Steve Hilton
Encyclopedia
Steve Hilton is the director of strategy for David Cameron
, Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party
in the United Kingdom
. He and his wife Rachel Whetstone
were godparent
s to David Cameron's late eldest son Ivan.
immigrants called Hircsák (alternative spelling: Hircksac), who fled their home during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and anglicized their name to Hilton when moved to Britain
as immigrants. He won a scholarship to Christ's Hospital School in Sussex
before reading Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
at Oxford.
. He liaised with the party's favourite 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." During this time Steve came up with the infamous "New Labour, New Danger" demon eyes poster campaign.
It is alleged that Hilton said "I voted Green" after the Labour landslide of 2001
, but since then he has worked with Cameron to re-brand the Conservative party as green
and progressive.
According to leaks in The Guardian
, Hilton's policy ideas include
, the former Tory aide (political secretary to Michael Howard
) who is now head of communications at Google
.
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 got into a dispute with the train staff, which resulted in the police being called. Hilton was arrested and taken to a British Transport Police
station at Birmingham New Street, where he was issued with a penalty notice and a criminal record
for disorder
under section 5 of the Public Order Act
."
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, Prime Minister and leader of the 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...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He and his wife Rachel Whetstone
Rachel Whetstone
Rachel Whetstone was Political Secretary to former Conservative leader, Michael Howard. She is now global head of communications and public policy for search-engine company Google....
were godparent
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
s to David Cameron's late eldest son Ivan.
Early life
Hilton is the son of HungarianHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
immigrants called Hircsák (alternative spelling: Hircksac), who fled their home during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and anglicized their name to Hilton when moved to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as immigrants. He won a scholarship to Christ's Hospital School in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
before reading Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Philosophy, politics, and economics is a popular interdisciplinary undergraduate/graduate degree which combines study from the three disciplines...
at Oxford.
Career
After graduating, Hilton joined Conservative Central Office, where he came to know David Cameron and Rachel Whetstone, his future wife and Global VP of Public Affairs and Communications for GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. He liaised with the party's favourite 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." During this time Steve came up with the infamous "New Labour, New Danger" demon eyes poster campaign.
It is alleged that Hilton said "I voted Green" after the Labour landslide of 2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, but since then he has worked with Cameron to re-brand the Conservative party as green
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
and progressive.
According to leaks in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Hilton's policy ideas include
- Abolition of maternity leave
- Abolition of all consumer rights legislation
- Ignore EU labour rules on temporary workers
- Close job-centres
- Use cloudbursting technology to provide more sunshine.
Personal life
Hilton is married to Rachel WhetstoneRachel Whetstone
Rachel Whetstone was Political Secretary to former Conservative leader, Michael Howard. She is now global head of communications and public policy for search-engine company Google....
, the former Tory aide (political secretary to Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
) who is now head of communications at Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
.
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 got into a dispute with the train staff, which resulted in the police being called. Hilton was arrested and taken to a British Transport Police
British Transport Police
The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
station at Birmingham New Street, where he was issued with a penalty notice and a criminal record
Criminal record
A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess his or her trustworthiness. The information included in a criminal record varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country...
for disorder
Civil disorder
Civil disorder, also known as civil unrest or civil strife, is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people. Civil disturbance is typically a symptom of, and a form of protest against, major socio-political problems;...
under section 5 of the Public Order Act
Public Order Act 1963
The Public Order Act 1963 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Changes to penalties and mode of trialSection 1 increased the penalties to which a person guilty of an offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1936 or under section 1 of the Public Meeting Act 1908 was...
."