​Northern powerhouse
The first of the Labour greats of yesteryear to get a good Danczuk hiding is John Prescott. The former Transport Secretary was, according to Danczuk, weak when it came to readdressing the country’s transport investment imbalance to help the North catch up with the South. He reveals himself to be a big fan of the controversial HS2 plans, but would like to see more localised transport improvements to allow smaller towns such as Rochdale to become commuter hubs for growing cities like Manchester as well as linking the North West with the North East. Aside from transport quibbles Danczuk suggests a renewed investment in both the evening economy of towns culturally strapped for cash, as well as the creation of new Business Economic Zones that provide jobs for locals rather than bussing in their labour.
Asylum seekers
“Rochdale”, he exclaims proudly, “has the third highest level of refugee settlement in the United Kingdom”, taking in a reported 1,000 refugees while some local authorities have refused to accept any. Danczuk notes that, were every local authority were to accept 100 asylum seekers, the struggle to house them would be over instantly. He also warns that this imbalance in the concentration of refugees is bound to lead to an incident of some description. What this incident might be Danczuk doesn’t know, only that sharing the load across the country as well as the continent decreases that risk.
Being a media personality
Danczuk began his love/hate relationship with the press by utilising papers such as the Daily Mail as a ‘parapet’ with an expanded reach for him to highlight the prevalence of child abuse around Rochdale. His decision to use tabloid papers as his political weapon of choice transpired due to the massive audiences titles such as The Daily Mail and The Sun cater to. He compares this to the limited readership Jeremy Corbyn commands through the Morning Star and argues that any platform that can be used to bring important issues to the attention of the masses is invaluable. He does, however, admit that by raising his public profile in this manner he has also made him a target for the bloodthirsty tabloid press in much the same way as the similarly media-savvy Paddy Ashdown was back in the early 90s.
But “the thing about the people of Rochdale” is, according to Simon Danczuk, that they see him as one of their own and allegedly don’t pay heed to the bile aimed in his direction by the press. Whether this is completely true will be seen come the 2020 election, if not earlier.
Jeremy Corbyn 
The main reason anyone gathers to hear what Simon Danckuk has to say is, of course, the prospect of a classic anti-Corbyn rant from Labour’s most vocal dissident still (barely) in office. He doesn’t disappoint, claiming that the Labour Party Leader’s only decent quality is consistency before dismissing this as a rubbish quality to have as a politician. To him Corbyn is both a hopeless political romantic and a shady Machiavellian who only got into office in order to represent his own people. He argues that Corbyn only became leader thanks to the loophole in the leadership election of non-members paying £3 in order to vote for the candidate they thought would drag the party down most, paying little regard to the sheer magnitude of the Labour MP’s majority.
For Danczuk the problem came at the last leadership election, when the wrong Miliband brother won and began the party’s hard tack to the left of Blair’s New Labour. He points to 2015’s Conservative majority as evidence that the country rejects the party’s slide towards socialism and cites the need of a figure who can compromise to spearhead the party’s recovery. Amongst those he sees as suitable candidates to succeed Corbyn are Chuka Umunna, Dan Jarvis and Tom Watson; but one wonders if Simon Danczuk would actually get on well with any leader other than Simon Danczuk.
EU Stance
Danczuk argues that we are naturally European and share far more with the rest of the continent than we do with the United States. For him the EU is about far more than just trade, but the stability of peace in a region that has born witness to more serious and bloody wars that the rest of the world combined. The fact that the ‘tangential’ Corbyn’s support for the ‘In’ campaign exhibits a mere fraction of his enthusiasm for manhole cover photography also might have something to do with Danczuk’s sudden zealotry for closer EU ties, though he stops just short of advocating full federalisation.
Here Danczuk finally sets his crosshairs on a party other than his own, slating Cameron’s international standing and inability to win meaningful concessions from the EU on issues of sovereignty that actually matter. Danczuk proceeds to breakdown the values needed to be a successful Prime Minister, pointing to Harold Wilson’s guile and Tony Blair’s skill at reading the mood of the country as examples of true statesmanship. His unabashed adulation of Blair may put him at cross-purposes with the rest of his chosen party

The planned tube strike couldn't kill off our first Grill of the year but although the strike was cancelled, London was seriously quiet but not the Grill! It was a full, red-blooded event as one would expect with a man who had resigned his position as Shadow Whip following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party.
 
