A Tribute to Marion Thorpe 1926-2014
- 8 Mar 2014
If I were to compile a list of the 20 most impressive women I have ever met, Marion Thorpe would be right up there. I first met her back in 1998 when I published a book by her husband, Jeremy Thorpe. I went to their magnificent home in Orme Square, off the Bayswater Road, whe...
International Women's Day: Waste of Time & An Insult to Women?
- 8 Mar 2014
Yesterday on my show I hosted a panel discussion on women’s issues to mark International Women’s Day. Harriet Harman, Mary Beard, Zoe Williams and Cristina Odone joined me for a sparky hour long discussion. Click HERE to listen. But before that, Katy Hopkins had her say too....
Sadiq Khan on Why He Uses Vaseline on His Nipples...
- 4 Mar 2014
listen to ‘Iain Dale and Sadiq Khan on Ed Balls, running the London Marathon and chafing’ on Audioboo
The Quislings Who Give Putin A Free Pass
- 3 Mar 2014
Sometimes I despair of my own countrymen. Tonight on my LBC show I have endured listening to calls from a succession of people who seem quite happy to think the worst of their own country and yet think the best of an illiberal, intolerant, state which thinks nothing of invadin...
Attitude Column: Would I Have Been a Good Dad?
- 27 Feb 2014
Call me a hard hearted bastard but I have never wanted children. My nieces refer to me as ‘Uncle Herod’ so perhaps it’s just as well. Some of us have the child-rearing gene and others of us don’t. My partner would love to have had children and it’s only recently that I have co...
Attitude Column: Why Prostitution Should Be Legalised
- 26 Feb 2014
An episode of the final series of the superb Danish politico-drama Borgen concerned itself with the vexed subject of legalising prostitution. Like the legalisation of drugs, it’s a subject politicians shy away from debating in real life. Most people labour under the illusion ...
Harman & the NCCL: What Has the BBC Really Learnt?
- 25 Feb 2014
One of the most irritating phrases you will ever hear on television is “the BBC has learnt”. You’d think it meant that due to an original piece of journalism, the BBC has found out something nobody else has. Invariably it means the BBC has switched on Sky News. Sky use a simil...
Attitude Column: It's Not Just Women Who Are Victims of Domestic Violence
- 23 Feb 2014
I’m lucky. I have been with my partner for more than eighteen years and in that time we have barely exchanged a cross word. We’ve never had a full scale row. ‘Yeah, right’, I can hear you saying. But it’s true. Of course we have the odd disagreement, but I can’t recall a singl...
Clegg v Farage Debate: LibDems Must Now Promise to Support an In/Out Referendum
- 20 Feb 2014
These phone-ins we do at LBC do have a habit of generating a few headlines, and today’s CALL CLEGG was no exception. Nick Clegg has challenged Nigel Farage to a live debate on the EU. As it’s PHONE FARAGE tomorrow morning, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get an answer from th...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 15: Going National, New Imaging Music & RAJARS
- 16 Feb 2014
It’s been quite a week for us all at LBC. In case you missed it the station went national on Tuesday on the Digital One DAB platform. If you think about it, it is quite ludicrous that this country has never had a national newstalk station. Talk Radio, in its various incarna...
Michael Gove Renews His Banter With Simon Cowell
- 12 Feb 2014
Last night I interviewed Michael Gove on my LBC show. We covered a lot of ground, but at the end of the interview I asked him about his spat with Simon Cowell, which occurred just before Christmas. He admitted he had instigated it and wasted little time in responding to my qu...
My Ten Most Interesting Politicians
- 9 Feb 2014
You know how I like a Top Ten list. Well today John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday has compiled his Top Ten Most Interesting Politicians. You’ll have to read it yourself to find out just why Grant Shapps merited inclusion in such a list. Well, anything John Rentoul can d...
The Ugly Face of 'Muslim' & 'Christian' Patrols
- 7 Feb 2014
Yesterday on my LBC Drivetime Show we talked about the rising tide of extremism in some areas of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Last year there was a lot of publicity about the so-called ‘Muslim Patrols’ who were seeking to impose Sharia Law by ordering people to sto...
Why the LibDem Seats Will Win 30-35 Seats in 2015
- 5 Feb 2014
There’s a lot of speculation about the number of seats the Liberal Democrats will win at the next election. Some people expect a virtual wipeout, while LibDems themselves cling onto the hope that incumbency will help them win seats they might otherwise lose. The truth will pr...
Who Will Be The New Sky News Political Editor?
- 2 Feb 2014
This week applications close for the position of Sky News Political Editor. There has been much speculation about who the runners and riders are, with some ludicrous names being put forward by some of the betting companies to succeed Adam Boulton. I would say this is one of t...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 14: When Bob Crow's RMT Lies To You
- 1 Feb 2014
Yesterday we rang to RMT to invite Bob Crow to appear on my radio show. Boris Johnson had just made an offer to meet him to talk about ticket office closures. His press people said they’d get back to us but Bob was a bit busy. “There’s a lot going on,” they said. Yes indeed. T...
LBC Becomes a National Radio Brand
- 30 Jan 2014
It’s just been announced that LBC is going to go national on February 11th. We will be transmitting on the National Digital One DAB platform meaning that for the first time all our programmes can be heard all over the country. You can imagine what massive implications have fo...
Lecture: The NHS - Things That Need To Be Said
- 27 Jan 2014
This is the text of a 45 minute lecture I gave today to an audience at Queen’s Hospital in Romford. It is the annual Leslie Oliver Oration. Every year the hospital celebrates the works of one of pioneers in Neurosurgery in this country. Leslie Oliver founded the Neuroscience u...