Philip Collins (journalist)

Philip James Collins (born 16 May 1967) is a British journalist, academic, banker and speechwriter.[1]

For the musician, see Phil Collins.

Collins spent several years as an equity strategist in investment banking. He was a political adviser to Frank Field and also worked for the Institute of Education at the University of London, and for the BBC and London Weekend Television.

He was director of the Social Market Foundation before becoming chief speech writer to Tony Blair,[2] and was responsible for writing Blair's last speech as Leader of the Labour Party. In 2007 his was among many names put forward as possible Labour candidates in the constituency of Bolton South East, after the sitting Labour MP Brian Iddon announced he would retire at the 2010 election.[3] Collins did not stand for this or any other seat.

At present, Collins is a leader writer and columnist for The Times. He is a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and an associate editor of Prospect magazine. "The Liberal Republic" (2009) is a pamphlet Collins wrote with his former colleague, Richard Reeves (who later became Nick Clegg's Director of Strategy).

In August 2020 Private Eye reported that "Collins is currently working out his notice after being sacked by editor John Witherow for being insufficiently boosterish about the Woosterish Boris Johnson."[4]

Collins is married to newsreader Geeta Guru-Murthy; the couple have two children and live in London.[5]

Bibliography
  • Start Again: How We Can Fix Our Broken Politics (2018) ISBN 978-0-00-831264-0

References
  1. COLLINS, Philip James’, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 2012 accessed 27 July 2013
  2. "Blair's speechwriter speaks for himself". 6 June 2007 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. Devey, Rob (21 May 2007). "Three in hunt for MP's seat". The Bolton News.
  4. """". Private Eye (1528 ed.). 12 August 2020.
  5. "Meet 'Filthy Phil', Tony Blair's New Wordsmith". Evening Standard. 13 May 2005.


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