Steerpike Steerpike

Matthew Parris: dangerous when sober

In his Times notebook today, Matthew Parris fires off a warning: don’t mess with me when I’m sober. On The World Tonight last Wednesday, he reveals, he had not had his customary evening drink, and was therefore sharper than usual towards the BBC panel. Drink mellows him, you see. Sobriety has the opposite effect.

Which sets us up nicely for the forthcoming Spectator ‘STOP HS2!” debate, which will pit Matthew, who supports High Speed Rail, against Nigel Farage, who doesn’t. Where Matthew calms when mixed with alcohol, Farage notoriously becomes more vociferous with each pint. The Spectator Events team has assured me that Matthew will be kept dry until the event is over, but that ‘Farage can be well plied’. So bring it on!


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Nigel Farage, Matthew Parris, Rory Sutherland and Cheryl Gillan will debate whether the government should ‘Stop HS2!‘ on 31 October 2013 in Westminster. Click here to book tickets.

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