Political Director

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Jonathan has taken a keen interest in politics ever since the proceedings of the House of Commons were first televised in 1989 (when he was only just out of short trousers!)

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In 1996 he went to study Modern Languages and Linguistics at the University of York, where he was deputy editor of the student newspaper, Vision, and played an active role in student politics.

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On graduation he joined the BBC, where he worked as a political analyst in the Westminster newsroom, and four years later was recruited by the Daily Telegraph. He spent five years there, as deputy editor of the paper’s diary column and latterly writing his own daily political column - as well as blogging about politics on the paper's website.

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This precipitated his move to ConservativeHome.com, which he joined as Co-Editor in November 2008, making him the first journalist from a British national newspaper to leave the mainstream media to work in the blogosphere. In March 2010 he became the first professional “blogger” to be accredited with a Lobby pass by the House of Commons authorities.

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In August 2011 Jonathan became Political Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance.

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A regular political pundit and newspaper reviewer on radio and television, he also helped research Dean Godson’s acclaimed biography of David Trimble, Himself Alone. His own first book – Boris v Ken: How Boris Won London, co-written with Giles Edwards – was published in June 2008.

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Away from politics, Jonathan is a devoted fan of Coronation Street, enjoys listening to an eclectic mix of music (he owns every single Now That's What I Call Music album) and is an accomplished after-dinner speaker with a talent for mimicry.