Steve Hilton

Steve Hilton

Hilton in 2015
Born (1969-08-25) 25 August 1969
United Kingdom
Nationality British
Education Christ's Hospital
New College, Oxford
Spouse(s) Rachel Whetstone

Steve Hilton (born 25 August 1969)[1] is a former director of strategy for David Cameron, who was Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016.

He spent a year as a visiting scholar at Stanford Universities' Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.[2] He is the co-founder and current CEO of Crowdpac, a political data technology startup, and is a visiting scholar at the think tank Policy Exchange.[3]

Early life

Hilton is the son of Hungarian immigrants whose original surname was Hircsák[4] (alternative spelling: Hirtsac),[5] who fled their home during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. They came to Britain, initially claiming asylum, and anglicised their name to Hilton.

He won a scholarship to Christ's Hospital School in Horsham before reading Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at New College, Oxford.

Career

After graduating, Hilton joined Conservative Central Office, where he came to know David Cameron and Rachel Whetstone, his future wife and Senior Vice-President of Policy and Communications at Uber.[6] He liaised with the party's advertising firm, Saatchi and Saatchi, and was praised by Maurice Saatchi, who remarked, "No one reminds me as much of me when young as Steve."[5] During this time Hilton came up with the "New Labour, New Danger" demon eyes poster campaign[7] for the Conservative's pre-general election campaign in 1996, which won an award from the advertising industry's Campaign magazine at the beginning of 1997.[8] In 2005, Hilton lost out to future Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove in the selection process for the Surrey Heath constituency.[9]

Hilton talked of the need to "replace" the traditionally minded grassroots membership of the Conservative Party, which he saw was preventing the party from embracing a more metropolitan attitude on social issues.[10]

It is alleged that Hilton said "I voted Green" after the Labour landslide of 2001,[5] but since then he has worked with Cameron to re-brand the Conservative Party as green and progressive. According to The Economist Hilton "remains appallingly understood".[11] There were reports that Hilton's 'blue sky thinking' caused conflict in Whitehall and, according to Nicholas Watt of The Guardian, Liberal Democrats around deputy prime minister Nick Clegg considered him to be a "refreshing but wacky thinker".[12]

Hilton was satirised in the BBC comedy The Thick of It as the herbal-tea drinking spin doctor Stewart Pearson.[13][14]

On 2 March 2012, Downing Street announced that Hilton would be a "visiting scholar" at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies for a year.[15] His last memo concerned the advocacy of severe cuts in the number of civil servants in the United Kingdom[16] and further welfare cuts.[17]

Hilton is co-founder and CEO of Crowdpac.com, a Silicon Valley technology start-up.[18] In April 2016, Crowdpac launched a beta service in the UK. [19]

In May 2015 Hilton joined the UK think tank Policy Exchange as a visiting scholar.[20]

His book More Human was published on 21 May 2015.[21] It advocates smaller, human-scale organisations and is critical of large governmental and business, including factory farms and banks.[22]

Personal life

Hilton is married to Rachel Whetstone, a former aide (political secretary) to Michael Howard, and former head of communications at Google, currently Senior Vice-President of Policy and Communications at Uber.[6] The couple were godparents to David Cameron's son Ivan, who died at the age of six.

On 7 January 2010 it was reported that in October 2008 Hilton had been arrested. He had been rushing to catch a train back to London after the Conservative Party Conference and had a dispute with the train staff. He was later fined £80.[23][24]

References

  1. ↑ "Steve Hilton: The unseen author of David Cameron's bid for No 10". The Telegraph. London. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  2. ↑ "Top British Advisor Joins Stanford".
  3. ↑ "Steve Hilton discusses his new book More Human in conversation with Charles Moore".
  4. ↑ "Steve Hilton: londoni szürke eminenciás". Budapest: HVG. 15 December 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 Wintour, Patrick (2 December 2006). "'David's brain' transforms Tory brand". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Rachel Whetstone leaves Google communication role to join Uber". Guardian UK. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "Politics Election 2001: 'New Labour, New Danger'", The Guardian, reproduction of poster
  8. ↑ Andrew Culf "Demon eyes ad wins top award", The Guardian, 10 January 1997
  9. ↑ "No 10s new-age rottweiler fights urge to slip the leash". The Times. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Tory MP threatens Cameron with water clock torture – Gary Gibbon on Politics". Channel 4. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "The government has lost its ultimate radical". The Economist. 2 March 2012.
  12. ↑ Nicholas Watt "Steve Hilton policy leaks show Downing Street divide over David Cameron aide", The Guardian, 28 July 2011
  13. ↑ Addley, Esther (19 May 2015). "Ex-No 10 guru Steve Hilton provides David Cameron with food for thought". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  14. ↑ Owen, Paul (14 November 2009). "The Thick of It: series three, episode four". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "David Camerons stratergy chief takes one year sabbatical". The Metro. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  16. ↑ Iain Watson "Steve Hilton's civil service attack uncovers coalition tensions", BBC News, 18 May 2012
  17. ↑ Patrick Wintour "Steve Hilton's parting shots: £25bn in cuts and a broadside at the civil service", The Guardian, 16 May 2012
  18. ↑ "Institute of Politics Winter 2014 Fellow Steve Hilton: Reforming the Conservative Party in the U.K.". Eventbrite.
  19. ↑ "Crowdpac | Giving politics back to people". www.crowdpac.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  20. ↑ Matt Smith. "Steve Hilton discusses his new book More Human in conversation with Charles Moore". Policy Exchange.
  21. ↑ Hilton, Steve (21 May 2015). More Human. WH Allen. ISBN 978-0-7535-5678-8.
  22. ↑ Mcrae, Hamish (21 May 2015). "More Human by Steve Hilton, book review: Watch out for a Tory revolution, Russell Brand". The Independent. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "Cameron aide Steve Hilton arrested at station in 2008". BBC. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  24. ↑ Watt, Nicholas (8 January 2010). "Tories fear plot to destablise Cameron's strategy chief". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 January 2010.

External links

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