Politics, of course, has always been about communication but the whole of modern life is and the first question covered the incident of a child in Graham Jones' constituency who had written in his weekend news for school that he lived in a terrorist house. Graham had actually met the family subsequently to this but much of our discussion centred on the fact that whilst it was obvious the child was talking about a terraced house, his news also contained disturbing comments on the behaviour of his uncle towards him. Graham Jones was perturbed that this was not taken up with the same interest by the press.
 
The discussion after the Grill  ran on because Graham was more than happy to stay despite having to be in parliament at 4pm and he probably only just made it. He was forthright discussing the problems of the Labour Party and the country and for part of the Grill actually spoke off the record. He was challenged by David many times over the European referendum and whether or not it was similar to the Harold Wilson referendum where the Prime Minister was using the promise of a referendum before an election to buy off his own side. In the 1970s of course Wilson was buying off the unions. He was hoping to produce a referendum wording that gave the Prime Minister of the day the answer that he wanted. Graham said he could not really comment over much on the Wilson situation because he was only eight at the time. David pushed him quite hard on this because, as a politician, he felt that he should have been fully aware of all that it involved and Graham responded by saying that although the prime focus of the question in that referendum was on becoming part of a trading group, that the question of closer political union was also included.
 
As with a number of the questions, this Grill was conducted differently with David bringing in the audience as it went along rather than simply taking questions and then grilling the Grillee. Certainly a formula to consider in the future, but one that is probably not possible when there are 60 or 70 people in attendance.
 
There was great discussion about the role of the Labour Party today with David insisting that it did not make a credible opposition which was bad for the country generally. This was not accepted and Graham Jones would not be drawn on whether the parliamentary Labour Party should be exerting its authority as it appeared that the High Command had moved away from the thoughts and philosophies of the traditional Labour Party in the country, including Graham Jones’ own parents and grandparents.
 
It could not be denied that Corbyn had received a massive mandate from the membership, many of them new,  but the fact inside the Parliamentary party was that there was now virtually no possibility of any further reshuffle because there was nobody who had not either resigned or refused to serve, left to fill any spaces. David painted the scenario that unlike when the Gang of Four broke away from the Labour Party there was now a number of disenchanted people in all parties and as the Liberal Party is a small Parliamentary party, that perhaps there was the real prospect, for the first time in British history, of the coming together of the right of the Labour Party and the left of the Conservative Party with the Liberals to create a party hovering either side of the centre. This could result in a perpetual one-party government which would not be good for the nation. Graham thought this most unlikely but would not be drawn on how much longer Jeremy Corbyn could last but said people would know when the crossover point was reached and act accordingly. However hard he was pushed, he would not define what could trigger that crossover point.
 
A thought provoking start to the year, but was it really more of the same, no direct answers?

​Shami Chakrabarti joined us at The Grange Hotel, Tower Hill, on 13th October. David began by asking her how she became interested in the issue of human rights, freedom and liberty. Her engaging reply started with her parents coming to England in the late 1950s when Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister. It was at the age of 12 or 13 in the early eighties that a conversation with her father started to shape her thinking. She joked that having revealed this to a journalist once, her father teased her when reading about it in the press.
 
Questioned on whether accepting a CBE in 2007 made her part of the establishment, she said it didn’t and all her staff thought she should take it. Her father wasn’t sure and her now late mother told her it was well deserved and that she should accept it.
 
Moving on, Shami was asked if our democracy and tolerance was compatible with the country having almost more CCTV than anywhere else in the world. She felt that CCTV had a role to play but was concerned that it was being used intrusively and, at times, unnecessarily and needed to be better controlled and should be targeted not here, there and everywhere with no reason.
 
