I was born in Keswick, in the Lake District, 80 years ago. We became a single-parent family when my father left the family home to go to Canada, with no contact since. I was three and my brother Colin was one. We were supported by my maternal grandparents and a family friend, a Baptist minister.
I’ve been married to my wife, Maureen, for 49 years and we have two daughters, Deborah and Catherine. I come from a Methodist background but have been involved with the Quakers for the past 40 years. It is a non-conformist, dissenting tradition, often questioning the status quo and conventional wisdom.
Before retiring in 1989, I worked as a management accountant in the electricity industry, and was a Labour councillor, a branch secretary for the union Nalgo at the Central Electricity Generating Board and a magistrate. After retirement, I was a Liberal Democrat councillor on Stockport borough council, and then mayor. In the 90s I did Voluntary Service Overseas in Kiribati and the Maldives – recent coverage on the turmoil there has been most welcome.
I started reading the Guardian when I was 22, because it is a quality newspaper, always giving readers a more informed account of an issue or subject. I’m particularly interested in political issues, here and internationally. I’m a political anorak, having campaigned for an English parliament for the past 15 years.
The Guardian’s stand on government surveillance, cyber-security, Iraq, Palestine and Israel, and standing up to powerful corporate interests has been exemplary. Polly Toynbee can set my teeth on edge, but Simon Jenkins, John Harris, Jonathan Freedland, Larry Elliott and Peter Beaumont restore my soul. I enjoy stimulating writing, and particularly read the home, international and review sections – and, of course, the letters page.
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