We Need an Apology, Transparency & Immediate Reform of Party Funding
- 25 Mar 2012
In this country we like to think of our political system as being relatively free from the sort of corruption you often read about elsewhere. But the truth is, where money is concerned, there will always be a perception of wrongdoing even if there is none. If you want to make ...
A Very Political Budget From a Very Political Chancellor
- 21 Mar 2012
Well, no one can say that wasn’t an eye catching budget, no matter what you think of what was announced. It was a deeply political budget, from a deeply political Chancellor. It reminded me of a Nigel Lawson budget, and I mean that in a good way. And it was a budget from a Cha...
This Government Has a Quasi-Socialist Approach to Business
- 3 Mar 2012
What is it with politicians? Why do they think they can run businesses better than those of us who do? Thebest thing government can do is leave businesses to innovate, create jobs and make profits. Yes, profit. That’s what pays the tax that funds all the services government wi...
RIP David Rathband
- 1 Mar 2012
At about 1.20am this morning, I was giving final approval to the new Biteback Publishing website when I happened to look at Twitter. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. David Rathband had taken his own life. It was as if Raoul Moat had risen from his grave and taken his ...
So What If Vicky Pryce Pleads Guilty?
- 23 Feb 2012
So, Chris Huhne takes over from Mr Frederick Goodwin as the nation’s whipping boy. But like Fred, Chris Huhne has yet to be convicted of any criminal offence. If I were a Liberal Democrat activist (what an awful thought) I would no doubt be arguing that his political career sh...
In Conversation With David Sullivan
- 22 Feb 2012
ID: David, you’ve had two years at the club now. If you knew then, what you know now, would you still have done it? DS: Just. Just, I think. It’s been a harder time than we imagined. Both from a financial point of view and a football point of view. We shouldn’t have got relega...
Public Drunkenness Can Never Be a Social Norm
- 21 Jan 2012
Last night I apparently trended worldwide on Twitter. It was quite an experience being at the centre of a Twitter storm. Twitter is a very spontaneous medium. Many have come a cropper by posting something in haste and then repenting at leisure. It’s certainly happened to me in...
Gay Marriage, 'Bigoted' Tories & Irresponsible Journalism
- 17 Jan 2012
There is nothing the media and the Labour Party love better than trying to make out the Conservative Party is still the ‘nasty party’. Not just seen as the ‘nasty party’, but IS the ‘nasty party’. And their means of doing it is to imply that the Tories are institutionally homo...
Labour Can't Afford to Lose the Likes of Harris & Bozier
- 16 Jan 2012
Tom Harris’s sacking as Labour’s new media tsar illustrates exactly what’s wrong with modern politics. Basically, anyone who displays a sense of humour has to be got rid of. Yesterday, Tom posted a Downfall spoof poking fun at Alex Salmond and one of his advisers, Joan McAlpi...
TV Review: The Sunday Politics
- 15 Jan 2012
The main question from a viewer’s perspective on any new TV show is this: Is it better than what went before? On the basis of the first ever Sunday Politics I would say the answer is a cautious yes. Andrew Neil is now without a doubt the best political interviewer on British T...
Why I Cried On the Radio Last Night
- 13 Jan 2012
Yesterday evening on LBC I achieved two firsts. I spoke to one caller for a whole half hour, and fifteen minutes later I wept. Live on radio. Really. Like Alastair Campbell, I have always been a little lachrymose. I have even been known to shed a tear watching Emmerdale. Perh...
Film Review: The Iron Lady
- 11 Jan 2012
I am probably one of the worst possible people to review this film objectively. I know some of the main characters personally, and Margaret Thatcher is my political inspiration. But I am going to give it a go anyhow. When I first heard about this film, the initial publicity s...
Is Parliament Becoming Relevant Again?
- 11 Jan 2012
I remember one day during the summer of 2003, while the Hutton Report was in full swing, appearing live on Sky News for a full half hour, live on College Green. Much as I like hearing the sound of my own voice, I did question why Sky had thought my pearls of wisdom were worth ...
Is Diane Right? Are Black Cabbies Racists
- 7 Jan 2012
Apart from Diane Abbott’s far left allies (yes, I mean you, Lee Jasper), most people think she made a big mistake with her apparently racist tweet on Wednesday night. I make no apology for admitting I was among the first to point out that if a white Tory MP had said the same a...
A Look Back on 2012
- 31 Dec 2011
As we look back on 2012 it is with some trepidation that we look ahead to 2013. Who could have foreseen the momentous events which changed our world over the last twelve months? It’s not just Britain which has changed, but the whole world order. The collapse of the Euro led to...
Twelve Predictions For 2012
- 30 Dec 2011
OK, here’s the ten predictions I made last New Year’s Eve in my Eastern Daily Press column. Let’s see how many I got right… Norwich City make the play-offs but fail to win promotion WRONGNorman Lamb becomes a Minister in a government reshuffle WRONGSeveral Norfolk councils en...
The Fast Show Is Back. Which Is Nice
- 27 Dec 2011
I am a huge fan of the FAST SHOW. It was, in my humble opinion, one of the funniest sketch shows ever to grace our TV screens. So when I heard it was returning, I was very excited. That was until I heard it was only going to be online. ‘Bound to be rubbish’, I thought. Anyway,...
What Should I Do With My Money?
- 18 Dec 2011
Perhaps even by writing this blospost I will be accused of scaremongering, but I don’t think I am alone in wondering about the consequences of a banking collapse. Back in 2005, when I was a parliamentary candidate, I remember walking down Cromer High Street on a Friday aftern...
A Tribute to Gary Speed & A Plea on Depression
- 27 Nov 2011
Yesterday I read a heartfelt article by Stan Collymore about his ongoing battle with depression. Last night I watched a documentary called ‘We Need to Talk About Dad’ about a family coming to terms with the fact that the father had hit the mother over the head with an axe – an...
The Consequences of the Arrest of the Ashford One
- 27 Nov 2011
It's always dangerous to comment on breaking news stories. The full facts are rarely known, but in the last half an hour quite a bit of information has emerged, which should give all those who cherish our freedoms and democracy great cause for concern. At 2pm today counter ...