Matthew Taylor (Labour politician)
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Matthew Taylor (born 1960) is a senior policy advisor to British prime minister, Tony Blair.
Taylor is the only son of the sociologist and broadcaster Professor Laurie Taylor. He was asked to leave Emanuel School in Clapham, south London, and failed to get his A-levels first time around because he had eloped (to exotic Maida Vale) with a girl called Pandora. After getting his A-Levels at the second attempt, he received a place at Southampton University, where he spent all his time in student politics. He was somewhat of an oppositionist and left the University Labour Group to set up his own Socialist Society.
Taylor became a Warwickshire county councillor and fought Warwick and Leamington in the 1992 general election, pulling Labour up into second place, before joining the Labour Party's staff in 1994. He became the Party's Campaign Co-ordinator, then Director of Policy during the 1997 general election victory. He played an important role in drawing up the manifesto and the Party's high-profile 'pledge-card' and developing the infamous Excalibur rapid rebuttal database that was used to discredit the Conservative Party. Taylor became Assistant General Secretary of the Labour Party under Margaret McDonagh but clashed with her and left in December 1998.
He moved on to be Director of the influential think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research. Some IPPR trustees were uncomfortable about appointing someone so closely associated with the Labour government, but he revolutionised the Institute's profile and output. Taylor became a familiar face on current affairs programmes such as Newsnight.
Following this he was appointed by Blair to head the Number 10 Downing Street Policy Unit, being charged with drawing up the Labour Party's manifesto for the May 2005 general election. Following the re-election of the Labour government he was given the post of Chief Adviser on Strategy to the Prime Minister. He has brought a fresh approach to engaging members of the public with the political process and played a key role in developing the Labour Party's "Big Conversation" discussion forums. He also has a sharp sense of humour and is well known in Whitehall as a source of amusing anecdotes and one-liners. In recent years he has become something of a fitness fanatic and is often seen in tight running trousers leaving No 10 to jog home in south London. He is a keen West Bromwich Albion fan.
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