Tag Archives: adam boulton

Political Communication in Britain: the latest 2010 election book

By Mark Pack | Published 19th May 2011 - 8:44 am

Political Communication in Britain, edited by Dominic Wring, Roger Mortimore and Simon Atkinson, joins a long list of books already published on the 2010 general election. As with others it also faces the tough task of finding a niche between the burgeoning coverage of politics in the media, especially online, and the revitalised Nuffield general election series.

In its favour, Political Communication in Britain brings together a strong cast of journalists and politicians who were active participants in the election, with six of the nineteen chapters coming from insiders such as Sky’s Adam Boulton, the Labour Party’s Greg …

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Posted in Books, Online politics, Polls | Also tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Baroness Warsi’s car-crash interview on AV

By Mark Pack | Published 23rd April 2011 - 4:35 pm

It’s not quite Jeremy Paxman vs Michael Howard, but there’s a definite echo of it with Adam Boulton’s repeated questioning and Baroness Warsi’s unwillingness to answer. So if you’ve missed it doing the rounds on Twitter and Facebook so far, here it is to enjoy (or is that suffer?):

(One point on which Adam Boulton lets Baroness Warsi get away with an inaccuracy, by the way, is on how university seat MPs used to be elected in Britain …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , | 10 Comments

Book review: Hung Together – The 2010 Election and the Coalition Government

By Mark Pack | Published 23rd January 2011 - 8:55 am

Adam Boulton and Joey Jones, the authors of Hung Together: The 2010 Election and the Coalition Government, have produced a book of the sort that, after previous general elections, would have been deserving of praise and interest. Their bad luck for the 2010 election is that there are several high quality alternatives available, in particular the revitalised Nuffield general election series in the form of The British General Election of 2010 and David Laws’s 22 Days in May, not to mention the Nick Robinson BBC documentary.

Compared to those this lively book is a little lightweight. It does …

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Posted in Books | Also tagged | 3 Comments

Grappling with government: how will we change our minds when the facts change?

By Stephen Tall | Published 20th September 2010 - 10:28 am

Sky News’s Adam Boulton has an interesting take on this year’s Lib Dem conference:

… there is an overbearing sense of seriousness as the Lib Dems cogitate on the political hand dealt them after the last election. Far from glibly queuing to speak in debates, conference organisers report that party members are hanging back, wanting to listen to the explanations from the leadership.

It’s a perception that perhaps helps explain why there are relatively fewer requests to speak in debates, especially considering how much higher attendance at conference is this year. Most Lib Dem conference delegates choose only to speak in …

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Posted in Conference, Op-eds | Also tagged | 14 Comments

LDVideo: Paxman and Boulton slug it out

By Stephen Tall | Published 28th April 2010 - 7:45 am

Here’s two rather different perspectives of our esteemed Fourth Estate in action. One shows a journalist who’s done his homework, and gets increasingly fed up with the refusal of a politician to deal in honest facts. The other shows a journalist who’s failed to do his homework, and gets increasingly frustrated with the persistence of a politician in exposing his laziness. See if you can work out which is which …

Adam Boulton takes on Lord Mandelson on spending cuts


(Also available on YouTube here).

Jeremy Paxman nailed by Plaid Cymru economist

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Posted in General Election, YouTube | Also tagged | 5 Comments

TV debate between party leaders: it’s only taken 46 years

By Mark Pack | Published 21st December 2009 - 7:41 pm

The first proposals for a TV debate between party leaders were made for the 1964 general election. For all the talk of the power of the media, it will have taken 46 years for them to get their wish. It’s a credit to Sky that after so many years they finally were the broadcaster willing to call the bluff of party leaders and be willing to empty chair any who didn’t turn up – hence forcing the current agreement. The media certainly do have wider responsibilities than their own immediate self-interest, but it’s quite remarkable that for 46 years they’ve …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , | 22 Comments

YouTube ‘cos we want to: Gordon, Dawkins and Fordham

By Stephen Tall | Published 1st October 2009 - 8:10 pm

Welcome to the latest edition of our occasional LDV feature, YouTube ‘cos we want to, featuring some of the most memorable political moments from the past week (or so).

First up, in tribute to the triumph of this week’s Labour party conference in Brighton, let’s enjoy in all its 11 seconds of glory, Gordon’s huff with Sky’s Adam Boulton after a particularly feisty interview:

Hat-tip: Paul Waugh. You can enjoy the full interview here.

Second’s up … for many the highlight of Lib Dem conference was meeting Richard Dawkins, while for others it was hearing his declaration that, though not a member, he has voted for the party in every election since it was founded. So here for your delectation is his 5-minute speech to the conference hall:

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Posted in YouTube | Also tagged , , | 3 Comments

Rumours suggest Brown will accept debates, but seek to exclude Clegg

By Richard Huzzey | Published 28th September 2009 - 10:23 pm

The BBC reports that Gordon Brown will accept the proposals, forcibly proposed by Sky’s Adam Boulton, for a leaders’ debate… but with only partial involvement for Nick Clegg:

Months ago, Conservative leader Mr Cameron called for a TV election debate to be held involving Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg as well.

