Mandelson is on manoeuvres. His objective is the bullet head of Balls on a spike
- 22 Mar 2013
Oh joy of joys. It’s not just ice maiden May on manoeuvres. We now have the delight of the Dark Lord (Peter Mandelson) putting the cloven hoof into Balls. Ed’s of course. By past experience if the old boy raises an exasperated eyebrow in public the poison he must be pouring in...
The shocking case of the Cardinal who doesn't think paedophilia is a crime.
- 16 Mar 2013
If you get the chance tune your BBC IPlayer into last night’s Stephen Nolan show on 5 live. It is probably the most extraordinary radio experience I have been part of in nearly thirty years of broadcasting. It started with a routine interview with Cardinal Wilfred Napier of Du...
If we can't rely on the Lib Dems to support a free press then heaven help us
- 15 Mar 2013
Where politicians tend to go off the rails is when they start playing politics. If it wasn’t so serious I would be quivering with mad hysterical laughter at the latest Leveson Whitehall farce. Let me set the scene. Guy Black, David Hunt and Michael Macmanus have achieved the a...
It is not UKIP who are the biggest threat to to the Tories but a small minority of backbenchers who are hell bent on destroying Cameron. It is time the silent majority howled with indignation
- 12 Mar 2013
If the future of the Conservative party lies with Theresa May, Philip Hammond and Adam Afriyie, would the last person to leave the country please turn off the lights? I don’t wish to be unkind to Hammond, but I was rather amazed to read how ambitious he is. I always regarded h...
If the Ministry of Justice gets its way in twenty four months the independent criminal bar will cease to exist and 75% of solicitors firms will disappear forever
- 8 Mar 2013
This is a story that will never make the front pages. It will not excite the indignation of backbenchers cowed by their constituents. It will not even raise a flicker of concern in the pubs and clubs. But it is of fundamental constitutional importance, threatens the rule of la...
Most of the young would find it less embarrassing exiting from the rear of a sheep than the rear of a Conservative battle bus. This must change.
- 3 Mar 2013
It is one of the great British traditions that after a by election defeat our weekend television screens are filled with jumpy backbenchers calling for their parties to listen to their grass roots, go back to traditional values and get the message across. I remember one memo...
Sensible Tories will realise that Eastleigh was a catestrophe for Labour and good news for the Coalition
- 1 Mar 2013
If only the Tories would stop behaving like Corporal Jones in Dad’s Army and took a moment to reflect on the how de do at Eastleigh they might realise that the real catestrophe was for Labour. Four thousand votes and fourth place is not a ringing endorsement for the two Eds, n...
Years ago that wily old chief whip, John Wakeham, gave me some very good advice. " if you are in a fix don"t get anyone to lie for you". It's as good now as it was then
- 25 Feb 2013
That wily old chief whip John Wakeham gave me some very wise advice many years ago. " If you are in a fix don’t get anyone to lie for you." It is as good now as it was in the 1980s. The Lib Dems have got themselves into an appalling and needless muddle over the allegations aga...
Save us from patronising Guardian columnists who think that only clever people should be on juries. What happened at the Pryce trial was a one off aberration
- 22 Feb 2013
I was wondering how long it was going to be before someone started screaming for the end of jury trials. I was expecting at least a “Juries give you cancer” scare from the Mail", “Juries, just another blow from Brussels” from the Express and “stunning, blonde divorcee juror ha...
We can't go on sending mixed messages about immigration
- 20 Feb 2013
I have absolutely no evidence for this nor even a snippet of tea room gossip, but my waters tell me that there looks like the beginning of a turf war between Number 10 and the Home Office. Let me explain why. The control of immigration, or rather lack of it, is an issue that i...