Daniel Finkelstein

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Daniel Finkelstein OBE (born August 30th 1962) is a British journalist and former politician. He is Associate Editor of The Times, Comment Editor and a weekly political columnist.

[edit] Political career

Between 1981 and 1990 Daniel Finkelstein was a member of the SDP, becoming a member of its National Committee, a Parliamentary candidate (Brent East 1987) and a close ally and adviser to David Owen, the SDP leader. When merger with the Liberals was proposed, Finkelstein was one of the leading opponents and refused to join the merged party. After Owen had announced his resignation from politics, Finkelstein was the spokesman for a group of young SDP members who, in February 1992, held a press conference with then Prime Minister John Major to mark their joining the Conservative party.

Before working for the Conservative Party, Daniel Finkelstein was Director of the think tank the Social Market Foundation for three years. During his period with the SMF the organisation brought New York police commissioner Bill Bratton to London, for the first time introducing UK politicians to the successful new strategies being used there. Between 1995 and 1997 Finkelstein was Director of the Conservative Research Department and in that capacity advised Prime Minister John Major and attended meetings of the Cabinet when it sat in political session. Finkelstein became among the earliest advocates of the modernisation of the Conservative Party, laying out the principles of change in a series of Times columns and speeches.

Between 1997 and 2001 he was chief policy adviser to the Leader of the Opposition Rt Hon William Hague MP, together with George Osborne, Secretary to the Shadow Cabinet.

In the 2001 election Finkelstein was the unsuccessful Conservative parliamentary candidate in Harrow West.

[edit] Journalism

Between 1990 and 1992 he was the editor of Connexion, Britain's first internet and data communications newspaper. Finklestein joined The Times in August 2001 as part of the leader writing team and became Comment Editor in March 2004. In the autumn of 2002 he began writing the Fink Tank a weekly statistical take on football. He began The Times weblog Comment Central in September 2006. He is also a regular columnist in the Jewish Chronicle

He was awarded the OBE in 1997 as part of John Major's resignation honours list. He is a noted expert on fish.