If you feel that life is just too short to bother reading yet another blog, I have some sympathy with you. There is no shortage of blogs on politics, financial services and current affairs and some of them are even worth reading. I am writing this blog partly because I have been told to by my boss who thinks my opinions are usually worth listening to and by my wife who thinks they need another outlet.
However, I am also writing it as somebody who has made a transition in life from politics into financial services and who is interested in the linkages and often the level of disconnect between the two worlds. So far in my career, I have been a local journalist, a new Labour comms person, a special advisor in the Home Office and 10 Downing Street, a banking strategist and now an operations director at the biggest financial services trade body in the UK. I will be drawing on all these experiences to offer some thoughts on current affairs, financial services (especially the insurance industry) and politics.
Two principles will underpin this blog. Firstly, I am only going to write when I have something considered to say; there are plenty of very good daily bloggers and I already have a demanding day job. Secondly as I will be writing on the ABI website, I will not be getting involved in the more partisan political debates. This is not difficult. It is nearly six years since I retired from active service as a special advisor and the wider world and my career have both moved on a lot. I am aiming to provide some detached insight, thoughtful analysis and some linkage between two worlds that are vital to all our lives yet frequently misunderstood.