About me

In which my secret identity is revealed

I was born in Dagenham and grew up in Romford. I went to school in a town called Brentwood, now best known for The Only Way is Essex. I used to drink in those very bars.

I don’t live there any more.

I’ve been writing for a living since 2003. During the hours of daylight I’ve worked for the business and public sector press. In my spare time, I contribute to various online magazines and freelance for the mainstream media.

Things I’ve written about professionally include, in no particular order: Tony Blair and Richard Curtis, Boris Johnson, tuition fees, trade unions, electioneering, IT, movies, PFI, Doctor Who, US politics, NHS finance, Dubai, London transport, creationism, the housing crisis, Shoreditch bars, interns and exploitation, Sex and the City, free schools, outsourcing, M&A, and the Japanese property crash of 1989.

I also enjoy a nice long walk.

If you prefer a slightly more structured approach to these things, you can see my full CV below. Or you can read more about how I spend my office hours here.

Career

  • July 2003-May 2005: contributing editor for ak13.com
  • November 2004-January 2006: staff writer for Private Equity International and Private Equity Real Estate magazines – monthly magazines covering international finance
  • January 2006-December 2007: staff writer, then deputy editor, of Public Private Finance – monthly business and policy magazine covering public private partnerships
  • January 2008-October 2009: senior reporter for GP newspaper and Independent Nurse magazine
  • October 2008: US election blogger for the New Statesman
  • June 2009-present: contributor to Londonist.com
  • November 2009-present: editor, EducationInvestor magazine and contributing editor to HealthInvestor
  • Freelance contributor to publications including The First Post, The New Statesman, Guardian Unlimited, Liberal Conspiracy, TCS Daily, Smoke: A London Peculiar, The Sharpener

Education

  • BA (Hons) in English from Trinity Hall, Cambridge (2.1). Dissertations on 1930s political literature and the plays of Joe Orton.
  • MA in journalism from the London College of Communications (distinction). Thesis on euro-scepticism in the British press.