Why Mental Health Has Become Important To Me
- 13 Sep 2012
Mental health remains a subject most people find difficult to talk about. Unless they are affected by it, it’s not something talked about in polite society. Or they are bored by it. I’ve never suffered from depression, or any other form of mental condition, so I have slightly ...
The Carlton Cole Interview
- 17 Aug 2012
The last time I interviewed any West Ham players was back in the mid 1990s, when I spoke to Tony Cottee and Stan Lazirides. To be honest, I don’t find many footballers that interesting. Hanging around Upton Park hoping for a brief word with a player has never been my idea of f...
Manuscript: Talking Politics - Political Conversations With Iain Dale
- 12 Aug 2012
<p. i half-title> Talking Politics Political Conversations with Iain Dale <p. ii blank> <p. iii title> Talking Politics Political Conversations with Iain Dale Iain Dale Biteback ...
Clegg's Bluff Needs To Be Called
- 6 Aug 2012
What follows is written more in sorrow than anger. I was a cheerleader for the coalition in the days it took for it to be negotiated. I take little pleasure in seeing it start to fracture. It was right for the country then, and it is now. But it can only work if both sides act...
The Greatest Sporting Night of My Life
- 6 Aug 2012
I never thought I could attend a sporting occasion which surpassed the 2006 FA Cup Final. And then along came this year’s Championship Playoff Final. Last night I attended the evening session of the athletics at the Olympic Stadium. Well, we all know what happened. It proved t...
Top Ten Ways the Olympic Ceremony Would've Been Different If It Had Been Organised by Aidan Burley
- 29 Jul 2012
Alf Garnett and Vera Lynn dance the Charleston, while the crowd is showered with food stamps and Bird’s custard. Twenty minutes of BUPA nurses jumping up and down on beds Czech athletes ordered to remove blue wellies and replace them with shiny jack...
Let's Reward the Olympic Volunteers With a Medal Too
- 29 Jul 2012
The Olympics are only three days old but one thing that has already shone through is the extraordinary job being done by the 70,000 or so volunteers who are ensuring that people enjoy the Olympic experience. And I am not just talking about those at the Olympic stadium. The tho...
Aidan Burley Was So Very Wrong
- 28 Jul 2012
I’ve just finished watching the Olympic Opening ceremony on Sky Plus, as last night I had to watch the pictures without sound, while I was hosting LBC’s Olympic opening ceremony programme. Why no sound? Well, because the BBC had the broadcasting rights, we were not allowed to ...
Tim Yeo Is The Unacceptable Face of Conservatism
- 24 Jul 2012
There’s a bitter row going on between George Osborne and Ed Davey about the level of subsidy given to renewable energy and wind turbines in particular The chairman of the Energy & Climate Change Select Committee, Tim Yeo, has waded in and attacked the Chancellor for wantin...
I've Reshuffled Cameron's Cabinet So He Doesn't Have To
- 19 Jul 2012
It is much to David Cameron’s credit that he is not a reshuffle addict. The fact is, he hates them. So it is little surprise that his first major reshuffle, predicted for early September, is much anticipated and is the subject of much speculation. Had it not been for Jeremy Hu...
North Norfolk Holiday Diary: Day 3
- 14 Jul 2012
Getting older has never really bothered me. Being 30 or 40 meant nothing. There was no mental anguish, no depression at the passing of my youth. So why is it that reaching the age of 50 this weekend feels something of a milestone? Last week I tweeted about how I was feeling a...
North Norfolk Holiday Diary: Day 2
- 13 Jul 2012
That really was just about a perfect day. We woke to bright sunshine, and that’s how it stayed all day, and boy did we make the most of it. Our dogs, Dude & Bubba are just one year old and have never been let of the lead. At home we have a lot of foxes on our land and the...
My Top 50 Favourite Tweeters
- 13 Jul 2012
I follow about 1,000 people on Twitter, an picking a Top 50 was almost impossible. In the end I decided that one of the main criteria would be to pick ones that made me smile, entertained me and informed me. I did think about not ranking them, but what’s the fun in that, and y...
My Wonderful Day at Wembley
- 24 May 2012
Oh West Ham we love you. Despte you making us tear our hair out, despite you being the most wonderful but frustrating team, we still come back for more. And today showed both sides of West Ham, but who cares? We are Premier League, I say we are Premier League! And there were m...
Attorney Drops Hain & Biteback Contempt Prosecution
- 17 May 2012
HAIN AND DALE WELCOME ‘VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH AS NORTHERN IRELAND ATTORNEY GENERAL DROPS PROSECUTION FOR ’SCANDALISING’ JUDGE After the decision today of the Northern Ireland Attorney General to drop his pending prosecution of the former Secretary of State for Northern Irela...
Top Ten Things You'd Never Hear Theresa May Say
- 23 Apr 2012
I must get a new diary . People say we’re the Nice Party Oh, forget the ECHR, we’re an independent country, just put him on the plane (I presume I can’t say Sod) I like a beard on a man Brodie Clark is coming to dinner ...
BNP Candidate Gives Second Preference To...
- 20 Apr 2012
On Thursday night I presented my radio programme from the 24th floor of the Heron Tower, right in the heart of the City of London. It was the venue for the Sky News London mayoral debate. Little of note emerged from the debate with Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone and Brian Padd...
Saturday Diary: A Chance for Nick Clegg to Put His Foot Down
- 7 Apr 2012
The government has got itself into yet another unholy tangle this week over secret courts and surveillance powers. I have never quite understood why it is that when opposition politicians get into power, they almost immediately become authoritarian and fans of increasing go...
Where's Andy Coulson When You Need Him?
- 1 Apr 2012
“Where’s Andy Coulson when you need him “ joked one Tory MP to me yesterday. At least I think he was joking. Yes, it’s got that bad. Downing Street has, at times, seemed rudderless over the last ten days, as it has been buffeted by various political squalls, which, added toget...
And in a Packed Programme This Morning...
- 1 Apr 2012
Starting a new radio show is always a bit daunting, even when you’ve been doing one for a year and a half. Doubly so when you are taking over a slot previously inhabited by two friends. This morning I broadcast my first show in the 10am-1pm slot on LBC 97.3, having taken over ...