ABOUT ME

I am not a career politician. That’s the important thing.

After stepping down from JLA, ‘the UK’s leading speaker bureau’ (FT), I now live in the heart of Bury – yards from where my grandfather once worked behind a grocery counter. Nothing makes me happier than setting up home where his journey started more than a century ago.

I founded JLA in 1990, providing new wave comedians for recession-weary audiences. We went on to uncover talent like Michael McIntyre, Jimmy Carr and Tim Minchin, and seized the chance to do the same with the world of public speaking. As well as bringing over statesmen from Gorbachev to Clinton we launched hundreds of experts, motivators and after dinner speakers onto the circuit.  

My clients included Mark Carney when he left the Bank of England, and former heads of the British Army, MI5 and the Metropolitan Police. I also represented ex-politicians from across the spectrum – from David Blunkett, the late Alistair Darling and Charles Kennedy to William Hague, Ruth Davidson and Rory Stewart. And I confess to being Boris Johnson’s speaking agent until he entered No.10!

Johnson’s disastrous performance as Prime Minister was the turning point. I had to become politically active, not just engaged. I want to give voice to the middle ground, encourage other moderate ex-Tories to step forward as Independents, and help to remove a party that has lost its compass.

As an Independent I have no interest in climbing the greasy pole to high office, and I won’t be distracted by a lucrative second job! My time will be focused on serving the people of Stowmarket, Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding towns and villages. I’ll be guided throughout by a ready made network of experts on everything from parliamentary procedure to developing technologies.

Please get involved in the campaign. Register as a volunteer or simply sign up for the latest news, follow us on social media, tell us what you’d do if you were PM (see Make a Law!), and join me and the IndependentLEE team at our Let’s Talk events coming to a venue near you.