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'Lively, interesting and witty. Feedback has been very positive.'
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WIKIPEDIA
BIOGRAPHY
Voted Print Journalist of the Year by MPs and Peers in the House Magazine/BBC Parliamentary Awards, Michael White is Associate Editor of The Guardian.
Michael was raised and educated in Cornwall and obtained a History degree from University College, London. He broke into journalism on the Reading Evening Post, before becoming a reporter on the Evening Standard. He joined The Guardian in the early seventies, where he served as Washington Correspondent and Parliamentary Sketchwriter before taking over as Political Editor in 1990.
Michael's numerous television appearances include Question Time, Newsnight, What the Papers Say, Have I Got News For You, Breakfast News and BBC News 24. For Radio 4, Michael introduced a celebration of political insults entitled Savaged By A Dead Sheep. An expert on health policy, he writes a weekly column for the Health Service Journal.
With a great breadth of knowledge of the British, European and American political systems, Michael demystifies many of the intricacies of party and government politics, and lifts the lid on the role of the media, spin and advertising in Whitehall. He might also recount the time he came to blows with Alastair Campbell...allegedly.
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MEMBERS' INTERESTS
When he was 21, Gordon Brown won a Daily Express competition for 'A Vision of Britain in the Year 2000.' One of his first acts in office was to insist that the font for No.10 emails be changed from Times New Roman 12 to Arial 14.
Carlsberg Special Brew was created especially for Winston Churchill, as Denmark's thank-you for Britain's help during World War II.
The door to 10 Downing Street has no keyhole. It can only be opened from the inside.
In a study of common characteristics among Prime Ministers, Lucille Iremonger identified a childhood deprived of affection; extreme self-discipline; religious zeal; aggression, timidity and overdependence on the love of others.
The language used in the Chamber must conform to a number of rules. Past and present House of Commons Speakers have taken exception to: blackguard, coward, git, guttersnipe, hooligan, rat, swine, stoolpigeon, traitor and fuck.
Briefcases are not allowed in the Chamber. The reading of newspapers, magazines and letters is also prohibited. Eating and drinking (except for discreet sips to ease the voice) is not permitted, in contrast to previous centuries when visitors observed Members sucking oranges and cracking nuts.
The police shout "Who goes home?" when the House rises. This is an invitation to Members to join together in bands to cross what were the dangerous fields between Westminster and the City, or to hire boats homeward on the Thames.
A Member wishing to raise a point of order during a division was, until 1998, required to speak with his hat on. Collapsible top hats were kept for the purpose. Snuff is still provided, at public expense, at the doorkeeper's box at the entrance to the Chamber.