Iain Dale’s dilemma

I was in Brussels on Friday when I saw two names trending on Twitter: Iain Dale and Grace Blakeley.

I first became aware of Blakeley last year. Young, articulate and highly opinionated, she seemed to pop up everywhere. She spoke with a ‘posh’ English accent and her politics were unashamedly Corbynite.

Privately educated, she is - inevitably - an avowed socialist who currently works for the left-wing Tribune magazine.

Iain Dale is on the other side of the political fence. A former Conservative parliamentary candidate, he chaired many of the leadership hustings that led to the election of Boris Johnson as party leader.

As some readers may recall, I worked with Iain - briefly - on a magazine called The Politico. It inspired us to discuss launching a competitor to The Spectator, an idea that seems even more ridiculous today than it did then.

Iain is now, if not a household name, well known in media and political circles. He hosts the evening show on weekdays on LBC, presents a weekly podcast with former Labour home secretary Jacqui Smith, and has edited or written numerous political books.

Like Blakeley, he appears regularly on Newsnight, Politics Live and Good Morning Britain.

So why were they trending on Friday morning?

Well, it turns out that in the absence of Jacqui Smith, Iain’s regular sparring partner on GMB on Fridays, producers had lined up Grace Blakeley and Five Live presenter Nihal Arthanayake.

Invited to discuss the revelation that ‘the teenager who threw a six-year-old boy from the 10th floor of the Tate Modern in London had spoken about plans to push someone off a high building about a year earlier’, Blakeley basically argued that “austerity” (ie government cuts) was responsible for the horrific incident.

She spoke without interruption for a full minute, which is a long time in today’s soundbite culture and almost unheard of on GMB.

Squeezed between Blakeley and Arthanayake, Dale sat quietly, saying nothing until he was invited to respond.

“Utter rubbish, if I may say so. It has nothing to do with cuts,” he began before being interrupted by Blakeley.

I won’t describe in detail what happened next. If you haven’t seen it watch the video above.

It’s been well reported however that, denied the opportunity to respond without constant interruption, Dale got up, removed his lapel mike and walked off.

Would I have done the same in similar circumstances? No, I don’t think I would, but that doesn’t mean I’m not sympathetic to his dilemma.

To give you an idea of what he was up against, as he stood up to leave Blakeley was beaming from ear to ear, job done. Arthanayake - a BBC radio presenter, lest we forget - then taunted him by saying:

“Wow! Wow! What a fit of pique! What a grown up [word indecipherable] ...”

What surprises me is that, as a regular guest on GMB, Iain must be familiar with the programme’s modus operandi. I’ve done that ‘debate’ slot a couple of times and it’s always been made clear to me by producers that what they want is an on air ‘fight’.

The last time I was on I was even kept in solitary confinement, in a separate hospitality area well away from my ‘opponent’, before we went on air. This is in contrast to most programmes where guests share the green room until it’s time to go on.

I was told I could interrupt and challenge my fellow guest as much as I liked. I shouldn’t wait to be asked to speak, they said. By the time I got in to the studio I was so pumped up I felt like a boxer entering the ring.

Iain must be aware of this but perhaps his double act with Jacqui Smith has sheltered him from the harsh reality the rest of us experience.

Naturally Twitter delighted in his reaction, although opinion was sharply divided. To some he was a hero, to others he was a diva having a pathetic strop.

Blakeley, it should be noted, has form in this area, as anyone who witnessed a previous appearance on GMB will testify.

Dale was on that panel too, so he must have known what he was letting himself in for. Indeed, it may explain why his decision to walk appeared a little premature. Perhaps it was in his mind in advance and he jumped at the opportunity.

Alternatively, what pushed him over the edge may have been the simple fact of being sandwiched between Blakeley and Arthanayake. While Blakeley was speaking over him on one side, Arthanayake could be heard muttering “Ridiculous” (in response to something Dale said) on the other.

To be fair to Blakeley, she did what she always does and it clearly works. As she herself noted on Twitter later in the day:

Apparently I’m trending 😂

I really feel like people don’t realise that the more outraged they get, the bigger the ratings, and the more I’m invited back on 🤑

The sad thing is, GMB is not alone in encouraging this type of confrontation.

I’ve been on radio programmes where the presenter has deliberately sat back and allowed guests to rip into one another.

Sometimes, as a guest, you have no choice because if you don’t interrupt you’ll never get a word in because your opponent will simply keep on talking.

