I’m chief leader writer and a columnist at the Observer, and deputy opinion editor at the Guardian. I’m also a a trustee of the philanthropic foundation the Trust for London, and was a school governor for eight years.

I write columns for The Observer and The Guardian on politics, economics and social affairs. I’m also a sought-after media commentator: I appear regularly on the BBC, Sky News and ITN, and am a regular contributor to the BBC’s flagship politics shows including Question Time, Newsnight and the Today Programme.

I’ve also made several critically-acclaimed documentaries for Radio 4, on a diverse range of subjects including Brexit, healthcare, immigration, the future of work, and the university system.

Before working in journalism, I was a senior policy adviser to Ed Miliband. I’ve also worked in senior policy roles in the charity sector, including Head of Public Services at the consumer champion Which?, and Head of Policy and Strategy at the Dartington Social Research Unit. I’ve also worked for two leading centre-left think tanks: I was Head of the Capabilities programme at Demos from 2008-2010, where I ran its programme of research on education, children, young people and families. Prior to that, I was a Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, where I led several research projects on children, education and social policy.