Author, journalist and expert on British regional and national affairs. Worked for almost three decades at the Financial Times, where he did many of the top writing and editing jobs, including comment and analysis editor and political editor. Also former editor of Scotland on Sunday, which he launched as deputy editor and which won many awards. Educated at Manchester Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he got a first-class BA in English Language and Literature. Originally from Stretford, Lancashire (now part of Greater Manchester),he returned to live in the north – in Saddleworth, south Pennines – in 2015. He has a lifelong interest in history.
