Top 100 People on the Right 2013
- 1 Oct 2013
Each year the Telegraph assembles a group of experts to compile a list of the top 100 most influential people on the Right. Meeting this year in the Westminster Intercontinental – the new hangout of choice for politicos – the panel judged the performance of right-wing politico...
Top 100 People on the Left 2013
- 28 Sep 2013
Labour may be beginning to flat-line in the polls, but there is no shortage of new names and rising stars to inject what seems to be currently missing in from Labour’s front-bench. So food for thought here for Ed Miliband, who topped the poll, despite his poor personal poll ra...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 24: Not a Week I'd Care to Repeat
- 27 Sep 2013
Well, it’s been quite a week. And not one I’d care to repeat. If you missed what shall now forever be referred to as “the incident” I couldn’t be more pleased. I’ve declined all interviews about it and would love to send it to hidden depths of my mind, never to be talked about...
Top 50 Liberal Democrats 2013
- 26 Sep 2013
Each year the Telegraph assembles a group of experts to compile a list of the top fifty ranked members of the Liberal Democrats. Meeting this year in the Westminster Intercontinental – the new hangout of choice for politicos – the panel judged the performance of Lib Dem politi...
Statement and Apology
- 26 Sep 2013
Following the incident on Brighton seafront on Tuesday morning, I have today voluntarily attended Brighton police station where I accepted a police caution. The police have informed me they now regard the matter as closed. I want to thank them for the fair and courteous way th...
How Newspaper Book Serialisations Work
- 22 Sep 2013
Many people don’t seem to understand how newspaper book serialisations work, so let me try to explode a few of the hoary old myths that have been regurgitated in the last few days. Even journalists from newspapers which bid for the Damian McBride serialisation don’t seem to ge...
Why Is Alastair Campbell so Keen to Trash Damian McBride's Book?
- 21 Sep 2013
You know, the most amusing thing about the last 48 hours or so has been the emergence of Alastair Campbell as spinner-in-chief against Damian McBride. It’s most odd because most of the things Damian writes about in his book confirm all the things that Alastair says in his diar...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 23: Bonking LibDems & Their Leaks
- 20 Sep 2013
The poor old LibDems suffered from two rather embarrassing email incidents during their conference. The first was when a press officer sent their entire “Lines to Take” to the media instead of their MPs. MPs and ministers were given a checklist of five things to mention in eve...
Damian McBride, Me and His Brilliant Book
- 20 Sep 2013
Four years ago I appeared on the Today Programme talking about Carol Thatcher and her use of the word ‘gollywog’. She had just been fired from the ‘One Show’ for having the temerity to liken someone’s hair to that of a ‘gollywog’. This is what I wrote on my blog at the time… ...
The Revenge of the Orange Bookers
- 17 Sep 2013
Each year the Telegraph assembles a group of experts to compile a list of the top 50 ranked members of the Liberal Democrats. Meeting this year in the Westminster Intercontinental – the new hangout of choice for politicos – the panel judged the performance of Lib Dem politicia...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 22: Why I'm Supporting my Friend Nigel Evans
- 14 Sep 2013
It’s difficult to say much about the Nigel Evans case without prejudicing his trial, but one thing is for certain. Over the last few months he has found out who his real friends are. And that will be even more the case over the months leading up to his trial. I know several pe...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 13: "Should You Have Gone to Specsavers, Prime Minister?"
- 12 Sep 2013
Here’s the interview I did for my LBC Drivetime show today with the Prime Minister – who, before we went on air, urged me to blog more! Anyway, we covered the new scheme he was launching today to encourage new business start-ups, the row with Jose Manuel Barrosso (he expre...
Rachel Reeves Isn't Boring ... But She Can Be Very on Message!
- 10 Sep 2013
Apparently the Newsnight editor Ian Katz found Rachel Reeves a tad boring on Newsnight last night. I won’t comment on that, but it made me recall an interview I did with Rachel earlier in the year when she was, shall we say, very on message! Enjoy… listen to ‘Iain Dale spoke ...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 12: When a Minister Won't Answer the Question...
- 9 Sep 2013
listen to ‘That awkward moment when a politician cant answer a simple question!’ on Audioboo This evening I interviewed Treasury Minister Sajid Javid about the state of the economy. He pulled me up on an economic statistic I gave, so when he tried to pull the wool over my ...
Sarah Teather - A Rather Sad, Pathetic Hypocrite
- 7 Sep 2013
So Sarah Teather is standing down from Parliament. I can’t say I’m sure she will be missed, even by many in her own party. She’s given a tear-jerking interview to the Observer’s Toby Helm, which you can read HERE, if you have a strong stomach. She says she’s going because the...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 21: UKIP - The Bi-Sexuals of British Politics
- 6 Sep 2013
READER WARNING: There’s more than the usual dose of smut in this week’s column. This week I have been chairing three panels for the Daily Telegraph with the aim of compiling the Top 100 people on the right, left and the Top 50 Liberal Democrats, all of which will, as usual, b...
Kevin Rudd Does a Jed Bartlet
- 5 Sep 2013
I don’t like Kevin Rudd, but you have to hand it to him here. He does a Jed Bartlet on an unsuspecting pastor, who asks him a question on gay marriage. Rudd destroys him. And if you don’t know what I mean by a Jed Bartlett moment click on this and you soon will. It’s why ...
Attitude Column: Are You or Have You Ever Been a Bisexual?
- 3 Sep 2013
Inside the mind of every bisexual is a gay man struggling to get out. At least, that’s the view of many. It’s a widely held view that bisexuals are people who either want the best of both worlds, or, who are still too scared to embrace their inner gayness because they are on h...