I’ve done a number of those shows - often late at night - and all that happens is the guests end up shouting over one another in a desperate bid to be heard.

As a listener I hate it but some broadcasters seem to like it because it generates more hits on social media.

Less confrontational debates, on the other hand, tend not to be remembered or posted on social media. Again, I have direct experience of this as well.

As a result there is pressure on guests to be as combative as possible because that’s what the producers want.

More often than not I’ve played the game but I rarely feel good about it. Sometimes I feel so bad I just want to get home and have a shower.

I imagine that’s how Iain Dale felt on Friday, even if he was trending.

PS. I was once ambushed on an afternoon programme presented by Alan Titchmarsh.

I don’t blame Titchmarsh, who wasn’t responsible for the choice of guests, but I nevertheless found myself outnumbered three to one when discussing the tobacco display ban, which had yet to be passed by Parliament.

One of the other guests was Deborah Arnott, CEO of ASH. After the programme she heard me complain to Titchmarsh and made a point of running after me to say I was right to be annoyed!

We have our differences, Deborah and I, and we will probably never agree on most things to do with smoking, but I have never forgotten that small moment of kindness.

It’s one of the reasons I don’t dislike her, even when she’s giving me a hard time!

You can read the full story here: Three against one: is that a fair fight? (November 2009).

Post-Brexit Brussels blues

Currently in Brussels.

I’ve been a regular visitor to the city for more than a decade and I always enjoy coming here.

It helps of course that Eurostar makes it so quick and easy. But I also like the cafe culture and with a bit of local knowledge the beer, bars and restaurants aren’t bad either.

Now, post-Brexit, the issue has finally been put to bed which is a relief because it was getting tiresome having to explain or defend my reasons for voting to leave.

Brits working or resident in Brussels were the hardest to convince. Several told me they were applying for Belgian citizenship.

Other nationals (most of them Irish, it must be said) openly mocked Brexit as if the idea of an independent sovereign nation was entirely alien to them.

Fast forward to 2020 and they aren't laughing now!

Above: Plaque on the wall of a house in the street below

Jenny Sharkey MBE

Congratulations to Jenny Sharkey, who was presented with a hugely deserved MBE at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

As I explained here, Jenny worked at Forest when I joined in 1999. Two years later she left to join Theresa May’s office in the House of Commons.

This is Jenny’s nineteenth year working for the former PM and Home Secretary so you can imagine what a rollercoaster ride it’s been. Despite that, she’s “enjoyed every minute of it”.

Renowned for her loyalty and discretion, Jenny was awarded the MBE in Theresa May’s resignation honours list and following yesterday’s investiture at the Palace family, friends and colleagues joined her for a celebratory drink.

Those who decry the honours system should have been there. It was a lovely occasion, albeit woefully short on gossip!

Photo courtesy Malcolm Tyndall, one of Jenny’s closest friends

Guest post: John Mallon on Election 2020

The Irish General Election 2020 is in full swing with voting taking place on Saturday, February 8.
 
Ipsos MRBI and the Irish Times have run focus groups from which the news for the sitting Fine Gael government is grim. It appears that ‘undecided voters are overwhelmingly in favour of change but many are struggling to decide which party represents the type of change they want to see.’ Fine Gael has fallen behind Fianna Fáil and, surprisingly, behind Sinn Fein as well.
 
It has long been Sinn Fein’s strategy to be the first and largest All-Ireland party and to be in government in both jurisdictions (North and South). In doing so, they would then be poised to agitate for a United Ireland, their burning ambition. In contrast the two main parties just want power, ideally governing on their own. But the numbers don't add up. We have had coalition governments for years as the cautious electorate doesn’t trust one party to govern well.
 
From all I have read and heard, lifestyle issues are way down the priority list in the current campaign. Alcohol, smoking and nicotine consumption rarely make it into the debate when the serious work of getting elected is being discussed. However, these same issues are inevitably addressed as soon as a new government is in situ. This is the often-used method of presenting a closed case in the Dail echo chamber to introduce legislation to ban or increase prices on lifestyle products with any opposition simply ignored.
 
For example, the 2004 smoking ban was not even raised as a possibility in the election prior to it. Michael Martin, health minister in a previous Fianna Fáil government before he became leader of the party, was smart enough to know that it would have been an unpopular move had it been put to the people at that point. In fact Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was against the smoking ban and decidedly uncomfortable when asked about it.

