Coping With a Downs Syndrome Child
- 8 Jun 2013
Last night on my LBC show we spent an hour discussing how parents cope with a Downs Syndrome child. There’s a new blood test which apparently is 98.5% accurate in detecting Downs in a foetus. I asked people to phone in and tell us how they reacted when told their child had Dow...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 9: The Case of Mr Simpson's Disappearing Moustache
- 7 Jun 2013
The biggest talking point at Westminster this week has been a certain MP’s lack of hair. No, I’m not talking about Nadine Dorries, I’m talking about the infamously moustachioed Tory MP for Broadland, Keith Simpson. For the first time in forty years he has shaved off his resple...
Why Liz Truss Should Consider Resigning & Become a Tory Heroine
- 6 Jun 2013
Any residual drop of respect I had for Nick Clegg’s political acumen disappeared today. As Toby Young says, he is governing by hissy fit. He’s always had a petulent side to his nature and I suppose we should have grown used to it by now. “Won’t give me Lords Reform, then I wo...
The Intolerance of Climate Change Zealots
- 3 Jun 2013
This evening on my LBC show we discussed Ed Davey’s outrageous idea that newspapers and broadcasters should refrain from giving a platform to climate change sceptics. How very ‘liberal’ of him. I remember at 18 Doughty Street back in 2007 I phoned Greenpeace to invite them to ...
The Ugly Side of Britain's Got Talent
- 1 Jun 2013
Like millions of others I am gripped by Britain’s Got Talent. But I do wonder how responsible it is to put very young children on a stage like this. In Tuesday’s semi-final, the first three places were taken by children under the age of 14. There’s no denying that they were a...
A Day in The Life Of...
- 31 May 2013
I sometimes think I lead a very strange kind of life. Today was no exception. Here are a few of the things I did today… My 8th Conservative Home Diary appeared EDP Column published Got recognised at Woolwich Dockyard station with the words: “Hello Mr Whale!” Did a ph...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 8: So, Vince Cable Has a Point!
- 31 May 2013
So Vince Cable is at it again – criticising the very government he is a member of. This time, it’s about immigration policy. He thinks that public concerns over immigration have been fanned by the promise of an immigration cap. He also points out that we are losing the fees o...
Book Review: Red by Gary Neville
- 25 May 2013
I’ve never met Gary Neville. But I’ve never liked him. Until now. His football punditry is excellent, insightful, and he displays a sense of humour we never knew he had. And it’s all present in his autobiography RED. OK, it was co-written with footie journalist Matt Dickinson...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 7: Here's an Election Winning Idea!
- 24 May 2013
I’m not quite sure what has happened to the Bow Group. It seems to have disappeared up its own backside, putting out daily press releases which seem designed to undermine the Conservative Party leadership at every opportunity. I remember when it considered itself a pseudo thi...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter: No 10 - Freebies
- 24 May 2013
Back in the hey-day of music radio, when men were men and children should have been very afraid, I’m told that virtually every day radio presenters would be sent loads of freebies. Free clothes, free food, free whatever. Those days are long gone, and rightly so. But we present...
Dude, I Need a New Laptop!
- 23 May 2013
Dude , I need a new laptop. And it’s all your fault. In case you think I’ve gone mad, Dude is my Jack Russell, and thanks to him I’m going to have to trot off to the Sony Centre and buy a new Vaio. And before you start, don’t even think of suggesting I get a Mac. Invention of...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter: No 9 - Handling Breaking News of a Potential Terror Incident
- 22 May 2013
I’m writing this forty five minutes after coming off air from possibly the most challenging four hours of radio I am ever likely to be faced with. So forgive me if this is at all rambling or disjointed. Sometime after 3pm this afternoon our Classic FM newsreader came over t...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 6: Who Are The Harlots of British Politics?
- 19 May 2013
Back in 2009 I published Nigel Farage’s autobiography. Not a single bookshop chain would stock it. Booksellers have always been of a leftish persuasion and they proved impossible to shift. In late 2011 we published an updated version, called Flying Free, which contained three...
The Swivel Eyed Loon Cameroon Should Be Named & Shamed But Our Journos Are Frit Because of Leveson
- 18 May 2013
The Times and Telegraph regale us with front page stories of a Cameron ally who has called Conservative Party activists ‘swivel-eyed loons’. This is how James Kirkup in the Telegraph reported it. Grassroots Conservative activists are “mad swivel-eyed loons” who are forcing...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter: No 8 - Interviewing at Short Notice: Tia Sharp's Grandmother
- 16 May 2013
“Can you get here in 30 minutes. You’re doing an interview with Tia Sharp’s Grandmother and stepdad.” This phone call from my LBC producer came the day after Stuart Hazell, Tia’s Grandmother’s ex-partner had been sent to prison for 38 years for Tia’s brutal murder. They hadn’t...
A New Way of Measuring Economic Activity - Full Station Car Parks!
- 15 May 2013
In October 2008 I wrote a blogpost where I suggested that the number of spaces free at Tonbrige Station car park of a morning was a decent indicator of economic activity. In the five years up to then, the car park had been full, or nearly full by 8.15 in the morning. But after...
Gongless at the Sonys
- 13 May 2013
I wish I could say I am a good loser. But I’m not. “Oh you’ve done so well to be nominated,” they kept saying. “You’ve only been doing radio for two years, it’s great to be shortlisted.” Well, yes. Up to a point, Lord Copper. It really was both a surprise and an honour to be s...
Memories of Margaret Thatcher: Esther Rantzen
- 13 May 2013
*This is an extract from my new book MEMORIES OF MARGARET THATCHER, which is published this week. A new extract will appear at 9am every day this week. The book contains 215 such essays by people from all walks of life who encountered the Iron Lady. You can order a signed copy...
Memories of Margaret Thatcher: Petronella Wyatt
- 12 May 2013
This is an extract from my new book MEMORIES OF MARGARET THATCHER, which is published this week. A new extract will appear at 9am every day this week. The book contains 215 such essays by people from all walks of life who encountered the Iron Lady. You can order a signed copy ...