I’ve lived in or near St Albans since 1980 apart from a brief period in New York in the early 1990s. Francesca and I were married in St Albans Abbey.
Our oldest son Edward was born in St Albans City Hospital (which also took out my appendix on a happily separate occasion). Tom and Dora were born at Watford and QE2 respectively – so we boxed the compass on local maternity provision!
When I commuted into London, I had all the pleasure of the former “BedPan” service, then Thameslink and finally First Capital Connect. After spending many years in the city centre, we now live in one of the nearby villages – so I hope I communicate both my passion for the city of St Albans which I know so well but also an understanding of the needs of our villages and why we have to preserve the green belt and rural character of the surrounding communities.
I have lived in Hertfordshire far longer than anywhere else, but I was originally from the far north of Scotland. My great grandfather Thomas Stuart Burnett carved Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh which must be one of the most photographed sculptures in the world. I then did my schooling in Cheltenham, where my mother was a teacher and my father worked at GCHQ.
I studied economics and law at Cambridge University, and then qualified as a barrister at Grays Inn of Court in London. I was lucky enough to spend a fascinating year as a Rotary-sponsored graduate student at Tulane University in New Orleans, living on the top floor of a converted warehouse in the historic French Quarter, seeing Professor Longhair, the Neville Brothers and many other modern jazz greats performing live, as well as travelling across the south of the USA to speak to Rotary Clubs, schools and colleges.
My working life began before university on the shop floor of a Berlin aluminium window factory as the only non-Turkish member of the lorry-loading team. My German was rudimentary and so was theirs. The city was still divided by the Berlin Wall and gripped by the cold war. I made numerous trips into East Berlin, further afield into the former East Germany and Czechoslovakia, and subsequently into the further reaches of Eastern Europe. One journey took me walking through Transylvania and I saw the impact of the Ceausescus on Romania. Seeing the bitter effects of communist rule first-hand had a profound impact on my political thinking, as did subsequent journeys into eastern Turkey, Iran and the former Soviet republics in the Caucasus.
In Britain, I had various jobs including letterpress printer in Cambridge and life at the sharp end as swarf clearer, fettler, crane operator, nightwatchman, machine operator etc etc in a wide variety of small industrial plants.
All this slightly random experience was brought to bear when I was asked to be Head of Research for the Liberal Party in Westminster. Working in a small office adjacent to the House of Commons Chamber, I wrote speeches and briefs for all of the frontbench team. It was great fun.
I then moved into the oil industry, working for Texaco in both commercial and communications roles. A very enjoyable period was spent overseeing the Texaco Trophy one-day cricket internationals, including sitting in the commentary box with John Arlott, Bill Frindall and the rest of the Test Match Special gang. On a more sombre note there was also the challenge of dealing with the aftermath of the Piper Alpha disaster.
I spent two years in New York with Texaco and was then head-hunted to be Director of Public Affairs for British Telecommunications (BT). This role took me into Number 10 Downing Street, the Treasury, DTI and other key departments of state, at a time when competition and the internet were dramatically transforming the world of telecommunications. I also had the privilege of overseeing BT’s £15 million corporate social responsibility programme working with a huge range of national and local organizations including RNID, Shelter, and the National Theatre.
My most recent full-time employment was as Director of Public Affairs for Transport for London (TfL). This gave me insight into the public sector – some good, some bad – and an understanding of the vital importance of good public transport and good provision for walkers and cyclists if we are to make any success in tackling global climate change. I have always been a cyclist, I joined Friends of the Earth in the 1970’s at the same time as I joined the Liberal Party and I have always belonged to one or other of the major environmental campaign groups ever since.
I now work as a communications consultant, advising various organisations, to give me time to campaign for the Liberal Democrats in St Albans.
I first joined the Liberal Party in 1973 when I was a student. I came to St Albans in 1980, and was the Liberal/SDP Alliance candidate for St Albans in the 1983 and 1987 elections, polling more than 20,000 votes on both occasions. In 1983 I received more individual votes than Mrs Thatcher who was just down the road in Finchley! – but sadly fewer than my then opponent Peter Lilley. I did become a St Albans city councillor, helping achieve residents parking for city centre residents before my work move to the USA required me to stand down from the council.
Most recently I ran the Liberal Democrat media relations and rapid rebuttal operation as part of the core campaign team in the party headquarters in Cowley Street in the 2005 general election. That’s when I decided I preferred to be out in front standing for election rather than being behind the scenes.
So here I am.