Asked whether the increased threat of terrorism, not just by groups but by freelance individuals, warranted increased surveillance at the expense of some personal freedoms, she said no.  Even when pushed by David on the catching of the Jamie Bugler murderers and the three suspects on trial for plotting a beheading on Armistice Day over the use of CCTV and surveillance to deter and prevent crime and atrocity and apprehend law breakers, she believed their use was too indiscriminate.
 
She also felt that prisoners should be allowed the vote. She actually questioned whether prison was the right thing in many circumstances and if the convicted posed no threat to society, was locking them up no more than retribution?
 
Challenged on whether we should spend more time and energy ensuring the human rights that are well accepted are upheld rather than concerned at the slowness in establishing more, she felt that they were of equal importance and as she had several times, referred to the doctrines of Winston Churchill.

The Union Club on Greek Street played host to, at the very least, a polarising character with more than his fair share of media controversy.  Following a delectable mixed grill, Jeffrey Archer spoke to a packed room of eager participants for the last of this year’s Grills, hosted by the London Grill Club founder David Selves, who proved as much a match for Archer’s quick repartee as he had the other significant guests this year. Archer spoke passionately about politics, writing, women and his well publicised scandals. 

On Nigel Farage
Any current talk regarding politics no doubt involves Nigel Farage and Archer was asked of his opinion on the UKIP leader. He described him as the most able and articulate politician in the country today, despite only having two policies (to get us out of Europe and to control immigration). Archer also said that he’d never seen a phenomenon like it in his lifetime and that one of the biggest mistakes of the Conservative party has been under-estimating him. He stated that UKIP only need 7% of the vote to stop a Conservative government, but believes Farage would like a coalition with the party. 

Future of politics
Looking to the future of politics, Archer believes people, especially those with families and mortgages, do not see politics as a viable career because the pay is so abominable. He thinks the pay is ‘stupidly low’, for the job.  He explained that during his days in parliament a bill was put forward for members or parliament to be paid whatever a number 2 grade civil servant is paid. If they’d stuck to that the figure would now be £142,000. This was subsequently voted against. 

“I told them at the time, Grab it while you can”, Mr Archer quipped. “The result now is that whenever a pay rise comes up, everybody says this is the wrong time for an increase. You’ll never have a prime minister saying it’s the right time for one! Because of this, they have now fallen way behind.” 

In terms of current leaders he believes that women are making better Prime Ministers than men, outlining Angela Merkel as an outstanding leader, as well as Hilary Clinton. He explained that he wants his Prime Minister to be a very serious person. ‘Somebody has to press the button; someone has to send our troops wherever they need to go.’ 

The Media
Mr Archer has at times been ever-present in the media spotlight. He was asked about his experiences during the tougher times in his career.  He first suggested that he could have had a much easier life just writing books, but wanted to make changes and contribute. Archer also talked about Lloyd George and how the Prime Minister had numerous mistresses and illegitimate children, which at the time was not even questioned. Nobody could escape that now and that the feared that public figures lives being in the media is potentially losing potentially valuable individuals from the profession, who are not willing to be placed under such heavy scrutiny. 

He then stated that if you spend your whole life focussing on regret then you won’t have much of a life, and proclaimed that when he made his mistakes, he focussed on writing and kept his head down, also doing lots of charity auctions, raising £42 million. Archer also stated how lucky he was, as a lot of people don’t have a second thing that they can do, as he did with writing. 

Difficult questions about his trial, prison and whether he thought normal rules didn’t apply to him especially over his lies, were answered with staccato replies, mainly no. When pushed he said, “I said no, no and no”!

Writing
Having sold 270 million books, Archer is well placed to advise budding writers. Despite now being a more-publically known figure, 17 publishers had turned down his first novel, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.

Archer described story telling as a gift and writing as good education. “If you have a first-class education you can be a good writer. But like a ballet dancer, singer, or painter, story-telling is a god-given gift. You’ve either got it or you haven’t. And then you have to work extremely hard.” My latest book was completed after its 14th edit.

