In Praise of Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury
- 14 Mar 2015
As you know, a few weeks ago my new book was published, THE NHS: THINGS THAT NEED TO BE SAID. Little did I realise that a month later I’d be making full use of the NHS, and in particular my local A&E services. It led to me having to stay in hospital overnight for the first...
ConHome Diary: Will it be a Giveaway Budget?
- 13 Mar 2015
In many ways Chuka Umunna, for many Conservatives, is the acceptable face of the Labour Party. He’s a free marketer and gets what an entrepreneurial society is all about. He’s not particularly tribal and is quite happy to pay tribute to political opponents when he thinks they ...
BOOK REVIEW: The NHS - Things That Need to be Said
- 12 Mar 2015
There’s nothing an author appreciates than when someone writes a nice review of their book. The review below appeared on ARRSE yesterday. The author presents the drive time show on LBC Radio, the UK’s only national news talk radio station. This short book is one of a serie...
WATCH: Is Chuka Too Sexy For British Politics?
- 11 Mar 2015
Hashtag awkward. He enjoyed it really, though :) Actually, of all the phone-ins I do on my programme, Chuka gets the most positive response from people who text and email in. Yes, he obviously has his detractors, as all politicians do, but a lot of people reckon he comes acro...
Concert Review: Mango Groove at the Hammersmith Apollo
- 8 Mar 2015
Well I have never been mentioned on stage before at a pop concert, but it happened last night when Mango Groove’s lead singer Claire Johnson dedicated the song ANOTHER COUNTRY to me. You could have knocked me down with a feather, but it was hugely appreciated. You see, I recko...
DOWNFALL VIDEO: Nick Clegg Says Sorry
- 6 Mar 2015
Nick Clegg Entschuldigt Sich from Iain Dale on Vimeo. Miranda Green just asked on Twitter if I was behind this Downfall video, made after Nick Clegg’s apology for the tuition fees promise a couple of years ago. Guilty as charged, Miranda! I haven’t seen it for some time, bu...
ConHome Diary: Will Col Bob Stewart Resign His Seat?
- 6 Mar 2015
On Wednesday afternoon I wondered if my eyes and ears had deceived me. I had watched Prime Minister’s Question Time and thought that Ed Miliband had trounced David Cameron. On both immigration and the TV debates Cameron didn’t seem to have any answers and for once Ed Miliband ...
Counterfactual: Ed Miliband Refuses to Debate with Cameron in Election Campaign
- 5 Mar 2015
It has just been reported by the BBC that Ed Miliband has refused to take part in any election debates with the Prime Minister during the election campaign. The Leader of the Opposition said that in 2010 the election debates had sucked the life out of the campaign and that ...
Will the Broadcasters Blink?
- 5 Mar 2015
Frit. Coward. Hypocrite. Just three of the words being thrown at the Prime Minister over his refusal to debate head to head with the Leader of the Opposition. He’s offered to take part in a single, eight-way, debate but only if it takes place before the election campaign start...
Attitude Column: Cucumber Plays Into Far Too Many Gay Stereotypes & Is a Bit Bananas
- 4 Mar 2015
I wanted to enjoy Cucumber. I really did. I was a massive fan of Queer as Folk back in the late 1990s and expected great things from Cucumber. As someone in his early 50s I thought it would be a really good thing for a new drama to look at life for the slightly older gay man....
The Why Vote Books Sales Update: UKIP Voters Are More Computer Friendly & Green Voters Kill More Trees
- 3 Mar 2015
Back in the autumn Biteback published a series of books called “Why Vote…” covering the four main political parties. In January we added ‘Why Vote Green’ to the list. I’ve calculated sales up until the end of February, and these are the figures. UKIP 26.7% Labour 23.5% Conse...
ConHome Diary: No Dave, I Won't Stand for Kensington (Not That You've Asked!)
- 27 Feb 2015
My interview with Ed Balls on Wednesday seems to have created a bit of a stir. According to the Huffington Post it was “the most cringeworthy LBC interview in, well, recent days.” Personally, I thought it was a hoot. You see Ed Balls had come top of a Mumsnet survey of sexy MP...
EXCLUSIVE: Bruno Waterfield to Leave the Telegraph
- 21 Feb 2015
Yesterday we learned that top investigative reporter Holly Watts is to leave the Telegraph for The Guardian. Another day, another journalist departs Telegraph Towers. I can exclusively reveal that highly respected Brussels Editor Bruno Waterfield is the next one to leave. He...
Why the Public & Private Sectors Can And Must Work Together in Healthcare
- 21 Feb 2015
THE private versus public sector debate has bedevilled health policy for some time. It lies at the very core of the failure of politicians to provide the leadership the NHS needs. The ‘public good, private bad’ mindset which is held by many politicians on the left is equally m...
ConHome Diary: Fancy Talking About Male Genital Mutilation?
- 20 Feb 2015
It’s always bittersweet for a publisher when you see a book that you turned down being published. You wonder if you made a mistake and if it will in fact turn out to be a bestseller. That’s happened to me this week with the publication of William Waldegrave’s memoir A DIFFEREN...
Attitude Column: What's Wrong With a Bit of Gratuitous Nudity?
- 15 Feb 2015
We British have a very strange attitude to the human body and showing it in public. I’ve never quite understood why. Perhaps it’s an innate puritanism that runs through our society, alongside a rather quaint hankering after Victorian times where a woman exposing a bare ankle w...
ConHome: How I Escaped a Lynching in Newcastle
- 13 Feb 2015
Ed Miliband’s troubles with the business community were highlighted by his no-show at the British Chambers of Commerce annual shindig. The fact that both Chuka Umunna and Ed Balls made speeches was ignored by a media looking for any opportunity to stick the boot in. The fact t...
Interview With Kent on Sunday: "I’ve got a brilliant job which I love; I wouldn’t think of going back to politics"
- 9 Feb 2015
Last week I met Sarah Linney, a reporter with Kent on Sunday. This interview is the result. You can find it on their website HERE At Portcullis House – a parliamentary building in Westminster just across the road from the House of Commons which bulges with the offices of MPs...
My New Book: The NHS - Things That Need to be Said
- 8 Feb 2015
Writing a short polemical book about the NHS when, inevitably, the readers of the book are bound to know far more about the subject than I do, is perhaps not the wisest thing for a political pundit and broadcaster to do. Let me explain why I have written this book. Each and e...