Pryce & Huhne Phone Call: When Prurience Goes Too Far
- 7 Feb 2013
I’ve got Sky News on the TV at the moment and have just heard the phone conversations between Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce. I think it is scandalous that they have been made public. I almost felt dirty listening to them. I’m not sure what is proved by their release. Indeed, why...
Imagine the Outcry if Stafford Had Been A Private Hospital
- 6 Feb 2013
I’ve spent the last 90 minutes watching the Prime Minister’s statement on the Francis Report into the terrible goings on at Stafford Hospital. What was allowed to happen there was terrible, and an indictment of all those who sat by and watched this catastrophe developing. Let’...
Looking Forward to the Political Book of the Year Awards
- 6 Feb 2013
Tonight at the IMAX it’s the Political Book of the Year Awards. I have to admit I am getting pre-ceremony nerves. I had the idea for this event in the middle of 2012 and it’s certainly been a challenge to organise everything in such a short time. But my team at Biteback have ...
Well At Least Chris Chope Avoided Referring to a 'Buggers' Muddle'...
- 6 Feb 2013
A majority of 225 is probably the highest the government has ever achieved at the end of a Second Reading debate. And yet it doesn’t feel like that, does it? And it certainly won’t in Number 10 today. I can’t for a moment imagine that the champagne corks were popping last nigh...
A Question for John Redwood: Are MPs Representatives or Delegates?
- 5 Feb 2013
John Redwood is a man of many opinions. Most of them are ones I agree with. He is a man I have immense respect and admiration for. I regard him as a friend. He’s also a superb blogger. So it was with some degree of horror that I read his blogpost on today’s gay marriage vote....
The Trials of Chris Huhne
- 4 Feb 2013
I’ve sat here for five minutes looking at a blank screen, not quite knowing what to write. You see, when a friend ends up in trouble, the last thing you want to do is stick the boot in. You want to empathise, sympathise and do what friends do. Stick by each other no matter wh...
Equal Marriage: An Open Letter to MPs
- 4 Feb 2013
This is a letter I am emailing to MPs of all parties this morning. Dear Member of Parliament, Many of you have already decided to support the Equal Marriage Bill. This letter is addressed to those of you who remain undecided or who intend to oppose it. Back in 2003 I became...
The Question Closet Case Gay MPs Will Have To Answer
- 2 Feb 2013
I’ve been looking at the Coalition for Equal Marriage’s website, and their list of MPs who intend to vote against allowing gay people to marry on Tuesday. I note with interest the names of several MPs who most people in the Westminster Village know to be closet case gays. And ...
Red Trousers Are Just Plain Wrong
- 2 Feb 2013
A few days I ago I tweeted about the fact that I had just seen a man wearing red trousers walking through Leicester Square. I’ve never understood how anyone who isn’t over 60 or Hooray Henry could wear them. But there was this seemingly normal looking thirty year old saunteri...
Troughing Councillors Should Be Voted Out of Office
- 2 Feb 2013
Just when you thought politicians couldn’t get lower in public esteem, Tunbridge Wells councillors are set to vote local Cabinet members a 22% increase in allowances, and the leader of the council is due to get a 15% rise. The proposals have been accepted by the council’s fina...
The Sun Replaces Archbishop With Bishop Basher Guido Fawkes
- 2 Feb 2013
It’s not often I burst out laughing when I read a tweet, but I did just now. The Sun has announced that Guido Fawkes will be writing a column for them each Sunday. What they haven’t announced is that Guido will be replacing the Archbishop of York’s column on the Op Ed page. I...
Let's Talk About Sex Addiction, Baby
- 2 Feb 2013
On my LBC show on Wednesday we talked about addictions and how to deal with them. I guess we all know what the most commons addictions are to alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. But it goes far more widely than that. A friend of mine is addicted to Skippy peanut butter and reckons ...
Gillard Fires the Election Gun Eight Months Early
- 30 Jan 2013
Morning, everyone. I am an avid follower of Australian politics so it was with a sense of incredulity that I heard this morning that Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called a general election for – wait for it – September 14th. Yes, you read that right – in eight and a half ...
Catholic Church Shock! It Says Something Positive About Gays!
- 29 Jan 2013
Whisper it, but the Catholic Church might just have inched its way into the 1990s. This is what the Catholic Church of England & Wales said in a document today, issued to MPs and Peers…. We recognise that many same sex couples raise children in loving and caring homes....
Video: Falling Out of Love With Politics
- 29 Jan 2013
Here’s a short Daily Politics film with an ensuing discussion with Jo Coburn and myself about falling out of love with politics. The hook was my blogpost from a few days ago (scroll down).
Video: The LibDems Have Acted Shamelessly on Boundary Changes
- 29 Jan 2013
Earlier on the Daily Politics I debated the proposed boundary changes with LibDem Peer Lord Rennard and YouGov’s Peter Kellner. See how you think I did. Lord R looked a little uncomfortable at times when I pointed out a few home trut...
Why I Would Divert Childcare Funds to Sink Estates
- 29 Jan 2013
OK, you might say I don’t have a right to a view on this. I’m male, gay, and don’t have children, but I am a taxpayer, so that surely gives me a right. Anyway, deep breath, here goes. Why, dear reader, why is it that middle class parents think that the rest of us should subsi...
Book Review: West Ham - The Inside Story by Tony Cottee
- 28 Jan 2013
I think if any West Ham fan were asked to compile a list of their Top 5 greatest ever West Ham strikers, Tony Cottee would more than likely feature alongside Geoff Hurst, Syd Puddefoot, Vic Watson and Iain Dowie. OK, maybe not Iain Dowie. When I saw that Cottee had written a...
Jerry Hayes Has a New Blog
- 28 Jan 2013
One of the most popular contributors to Dale & Co was the former Conservative MP Jerry Hayes. He really built up a loyal following, and I am delighted to tell everyone that he now has his own blog, which you can find HERE Well worth bookmarking.
The Cleggs Should Send Their Child to the School of Their Choice - No One Else's
- 27 Jan 2013
Despite what people seem to think, I did not go to a private school. I went to Saffron Walden County High School which was a secondary modern turned comprehensive. My parents wanted me to go to some minor private school in Cambridge. I passed the entrance exam, but I kept aski...