Memories of Margaret Thatcher: Carol Thatcher
- 11 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 ...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 5: Does Sir Alex Read Hansard?
- 10 May 2013
The Independent on Sunday “Diary columnist” Matthew Bell has come up with an interesting theory as to why I have bought a house in Norfolk. Apparently it’s got nothing to do with the scenery or the fact that Broadland is the most peaceful part of the whole country. No, it’s b...
Memories of Margaret Thatcher: Michael Cockerell
- 10 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: Dame Ann Leslie
- 9 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: Dr Liam Fox
- 8 May 2013
This is an extract from my new book MEMORIES OF MARGARET THATCHER, which is published today. 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 of t...
My New Book on Margaret Thatcher is Published Tomorrow
- 7 May 2013
If you’ve ever had a book published you’ll know what it feels like to finally get your hands on a finished copy. Today I got my first copy of my new book MEMORIES OF MARGARET THATCHER – A PORTRAIT BY THOSE WHO KNEW HER BEST. Thirteen years ago I published Memories of Maggie. ...
'Vicious' It May Be, Funny It Ain't
- 7 May 2013
I have never been a great fan of Brian Sewell, but his review of ‘Vicious’ in today’s Evening Standard is spot on. I have only watched around 15 minutes of this abortion of a comedy, but it probably the unfunniest so-called ‘comedy’ to reach our TV screens this century. And t...
Clegg's Argument on EU Dependent Jobs is Total Bollocks
- 7 May 2013
So Nigel Lawson writes a rational and well argued letter to The Times suggesting that now is the time for Britain to withdraw from the EU. Those of us who remember his shadowing of the D-Mark and his obsession with the ERM might have a wry smile on our faces, but that’s politi...
Top Ten Ways 'Ten O'Clock Live' Could be Made More Watchable
- 5 May 2013
Teach Jimmy Carr the meaning of the word ‘funny’ Give Charlie Brooker a skinhead Put it on Channel 4 + 5456 Dub it into German For someone to explain what the point of Lauren Laverne actually is Replace the audience with a group of clapping chimps Put gaffer ta...
The UKIP Labour Phenomenon
- 5 May 2013
I was wandering down Green Street, E13, (outside West Ham’s stadium) when someone came up to me and said: “You’re Iain Dale, aren’t you?” After telling me he was an LBC listener he then told me he was a Labour voter, but liked my show. He then proceeded to tell me why, as a ha...
Want to Become the 5th Member of Abba?
- 4 May 2013
A very clever video advertising the new Abba museum in Stockholm.
ConservativeHome Diary Week 4: Some Well Meant Advice for John Hayes & Justine Greening
- 3 May 2013
So, with county council elections only five days away, it was good to see Croydon Conservatives spending last Saturday campaigning in neighbouring Surrey and helping their neighbouring Conservatives do as well as they possibly could. What’s that I hear you saying? They weren’t...
Interview: My Life!
- 2 May 2013
Here’s 30 minute interview I did yesterday with student journalist “Tommy Wathen”http://tommywathen.co.uk/. We talk about my education (!), how I got into politics and radio presenting, and also my love of West Ham. It was actually quite therapeutic!
The Lady's Not For Hurdling
- 1 May 2013
I wonder how Clegg, Cameron or Miliband would have replied. How high?
Why Do We Give Aid to a Fellow G20 Member?
- 1 May 2013
The increasingly hapless Justine Greening, who has largely disappeared off the political radar since her unwanted move from Transport to International Development, seems to have inadvertently upset the South Africans. She has announced that Britain’s aid to the country will ce...
The Real Winners on Thursday Could be the LibDems
- 28 Apr 2013
I’ve been thinking about the local elections and I have come to a rather surprising conclusion. It seems to me that the Tories are frit. Frit of UKIP. The fact that they have put up more than 1730 candidates tells its own story. In a sense, even if none of those candidates do...
President Obama Being Funny
- 28 Apr 2013
This is Barack Obama speaking at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Why on earth do we have nothing similar here? It’s an opportunity for the President to poke fun at himself, and boy does he grasp it with both hands. George W Bush was superb at these events too.
ConservativeHome Diary Week 3: Theresa May & Little Miss Popular
- 26 Apr 2013
I’ve never seen Theresa May as a political risk taker, but she certainly seem to be placing all her chips on red in her bid to rid us of the turbulent priest, Abu Qatada. As far as her political reputation goes it really is s*** or bust. If, in the end, he is plonked in steera...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter: No 7 - Beware of Breaking News on Twitter
- 23 Apr 2013
I love a breaking news story. The adrenaline flows. You never know what’s going to happen next. It’s the biggest challenge a talk radio presenter can face – especially when it concerns a subject you have less than a passing acquaintance with. One thing is for sure, as a radio ...
A Question of English
- 23 Apr 2013
Shame on Penguin’s Allen Lane imprint. My copy of Charles Moore’s biography of Margaret Thatcher arrived this morning. This is its cover. In many ways it is a wonderfully designed cover. It has a very velvety feel and the typography is superb. But I am afraid I am appalled th...