He named his favourite book as “Beware of pity”, written by Stefan Zwieg.  Archer rounded up the grilling with a final conclusion. He stated how lucky he has been and also how much he appreciated the position he was in.  He exclaimed how some 30 years ago in America, whilst selling ‘Kane and Abel’, things weren’t going very well, “They didn’t know me and they weren’t interested in the book. I went on a TV show and I guy stood up to proclaim, “This is the best book I’ve read in 30 years”. 

The man was Jonny Carson. He had told 42 million people, and at that point the book was in the best-seller list. It was number 1 three days later. “I say every day of my life that I’m very thankful, very lucky, and very privileged”. 

In thanking Jeffrey Archer David Selves said that Archer’s reply to a vote of thanks he’d given him at a dinner in 1982 was that he was going to outsell the bible. “How’s it going, Jeffrey?” “God’s still winning,” was the instant reply! 

Peter Tatchell has been campaigning for human rights, democracy, LGBT freedom and global justice since 1967. The questions ranged from his invasion of the Vatican Embassy, Eurovision being won by a transvestite,  the current state of life in Ukraine, where he reluctantly accepted freedom would continue to be denied, the inequality of same gender and different gender marriages,  to what he thought was his greatest triumph and where he saw his career going. He described in some detail the by-election he fought as the Labour Party candidate in Bermondsey against Simon Hughes which was considered at the time, and many believe still was, the dirtiest election of all time. His brushes with Robert Mugabe’s minders, first in London where he carried out a citizen’s arrest and then later in Belgium where he was knocked unconscious by them, were spell binding accounts of his experience.

He was pushed by David on how he could believe in freedom but not support people being allowed privacy in their private lives and David cited the outing of 10 Church of England Bishops in 1994. Peter’s reply was that they were defending the Church’s line against homosexuality while practicing it themselves but would not accept the argument that like Cabinet Ministers they were obliged to accept collective responsibility for decisions they personally disagreed with, or resign.

 A power and informative session that overrun and left everyone impressed with a man many agreed was right about more things in the past than they had thought then.

The Grilling of Eleanor Mills lived up to expectation and was possibly the most lively yet with both David and Eleanor in light combative mood suitable to the occasion! Other Grills may have been hard fought head to head Grillings in the truest sense of the word, but this produced more than a touch of humour with David not letting Eleanor of the hook and Eleanor politely refusing to be hooked! 

The questions covered advice to young women entering journalism, the respect lost for the Sunday Times over phone hacking because it is part of the Murdoch stable, should and would Clegg and Farage be included in the leadership debates in 2015, the role of Murdoch’s children in the remodelling of the group, whether or not the resignation of Maria Miller, announced that morning, had been a boost to the free press and closed with Barry Brennan congratulating Eleanor on her success to date and asking why she was not yet a Fleet Street editor.

Eleanor’ s replies, some on some off the record, were always chirpy, engaging and informative. Nothing less than one would expect from a successful, lively, no punches pulled journalist who is relishing her new role as President of Women in Journalism.

Also check out Gorkana's Base Camp Report on The Grill here.

 

He’s been shot twice and had his life saved by his mobile phone when it stopped a bullet that would have ripped his stomach out. We knew before he came that Vaughan Smith, the man who forfeit £12,000 on a lost bail deposit for Julian Assange, was going to be a fascinating Grillee and we were not disappointed.
 
The early questions on his experiences as a freelance cameraman in the first Gulf War to the founding of the Frontline Club produced enlightening answers including advice to young aspiring journalists. His views on the way the military now handle the media would no doubt be controversial in the corridors of power. We were treated to an insight from a man who has done it all and, contrary to the image portrayed of him at times in the media, is not controversial for the sake of it but who has clearly defined views which may not always be welcome because they deal with uncomfortable issues based on the facts.

He was equally forthcoming on Julian Assange who had stayed at his home on the Norfolk Suffolk border for 13 months and admitted that he had no idea how the deadlock would be broken. However he believed that a solution would not be found without addressing vested interests in the USA as much as the charges themselves both, in the USA and in Sweden. Asked by David Selves if he thought sex would be to Assange what tax had been to Al Capone seeing him brought down by the lesser charge, he said he doubted it. Al Capone didn’t like tax!