ConservativeHome Diary Week 2: People Watching & What Did Ed Miliband Say to Lord Ashcroft?
- 19 Apr 2013
One of the great pleasures in life is people watching. There’s nothing I like better than to sit in Central Lobby in Parliament and just watch the world go by. Just seeing who is meeting whom can be very educational. And so it was at St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday. Who shou...
Radio Discussion: The Thatcher Legacy
- 19 Apr 2013
A 28 minute discussion on the Voice of Russia about the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, chaired by Brendan Cole. Participants are Michael Cockerell, Peter Tatchell, Guardian Letters editor Nigel Willmott and me. It’s a rather good listen, I think. Peter Tatchell keeps calling m...
Why Is TV News So Obsessed With America?
- 18 Apr 2013
The Boston bombing was of course a big news story. But if it had occurred in Jakarta or Seoul, would it have even been reported at all? Similarly, if a fertiliser plant in Malaysia, rather than Texas, had blown up, would it have rated a mention on the BBC or Sky? Our news broa...
Lady Thatcher's Funeral in Eight Minutes
- 17 Apr 2013
listen to ‘Margaret Thatcher's Funeral: Highlights Of The Day From LBC 97.3’ on Audioboo This is a 6 minute montage of LBC’s coverage of Lady Thatcher’s funeral. It’s a bit of a tear jerker. In fact, when I played it at the beginning of today’s show, I then had to do a four ...
What The Papers Say - Margaret Thatcher Edition
- 15 Apr 2013
If you click HERE you can listen to me presenting What the Papers Say. The whole progamme was devoted to coverage of the death of Margaret Thatcher, as you might imagine. Hope you like the ending :)
Interview With the Bookseller Magazine
- 12 Apr 2013
Published in this week’s Bookseller Magazine, article by Tom Tivnan. Having stood as the Conservative candidate in Norfolk North in 2005 and been on the Tory shortlist in another handful of constituencies, Iain Dale is no stranger to giving speeches. But the Biteback Pu...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 1: Cameron & Pritchard & Friends of Dorothy
- 12 Apr 2013
Each Friday I am writing a diary column for ConservativeHome. It’s posted there at 8.30, and will appear here around 2.30 the same day. I hope you enjoy it. Lovely graphic they’ve come up with, don’t you think? Makes me feel 30 again! David Cameron seems to be embarking on a...
Happy 100th Birthday to the New Statesman
- 11 Apr 2013
This week marks the centenary of the New Statesman. You might be surprised to know that I have a subscription to the magazine. It usually features some very strong writing, even if I disagree with most of it. They asked me to contribute a piece to a feature they are running i...
A Lovely Sony-tastic Surprise
- 11 Apr 2013
Being recognised by your peers is something I suppose we all appreciate, so when I was told today that I had been nominated for a Sony Radio Award, you can imagine how I greeted the news. I’ve been shortlisted for the Speech Radio Programme of the Year award for my LBC show. ...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter: No 6 - Reluctant Guests
- 9 Apr 2013
I’m afraid I indulged in a bit of Twitter bullying this evening. There’s nothing I hate more than some idiot know-it-all PR idiot being rude to one the team who produce my Drivetime show. In our first hour tonight we covered the resignation of the Kent Youth Police & Crime...
The Indefatigability of George Galloway
- 9 Apr 2013
By and large I avoided Twitter yesterday, but when I broadcast I always have it on in front of me as it’s a great resource for ‘breaking news’ stories. I decided to block anyone who appeared in my timeline who was gratuitously insulting Margaret Thatcher. I have no objection t...
Another Margaret Thatcher Memory
- 9 Apr 2013
Back in 2009 I wrote this piece for the New Statesman, which was a collection of recollections about where people were the moment they heard Margaret Thatcher had resigned as Prime Minister. The night before Margaret Thatcher’s resignation, I remember having had rows with...
Memories of Margaret Thatcher
- 8 Apr 2013
Margaret Thatcher is the reason I became actively involved in politics. She inspired me, as a sixteen year old, to join the Conservative Party and do my bit to help revive Britain. One of the tasks of today’s political leaders is to provide a lead, to inspire, to motivate. Mar...
Good Luck to Tim Montgomerie of The Times!
- 6 Apr 2013
This weekend marks the end of an era.Tim Montgomerie leaves ConservativeHome and starts a new job as Comment Editor of The Times. Tim launched ConHome (as we now refer to it endearingly) back in 2005. Almost from Day One it acquired a degree of influence over the inner worki...
Call Me Old Fashioned...
- 6 Apr 2013
Buying a property is never a straightforward business. Something always seems to go wrong. A link in the chain breaks, there’s a planning issue or the mortgage company won’t come up with the goods. We’re in the middle of buying a house in Lamas, in north Norfolk, and last Sund...
What's in a Label?
- 6 Apr 2013
I’m sure the general reaction to what I am about to write will be ‘get over yourself’, or worse, but in the words of the Beautiful South, I’ll carry on regardless! Have you noticed that many people in public life, no matter what they have gone on to do, will never escape what...
Yet Again the Law is an Ass
- 6 Apr 2013
Apologies for quoting another story from the Mirror, but this really does take some swallowing. Last year I was banned from driving for six months. I didn’t mention it at the time because I was rather ashamed of it. I had had four speeding convictions, three times for exceedi...
James Beattie Defends His Osborne Story
- 5 Apr 2013
listen to ‘Daily Mirror defend Osborne scoop’ on Audioboo Below you will see my little rant about the Daily Mirror’s Jason Beattie’s story about George Osborne and the disabled parking bay. I invited him on to my LBC Drivetime show today and to his credit he accepted. Here’s...
Marta Andreassen Continue to Ingratiate herself With Kent Tories - But Can She be Selected?
- 5 Apr 2013
How heartwarming to see newly defected MEP Marta Andreassen on the stump with Kent Conservatives yesterday, as reported on Andrew Kennedy’s excellent blog. Anyone would think there was a European selection in the offing. Perish the thought. Of course, to be a Euro candidate ...