Sources suggest Mr Brown would rather go “head to head” with the Tory leader and is prepared to take part in a series of debates – some involving Mr Clegg and others not – in order to allow this to happen.

This seems to be yet another gaffe by Brown. …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Nick says yes to Sky’s televised debate

By Stephen Tall | Published 2nd September 2009 - 11:40 pm

As LDV noted this morning Sky News has decided to lay down the gauntlet, and formally invite the major party leaders to particpate in a televised debate during the general election campaign. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has formally accepted his invitation, issuing the following statement on his website:

Many thanks for your letter of yesterday. It is great to hear that Sky News are taking this important initiative and I would be delighted to accept your invitation.

At a time when trust in politics is at an all-time low in the aftermath of the expenses scandal, we must

…

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Posted in General Election, News | Also tagged , | 9 Comments

Tom Brake wuz robbed

By Alex Foster | Published 14th February 2009 - 8:52 am

Yesterday we at LDV Towers received an embargoed press release containing the details of Britain’s Sexiest MPs, as determined by a representative panel of Britain’s electorate using STV Sky hacks using the back of a fag packet.

And there’s good news for Lib Dems, with a high showing in the top ten including our dear leader himself, Julia Goldsworthy at number five (down three from last year) and with fruity blonde [sub please check] Lynne Featherstone leading the charge at number 2.

Further information on the embargo-busting Adam Boulton Blog, including a handy link to a batch of photos that …

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Posted in Humour | Also tagged | 7 Comments

Who do you think’s the best political journalist in Britain?

By Stephen Tall | Published 19th November 2008 - 5:55 pm

That’s the question Total Politics put to journalists, MPs and the magazine’s Facebook fans – and below, courtesy of The Guardian’s Politics Blog, are the top 20.

As ever with such lists, there are some curiosities – for example, that neither Andrew Neill nor Matthew D’Ancona make it into the premiership. And, personally, I’m a fan of Philip Stephens in the FT. Who do you think’s missing, or been over-promoted?

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , | 4 Comments

10 key Lib Dem questions for 2008

By Stephen Tall | Published 29th December 2007 - 4:23 pm

Sky News’s Adam Boulton has posted his rather more worldly ’10 Questions for 2008’ over at his Boulton & Co blog:

A lot will happen that I can’t predict, but working from the known unknowns of next year’s calendar, here are ten questions which I believe will shape politics at home and abroad in 2008.

Forgive Lib Dem Voice for being a little more parochial, and concentrating on the world of Lib Demmery:

1. Will Nick Clegg become as well-known and respected/liked as Paddy and Charles became?

2. Will the party manage to stake out clear and mainstream liberal policy lines while asserting …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , | 18 Comments

Lib Dems on air over the weekend

By Stephen Tall | Published 7th December 2007 - 6:36 pm

Quick alert for those wanting to see/hear Lib Dem MPs live on air in the next three days:

• Tonight (Fri), acting Lib Dem leader Vince Cable will be on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions at 8.00 pm (repeated Saturday, 1.10 pm);
• On Sunday morning, Vince (again) will be on BBC1’s Sunday AM (9.00 am), being interviewed by Andrew Marr;
• Also on Sunday, Lord Ashdown will be on Sky News’s The Adam Boulton Programme at (some point from) 10.00 am;
• And on Sunday night, both Lynne Featherstone and David Laws will be on BBC Radio …

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Posted in News | 2 Comments

Tories in a muddle on Europe (plus ça change)

By Stephen Tall | Published 23rd October 2007 - 9:25 pm

Tory leader David Cameron found himself on slippery terrain today when giving his monthly press conference to journalists. The question repeatedly asked was straightforward enough: the Tories have committed to holding a referendum on the EU reform treaty – will that commitment hold true if the treaty is ratified, and they should find themselves in government?

Mr Cameron’s answer? He had none, pleading the politician’s equivalent of the Fifth Amendment – that he won’t answer hypothetical questions. Here’s how the BBC’s Nick Robinson described Dave’s defence:

What do we want? Power to the people. When do we want it? Now

…

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Posted in News, Opposition watch | Also tagged , , | 23 Comments

Ming: why I quit

By Stephen Tall | Published 16th October 2007 - 10:53 pm

Ming Campbell has given a series of interviews this afternoon setting out his reasons for choosing to stand down as Lib Dem leader.

You can watch Ming’s interview with the BBC’s Nick Robinson here.

And here are extracts from Ming’s conversation with Sky News’s Adam Boulton:

MC: … at the end of last week I worked out there had been seven consecutive days of reports in national newspapers about leadership and it became clear to me that if the party was going to make the kind of progress which it deserves and the British people need, it could be

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged , | 10 Comments