Peter Oborne

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Peter Alan Oborne (born July 11, 1957) is a journalist, commentator, and author. He is particularly known for his commentaries on the apparent hypocrisy of today's politicians. He is the author of a highly-critical biography of Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell and, in a different vein, of the cricketer Basil D'Oliveira (for which he won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 2004) whose selection for England to tour South Africa in 1968 caused that country's apartheid regime to cancel the tour. He is also a vocal critic of the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe and author of a pamphlet about the situation in the country entitled A Moral Duty to Act There.

In April 2005 he presented the Channel 4 programme in the Election Unspun series, "Why Politicians Can't Tell The Truth", examining how the major political parties in the UK allegedly pursue an agenda designed to appeal only to a narrow band of floating voters expected to be decisive in the UK General Elections of 2005.

On Monday 20 June 2005 he wrote an article for London's Evening Standard with the title "Why the US is now our great enemy". In this article he argues how although he and his generation were brought up to love the US, that today they are the greatest threat to world civilisation. Global warming is the hinge point he describes around which this ally has turned into 'the biggest threat'. In this field, Oborne might be described as a kind of British equivalent of a paleoconservative, while someone like Michael Gove might be seen as a British neoconservative.

Oborne's extensive contacts on the right of British politics mean he is now generally regarded as one of the foremost conservative commentators in the land. He is regularly lampooned in the satirical magazine Private Eye as Peter O'Bore.

In April 2006 it was announced that Oborne was taking up a new position at the Daily Mail as a political columnist, while retaining his connection with The Spectator as a contributing editor. Fraser Nelson of The Scotsman replaced Oborne as the Spectator's political editor.

Preceded by Tom Bower

William Hill Sports Book of the Year winner 2004

Succeeded by Gary Imlach