Peter Heaton-Jones
Encyclopedia
Peter Heaton-Jones, is a British politician and journalist who has held senior positions in the media and politics in both the UK and Australia.
In 2010 he was elected as a Conservative Party
Borough Councillor in Swindon
, Wiltshire
, and ran the general election campaigns of the two new Conservative MPs in Swindon. In the media, he is best known for presenting news programmes on BBC
national and local radio in the UK, and was the former head of marketing for ABC radio in Australia.
. He worked initially in commercial radio before joining the BBC
in 1986, becoming a reporter, producer and news presenter at BBC Essex
and anchoring the Breakfast and Drivetime programmes.
He joined the national news & current affairs network BBC Radio 5 Live
when it opened in 1994. He was best known as presenter of Morning Reports and Up All Night
, as well as editing programmes hosted by TV presenters Nicholas Witchell
, Alastair Stewart
and Diana Madill.
During this period he also worked at BBC Southern Counties Radio
, and undertook various media training and advisory roles.
in Sydney
. He became head of marketing for radio stations ABC NewsRadio
, Radio National
and ABC Classic FM
, but left after three years as a result of the reorganisation instigated by controversial Managing Director Jonathan Shier
.
He returned to the UK in 2000 and joined BBC Radio Swindon, gaining a high profile in the region as presenter of the Breakfast Show and Morning Show from 2000 to 2006. He was also a newspaper columnist for the Swindon Advertiser
.
He left full-time broadcasting in August 2006, apart from a guest role presenting the launch programme and first week of Breakfast shows at community radio station Swindon 105.5
in March 2008.
Tony Blair
.
After leaving the BBC he joined the British Conservative Party
and wrote articles and policy documents.
In 2006, Peter Heaton-Jones returned to Australia and worked on the election campaign of Rob Stokes
, the Liberal Party
candidate in the New South Wales
Electoral district of Pittwater
. The campaign succeeded, with Stokes regaining the seat for the Liberals from incumbent Independent Member of Parliament Alex McTaggart
. After the election, Peter Heaton-Jones was appointed Stokes' policy advisor and press secretary in the New South Wales Parliament.
In 2007 he returned to live in the UK, and stood as the Conservative Party candidate in the 2008 local elections in a strongly pro-Labour area of Swindon Borough Council. After the election, Peter Heaton-Jones was appointed the Party's media and campaigns director. In 2009 he became a Councillor on Haydon Wick Parish Council and a Governor at Isambard Community School, both in North Swindon.
In 2010, Peter Heaton-Jones was agent and campaign director for the Conservative candidates in the North Swindon
and South Swindon
parliamentary constiuencies, both of which were gained from the Labour Party at the general election on 6 May. On the same day he was elected to Swindon Borough Council as councillor for the Abbey Meads ward.
Following the election, he was appointed Senior Parliamentary Assistant to Members of Parliament Robert Buckland and Justin Tomlinson. He was also appointed to a number of committees on Swindon Borough Council, including the Planning and Scrutiny committees.
In 2010 he was elected as a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Borough Councillor in Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, and ran the general election campaigns of the two new Conservative MPs in Swindon. In the media, he is best known for presenting news programmes on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
national and local radio in the UK, and was the former head of marketing for ABC radio in Australia.
Early career
Peter Heaton-Jones began his broadcasting career after graduating from the University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. He worked initially in commercial radio before joining the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1986, becoming a reporter, producer and news presenter at BBC Essex
BBC Essex
BBC Essex is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Essex. It broadcasts from its studios on New London Road in Chelmsford on 103.5 and 95.3 FM, and on 729 , 765 , and 1530 AM. It is also available on DAB and live streaming via the internet.-History:BBC Essex launched on 5...
and anchoring the Breakfast and Drivetime programmes.
He joined the national news & current affairs network BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
when it opened in 1994. He was best known as presenter of Morning Reports and Up All Night
Up All Night (radio show)
Up All Night is a programme broadcast on the national radio station BBC Radio 5 Live in the United Kingdom, and is on air between the hours of 1 am and 5 am every night...