Many have forgotten too that the Gardai went so far as to refuse to police the ban, and they never have. But once it was introduced as legislation then Martin was able to say, "I'm sorry, it's the law now." Voters may also remember that it was the same Michael Martin who as health minister abolished the health boards and set up the Health Service Executive (HSE). Ironically the sorry state of the HSE has been among the top three election issues in every election ever since yet Martin is still lauded for introducing the smoking ban.
 
The Greens in power brought you the plastic bag tax in coalition with Fianna Fáil and the sugar tax was brought to you by Fine Gael in 2018. Alcohol Action Ireland is funded by government to lobby government to increase alcohol taxes and does so relentlessly. Other charities are similarly funded through the HSE to lobby government to increase tobacco prices on an ongoing basis.

Individual politicians also jumped on board, with Fine Gael’s Catherine Noone rowing in behind policies such as plain packaging (and winning Forest’s Nanny of the Year award in the process). Roisin Shorthall, an Irish Social Democrat, went on her own anti-alcohol crusade, while former Fine Gael health minister James Reilly - already credited with introducing plain packaging - went so far as to propose extending the smoking ban to the outdoors at all al-fresco dining areas. Happily his political career is dead in the water.
 
When smokers are expected to pay €12+ for a pack of cigarettes you can see why it would attract the smuggler. Our Customs and Excise boys and girls recently reported that seizures of illicit tobacco are down by 75 per cent, though they blame this on smarter smuggling methods. The same Customs people are beginning to discover illicit alcohol coming in too. Politicians though are in denial about the connection between high prices for both tobacco and alcohol in Ireland and such criminal activities. If ever there was a case to be made for actual causation then it is high prices locally coupled with criminal activity to take over the supply of the product to the market.
 
Sadly, regardless of who gets in to power, you can expect the attacks on alcohol and tobacco to continue much as before, though I predict that the blunt tool of increased excise duties will result in less revenue as the illegal products continue to flood in. But I also predict that the holier-than-thou vaping community will come under increasing attack in the coming years. Expect to see bans on flavours as well as price increases, restrictions on the use of e-cigarettes in public areas, and a general damning of vaping as socially unacceptable.

Those who have quit smoking by using e-cigarettes need to understand how our political parties intend to treat them if elected. The couple of hundred thousand vapors are also adults who have the vote and there are a further million smokers who may be considering switching to e-cigs at a point in the future who will vote also. Fianna Fail, for example, has suggested banning what they describe as “child focussed flavours” by which they mean all flavours. The party has also stated that it intends to remove vaping entirely as part of their smoke free Ireland targets, so Michael Martin's party clearly sees banning all vaping products as their end game. Will you vote for them?

Fine Gael’s manifesto proposes a “licensing system for the retail sale of nicotine-inhaling products” and a “ban on advertising on public transport and in cinemas”, while also making it known that they too wish to discourage vaping through targeted taxation. So they will hide e-cigs from view, penalise resellers with a license fee and further penalise the users with progressive price rises. Will you vote for them?

The Green party boasts that it intends to introduce “comprehensive e-cigarette legislation covering advertising and flavouring” so a vaper voting for any of these parties is like a turkey voting for Christmas. All three would like to punish you for using a harm reduction product in your efforts to quit smoking. In short, think clearly before committing your first preferences.

John Mallon is spokesman for Forest Ireland

Brexit Day - thank you!

Like many people tonight I shall be raising a glass to Brexit before going quietly to bed.

I am delighted we are leaving the European Union but I wasn’t tempted to attend a Brexit-themed party, in Parliament Square or anywhere else.

Those celebrations should be for people who campaigned year after year (and more recently) to leave the EU.

I voted Leave in 2016, I voted for the Brexit party in last year’s Euro elections, and I voted for Boris to 'Get Brexit Done', but apart from that I was an armchair supporter.

Compared to friends and acquaintances who canvassed, lobbied, manned high street stalls or put their lives on hold by standing for election and becoming MEPs last year, I did nothing.

Tonight is their night and when I contemplate our escape from this undemocratic, vainglorious, would-be superstate I shall be thinking of them.

Thank you!

Punished for smoking and vaping

According to the Dundee Evening Telegraph:

A controversial no-smoking policy imposed on Dundee City Council staff a year ago has so far punished fewer than five rule-breakers.

The initiative, which prohibits smoking and vaping throughout the working day, attracted quite a lot of attention when it was announced in November 2018.

‘Council bans staff from smoking or vaping during work’ reported STV.

