critically acclaimed book Napoleon the Great. We discuss Andrew’s favourite periods of history, our very individual writing processes and why Andrew – contrary to popular portrayal – believes Napoleon to be a benevolent dictator. ...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter: The Complete Series 1-30
- 26 Jul 2015
A few years ago I started writing about lessons I have learned while presenting on the radio. A friend suggested I should bring them altogether in one blogpost, so here you are. Looking back there’s some hilarious moments here, as well as some instructive ones. This isn’t a ‘...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 30: Hosting a Labour Party Leadership Hustings
- 25 Jul 2015
A few people have asked what it was like hosting the Labour Leadership hustings debate and how I prepared for it, so I thought I’d jot down a few notes about what happened both in the runup to and at our live 90 minute debate on Wednesday. I have seen several of the other h...
WATCH: The Youtuber Who Jumped Off Tower Bridge
- 24 Jul 2015
Faisal Shinwari jumped off Tower Bridge yesterday. In this interview he tells me why he did it and that he regrets being so stupid. And then came Lucy from Reigate who didn’t hold back…
ConHome Diary: A "Butt Cock" Clenchingly Awful Video
- 24 Jul 2015
I feel a bit like a dog returning to its vomit, as each week I write about the Conservative London mayoral selection, but how can I possibly let Ivan Massow’s new campaign video pass without comment [Insert embedded video here]. Delusional is one word to describe it. Creepy is...
WATCH: The LBC Labour Leadership Hustings Debate
- 22 Jul 2015
This is the complete video of the 90 minute long LBC Labour Leadership Debate with Andy Burnham, Yvetter Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn and Liz Kendall, hosted by me. It’s in three parts. What did you think? Have to say I really enjoyed it. I’m told in the Green Room afterwards ...
LISTEN/WATCH: Live from 7pm Tonight on LBC, the Labour Leadership Hustings
- 22 Jul 2015
Just to let you know that this evening (Wednesday) I will be hosting a 90 minute Labour leadership hustings on LBC Radio. It will be broadcast in HD on LBC.co.uk. You can listen in London on 97.3FM, nationally on DAB radio or on TV on Freeview channel 732 or Sky TV channel 01...
Attitude Column: Why Do We Have to Be Labelled?
- 20 Jul 2015
What’s in a name? Who do we all have to have a label? We’re all individuals, aren’t we? I’ve just been reading about the new acronym that is supposed to replace LGBT. Apparently we’re now all supposed to say LGBTIQ, or even – wait for it – LGBTIQQAA. Nope, me neither. For the...
ConHome Diary: London Mayoral Campaign - Sunlight is the Best Form of Disinfectant
- 17 Jul 2015
ConservativeHome has been doing some sterling work this week in exposing the secrecy of CCHQ in the London Mayoral selection. Quite why CCHQ feels the need to act like an arm of the North Korean regime is a question only they can answer. Surely party members have a right to kn...
LISTEN: Half an Hour With Michael Dobbs
- 17 Jul 2015
Every week I now do a political books podcast for Politicos.co.uk. You can download on iTunes, Soundcloud or Sticher. I’ll also always post them on here from now on. This week I talk to Michael Dobbs for half an hour about all sorts of things, including HOUSE OF CARDS as wel...
WATCH: Interview with Zac Goldsmith
- 16 Jul 2015
Earlier this week I interviewed Zac Goldmsith about his London mayoral ambitions. It was a very revealing interview in which Zac refused point blank to apologise to Sir Howard Davies for his remarks on the conduct of the Airports Commission and said for the first time he wou...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 29: When a Caller Says Jews Should Get Over the Holocaust
- 15 Jul 2015
It’s not often I shout at a caller or stun them into silence, but that is what happened tonight on LBC. I was conducting a phone-in about the 94 year old Auschwitz guard who was sentenced to four years in prison today in a court in the German town of Lueneburg. I started off b...
Concert Review: Roxette at the O2
- 14 Jul 2015
So, how to get from Leicester Square to the O2 to get there in time for the start of Roxette’s first concert in London for several years. My LBC show finished at 8, at two minutes past we were out of the door heading to the car park. At 11 minutes past we were heading eastwa...
ConHome Diary: Feeling Dirty About Fox Hunting & Ann Widdecombe
- 10 Jul 2015
Half way through George Osborne’s budget speech I began to wonder what all the fuss was all about. Most of the measures that he had announced had either been leaked or he had announced in his Andrew Marr interview. I should have had more faith in the political abilities of the...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 28: Should You Ever Disagree With a Fellow Presenter On Air?
- 9 Jul 2015
Earlier today my LBC colleague James O’Brien discussed the Tube strike on his morning show. He launched an impassioned defence of the strikers and an attack on employers. I could hardly believe what I was hearing, so I thought I’d take him to task on my Drivetime show. He are ...
My Personal Memory of 7/7
- 7 Jul 2015
I don’t know if you remember where you were on the morning of the 7th July 2005 when you heard the news of the terrorist bombings in London. It seems a lot longer ago than ten years to be honest. And yet it also seems closer. I remember virtually everything about that day. I ...
Restaurant Review: Shepherd's of Westminster
- 3 Jul 2015
When I first came to Westminster in the mid 1980s there was a restaurant in Marsham Street called ‘Lockets’. As a lowly researcher, it was always a treat to be taken there. At some point it was sold to Michael Caine and it became Shepherds. It then closed down a couple of yea...