Articles tagged Diary:
ConservativeHome Diary Week 20: Bomber Clegg
- 31 Aug 2013
There we were, in the Any Questions Green Room, the panel of four, all cacking ourselves before being called on stage. So we did what anyone would do. We discussed what questions might come up. And to my horror, no matter what the potential subject, we all more or less agreed ...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 19: The Perils of Appearing on 'Any Questions'
- 23 Aug 2013
Tonight I’ll be on Radio 4’s Any Questions. It’s the fourth time I’ll have appeared on the programme, so you’d think I would be used to it, but not a bit of it. It’s one of those programmes where there’s a tremendous opportunity to make a complete idiot of yourself. I have a r...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 18: My Perky Buttocks & Why I Won't Be Voting For Dan Hannan
- 16 Aug 2013
I’m afraid Dan Hannan will have to do without my vote in next year’s Euro-elections. I can’t and won’t vote for a list that has Marta Andreasen on it. She’s not a Conservative, never has been and never will be. I’m not even sure that she is eligible to stand. Has she really g...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 17: Why I Like Polly Toynbee
- 10 Aug 2013
If you were drawing up a list of the 20 nicest MPs, Labour’s Alan Johnson would get more than his fair share of nominations. He is a formidable politician who surely still has a future in front line politics. But last Friday, when I was interviewing him about his new book, Thi...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 16: How Big Is Wee Dougie's Sword
- 2 Aug 2013
It’s interesting that Lynton Crosby is being blamed for virtually everything the government does now – good or bad. This is a good thing. It means that it’s clear that he frightens the living daylights out of the opposition. The latest manifestation of this phenomenon is these...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 15: Can Kevin Rudd Imitate Lazarus?
- 26 Jul 2013
As the Australian election campaign cranks up a gear, Kevin Rudd, the new Australian Prime Ministerseems to be attracting quite a bit of media hostility. The Aussie media, having encouraged him to overthrow Julia Gillard, is now turning on him. The Australian Spectator has cal...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 14: Five MPs Who Won't Get Promoted But Should
- 5 Jul 2013
What is it with Tory MPs at the moment? There must be something in the air. Last week Crispin Blunt ‘mwah mwah’d’ me, and this week I got a bear hug from Mark Pritchard, who had come into the LBC studio to talk about MPs’ pay. It’s just not British! Anyway, credit to Pritchard...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 11: Did Angela Merkel Bring a Change of Underwear to the G8?
- 21 Jun 2013
Whoever chose Lough Erne as the venue for the G8 should get some kind of honour. As a PR exercise it couldn’t be faulted. The countryside backdrops to all the interviews and press conferences were simply stunning. Less stunning, though, was the fact that David Cameron seemed t...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 10: Tim Yeo is Beyond Hope (And Parody)
- 14 Jun 2013
When I wrote about Tim Yeo last week, I had no idea what the Sunday Times were about to unveil. The least Mr Yeo could do was stand down from his select committee. What I don’t understand is the lack of intervention by the Whips’ Office or Number Ten. Yeo can deny everything a...
ConservativeHome Diary Week 9: The Case of Mr Simpson's Disappearing Moustache
- 7 Jun 2013
The biggest talking point at Westminster this week has been a certain MP’s lack of hair. No, I’m not talking about Nadine Dorries, I’m talking about the infamously moustachioed Tory MP for Broadland, Keith Simpson. For the first time in forty years he has shaved off his resple...