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...
Forget Gay Marriage, It Must Be Equal Marriage, And This Bill Is Deeply Flawed
- 26 Jan 2013
Apparently we are supposed to call it equal marriage, not gay marriage, but just as the government makes clear it is determined to push ahead with legislation, we learn that the resulting marriages won’t be quite so equal after all. In fact, gay people who marry will have rat...
Is David Cameron Just an Enoch Powell Tribute Band?
- 25 Jan 2013
Courtesy of Grant Tucker’s book collection!
The Mystery of Michael Portillo's Continuing Conservative Party Membership
- 25 Jan 2013
I think Michael Portillo had a rush to the brain on ‘This Week’ last night. He denied absolutely that he was still a member of the Conservative Party. How very odd then that a senior party source maintains his membership is still active and that he diligently renews it every...
Why I am Falling Out of Love With Politics
- 25 Jan 2013
Last night I watched the second half of Question Time and then This Week. Midway through this week I began to realise how little political to-ing and fro-ing means to me any longer. I tweeted that maybe I was seeing politics and politicians in a similar way to the general pub...
Poll Result: How You Voted on an In/Out Referendum
- 23 Jan 2013
Earlier today I asked in a previous pot (scroll down) how you would vote if there were an In/Out Euro Referendum tomorrow. OK, I know there isn’t, but I wanted to test the temperature of my readers. More than 800 of you have voted. Here’s the result… Stay in 22% Leave 75% Don...
Why Are We So Obsessed By Non-News From America? What About the Rest of the World?
- 23 Jan 2013
Last night, while I was broadcasting my LBC show, I noticed a Sky News flash come up on Twitter. The thought occurred to me that it is doubtful whether any news organisation woud even cover it if it had happened in a country other than the US? Shooting in school. No one dead...
Poll: In/Out European Referendum - How Would You Vote?
- 23 Jan 2013
We just took a snap In-Out Referendum poll in the Biteback office and we voted 6-5 to stay in! So I thought I would test the opinions of my blog readers and Twitter followers. So, take this two question poll and I will publish the result later. Click HERE to register your vo...
Will Labour's Eurosceptics Persuade Ed Miliband to Change His Referendum Stance?
- 23 Jan 2013
Watching Caroline Flint on the Daily Politics earlier, you can see one thing David Cameron has achieved with his Europe speech. He has put Labour on the back foot. Despite having known what was in the speech for several days, they clearly haven’t worked out a line to take. If...
Michael Winner - Rude, Insufferable & Totally Magnificent
- 21 Jan 2013
Michael Winner, I think we can all agree, was a real character. I first met him a couple of years ago when he came into LBC to do an hour long interview with me about his latest book. As he shuffled into the studio looking as if he was about to kark it, I had this feeling of ...
Who Do You Think You are Kidding, Mrs Merkel?
- 21 Jan 2013
Someone told me a good yarn yesterday (I have no idea how true it is) about our beloved Prime Minister and his relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Apparently the two of them aren’t beyond taking the piss out of each other. It all started, apparently, while they ...
If The Tories Ditch Dave They're Finished for 2015
- 20 Jan 2013
So if Isabel Oakeshott is right, and she very often is, there are 55 Tory MPs who are quite seriously considering the possibility of deposing David Cameron. As young people on Twitter might say – WTF? Are they stark staring mad? Because, let’s face it, deposing a sitting Prim...
Lord Oakeshott Is Strangely Quiet on Peerage For LibDem Donor
- 20 Jan 2013
I see from the Sunday Times that Nick Clegg is intending to submit the name of Rumi Verjee as a new LibDem Peer. Mr Verjee is a very successful businessman, so successful that he has been generous enough to donate £770,000 to the Liberal Democrats over the years. Good on him. ...
Teasing Gooners - Mourinho to the Emirates?
- 20 Jan 2013
Oh dear. Arsenal fans really are sensitive little flowers, are they not? Indeed, not only that, the majority of Gooners on Twitter seem to have both a sense of humour failure and a massive inferiority complex. Let me explain. Yesterday lunchtime I was driving to West Ham list...