‘Workers fume as Dundee council introduces ‘heavy-handed’ ban on smoking and vaping on shift’ noted the Evening Telegraph.

‘Tough new Dundee City Council smoking policy ‘tantamount to bullying’ declared the Courier, quoting Forest.

Today’s report, which is based on a freedom of information request, implies that the policy isn’t working because ‘fewer than five’ people have been disciplined.

Perhaps, but I still think that’s five too many, especially if the ‘offence’ took place outside during an authorised break.

Regarding the nature of the punishment (options include sanctions or a formal warning), the council has been less forthcoming, citing data protection (in case the individuals concerned can be identified).

Full story, including a short quote from me, here.

The right move

My mother moved house last week.

After living in Berkshire, North East Fife and, for a brief period, Cumbria, my parents settled in Thorpe, a tiny hamlet near Ashbourne, Derbyshire, in May 1980.

I spent a couple of months there between graduating at Aberdeen and moving to London but I never thought of it as home. I always enjoyed visiting, though.

Thorpe is just inside the Peak District and I never tired of the views. From my parents’ house it was a short walk to Thorpe Cloud, a steep hill from the top of which you can see four or five counties (on a clear day).

Behind Thorpe Cloud lies Dovedale, a wonderfully picturesque spot that attracts visitors from far and wide, especially on public holidays.

Thorpe itself is set well back from the winding country road that leads to Dovedale so it was always wonderfully quiet because there was never any passing traffic to disturb the peace.

My parents lived there very happily until my father died six years ago.

My mother is 89 now and although she still drives she knew that living somewhere with no shop or regular bus service would be asking for trouble eventually.

Winters too could be problematic. I once had to abandon my car overnight in a nearby lane after it got stuck in snow.

On another occasion the cul-de-sac in which my parents lived turned into a skating rink. That too made it impossible to drive.

(If gritting lorries ever came to Thorpe they never visited Woodland Close.)

Anyway, while the removal men were busy packing I spent our final moments in Thorpe walking around the village taking photographs.

Primarily though I was there to offer my mother moral support but she didn’t really need it. She knew the time had come to move on and was remarkably unsentimental about it.

Her new home is a small apartment in Chester, where my sister lives, overlooking the River Dee. I am currently in Scotland but will pop in to see how she’s settling in on my way home later today.

One thing that intrigues me is how she intends to accommodate her collection of glasses, some of which date back to her wedding in 1956.

I think we were all surprised by how many there were, not least the two very patient removal men:

“Are there any more?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“You’ve got about 300.”
“I’m very sorry about that.”

Below: Thorpe, January 22, 2020

Neighbours, friends and drinking buddies

As you are probably aware, this blog is full of tenuous connections and name-dropping.

In that spirit, have I ever mentioned that I once lived in the same street as Terry Jones, the former Python who died on Tuesday?

Camberwell Grove in south east London was also, for a while, home to Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller.

I had no idea at the time because I never saw any of them in the five years I lived there.

Another former resident of Camberwell Grove is Joe Jackson.

Joe, I only discovered last year, lived there in the early Eighties, a few years before me.

We did meet, eventually, but that was through Forest two decades later.

On the subject of Terry Jones and Monty Python, I was never a big fan of the TV series but I did love Life of Brian which I first saw at the Capitol Theatre, Aberdeen, in 1979.

Opened in 1933, the Capitol was one of those enormous, old-fashioned cinemas that had a huge screen and seated 2,100 people. (No multiplexes in those days.)

If I remember correctly, the theatre was sold out for Life of Brian so there was a cracking atmosphere.

Compare that to the handful of people who watched 1917 at the IMAX in Watford on Sunday and there’s no contest.

The Capitol was also a concert venue. Be Bop Deluxe, the first band I saw play live (in 1977), were so loud I had a ringing noise in my ears for 48 hours.

Today all that remains of the theatre is the 1930s facade. The auditorium has been demolished and replaced with a modern 14-storey office block.

Returning to Terry Jones, Michael Palin has paid a touching tribute to his friend and former colleague.

How many of us have friends who would inspire that type of heartfelt reaction when they die?

An important factor, I think, is that they were not just friends and colleagues who shared an incredible adventure together, they enjoyed a pint and were drinking buddies.

I haven’t had a regular drinking buddy since my twenties. Life intervened and we went our separate ways, although we are still in contact (just) through Facebook.

It’s not the same, though, is it?