He does seem to be biased against the party though… Maybe his membership was ended not because of the BBC but because he fell out with the ideology?

Or maybe Thatcher’s draconian politics frightened him off….

Either way, he’s certainly no hidden ally.

>>> Maybe his membership was ended not because of the BBC but because he fell out with the ideology?

Well that’s the curiosity in all this.

Nick’s line - and I’ve no reason to dispute it - is that he bailed out of the Tory Party 20 years ago, which would put his departure at around 1984-86 - pretty much the height of Thatcherism in terms of policy.

So why bail out then?

It could have been purely a career-thing, with Nick figuring that studious neutrality would serve his ambitions better than his being a member of the party.

If its an ideological thing, I can’t seriously think he’d move away from Thatch to the right which leaves the idea that any ideological split would have been to the left.

Knowing thqat era well, there’s no real way he’d have gone from Tory to Labour - we would have been far too left-wing at the time, which would put him in at best in amongst the one-nation Tories or maybe the old Lib/SDP Alliance at a real push.

In which case one would think Cameron’s direction to be right up his street?

Curious. Almost makes one consider having a bit of dig around to see if anyone from hsi Oxford days has commented on here he stood back then…

Yes, the good Mr Robinson tried to recruit me into the Macclesfield YCs back in the early 80s. (No sign then that he was wavering!) I mentioned this some months ago in a comment posted to his blog which, mysteriously enough, also failed to survive moderation.

I’m the Graybo that made that comment. I’d use my real name (and, as someone pointed out, identify my home village), but then my cover would be blown and the men in suits hoodies will come and get me.

I find that Robinson seems to be biased in most of his posts. But I’m not sure that his bias has any consistency. In any case, biased or not, I think that he is becoming less and less effective as politics editor day-by-day - he lacks teeth and presence. Bring back Cole, I say.

I’m not 100% but i thought the BBC was not allowed to publish the past policial affiliations of its reporters?

There are two reasons why somebody joins the Oxford Uni Conservative Association and they were stronger in the past: (1) You believe passionately in Conservative principles and/or (2) you want to further your career. The vast majority, I am sure, join for both reasons. A few join just for reason (1) and an even smaller number join just for number (2). Michael Heseltine was a (2). He admitted being a Liberal by inclination but needed to join a party that would enable him to become Prime Minister. This is less disreputable than it sounds as before Mrs Thatcher renewed the party’s ideology the Conservatives had become a broad anti-socialist coallition. The dropping of overt socialism by Blair has, alas, left many of these Conservatives of convenience high and dry though. Maybe Nick was one of these.

He may also be reluctant to mention his Tory past as the visceral amnity of the BBC towards anybody remotely that party is well known.

Nick was very active in the so-called “wet” wing of the Conservatives, the Tory Reform Group. I think he just got disillusioned with all the far-right libertarian tossers who were infiltrating the YC’s on behalf of the Heritage Foundation.

Whatever his past, obviously Robinson isn’t a Tory now - he’s got a sense of humour.