, as well as editing programmes hosted by TV presenters Nicholas Witchell
Nicholas Witchell
Nicholas Newton Henshall Witchell is an English journalist. He is the current diplomatic and royal correspondent for BBC News...
, Alastair Stewart
Alastair Stewart
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:...
and Diana Madill.
During this period he also worked at BBC Southern Counties Radio
BBC Southern Counties Radio
BBC Southern Counties Radio was the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Surrey and Sussex. The station also covered a large part of North-East Hampshire. It was the first BBC Local Radio station to introduce a controversial all-speech format...
, and undertook various media training and advisory roles.
Later career
In 1997, Peter Heaton-Jones moved to Australia to join the Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He became head of marketing for radio stations ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio service devoted to delivering live and 24-hour news updates and information. The service is available on a number of broadcasts right around Australia, including AM/FM radio, some pay-TV platforms and online via the Internet.Originally...
, Radio National
Radio National
ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
and ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
, but left after three years as a result of the reorganisation instigated by controversial Managing Director Jonathan Shier
Jonathan Shier
Jonathan Shier is an Australian-born media executive who lived in the United Kingdom from 1976 until 1999, who is best known for his controversial tenure as managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1999-2002.- References :...
.
He returned to the UK in 2000 and joined BBC Radio Swindon, gaining a high profile in the region as presenter of the Breakfast Show and Morning Show from 2000 to 2006. He was also a newspaper columnist for the Swindon Advertiser
Swindon Advertiser
The Swindon Advertiser is a daily tabloid newspaper, published in Swindon. The newspaper was founded in 1854, and had a circulation in 2006 of 22,321....
.
He left full-time broadcasting in August 2006, apart from a guest role presenting the launch programme and first week of Breakfast shows at community radio station Swindon 105.5
Swindon 105.5
SWINDON 105.5 is a community radio station for Swindon, Wiltshire fully licensed by media and communications regulator Ofcom. The station is run by volunteers and obtains its funding by donations from the public and local companies and from Ofcom grants...
in March 2008.
Politics
Peter Heaton-Jones specialised as a political journalist, including the presentation of BBC election coverage nationally and locally from 1986 onwards. In 2006 he conducted a face-to-face interview with then-British Prime MinisterPrime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
.
After leaving the BBC he joined the British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and wrote articles and policy documents.
In 2006, Peter Heaton-Jones returned to Australia and worked on the election campaign of Rob Stokes
Rob Stokes
Robert "Rob" Gordon Stokes BA, LLM MP , an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Pittwater for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2007. He is currently the NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Renewable Energy.-Early life and background:Stokes grew...
, the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
candidate in the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Electoral district of Pittwater
Electoral district of Pittwater
Pittwater is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. Located in Sydney's north-east, it is 175.32 km² in size, and comprises the local government area of Pittwater Council and parts of Warringah Council...
. The campaign succeeded, with Stokes regaining the seat for the Liberals from incumbent Independent Member of Parliament Alex McTaggart
Alex McTaggart
Alex McTaggart MP, a former Australian politician, was an independent member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Pittwater between 2005 and 2007...
. After the election, Peter Heaton-Jones was appointed Stokes' policy advisor and press secretary in the New South Wales Parliament.
In 2007 he returned to live in the UK, and stood as the Conservative Party candidate in the 2008 local elections in a strongly pro-Labour area of Swindon Borough Council. After the election, Peter Heaton-Jones was appointed the Party's media and campaigns director. In 2009 he became a Councillor on Haydon Wick Parish Council and a Governor at Isambard Community School, both in North Swindon.
In 2010, Peter Heaton-Jones was agent and campaign director for the Conservative candidates in the North Swindon
North Swindon
North Swindon is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is located in Wiltshire, South West England.-Boundaries:...
and South Swindon
South Swindon
South Swindon is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
parliamentary constiuencies, both of which were gained from the Labour Party at the general election on 6 May. On the same day he was elected to Swindon Borough Council as councillor for the Abbey Meads ward.
Following the election, he was appointed Senior Parliamentary Assistant to Members of Parliament Robert Buckland and Justin Tomlinson. He was also appointed to a number of committees on Swindon Borough Council, including the Planning and Scrutiny committees.