Thomas Hogg
Young, experienced campaigner, startup and technology innovator and Social Policy academic. As a home-owner in Wexham, I am here for the long-term. My main goal is to protect our ward and environment from housebuilding. I’m an expert in marginal constituency elections, a graphic designer and previously a public speaking coach, so I know how to campaign effectively.
Political priorities
- Keeping our countryside: we are so close to Slough, it would be easy for us to get swallowed up as a suburb. It’ll be my main priority to ensure that doesn’t happen. We love our countryside and we want to keep it that way.
- Protect our environment: bio-diversity is in a crisis in England, and I want our ward and Buckinghamshire to be a leading light in environmental protection. The Conservatives should be strong on conservation.
- Improving our roads: the potholes on the roads in our area can damage cars and they need to be improved. I would place pressure on the council to act.
- Thinking outside the box: the most dangerous thinking is the "we’ve always done it that way" approach. Councillors are community leaders and it’s our duty to find innovative ways to reach our environmental, educational and community goals, improve services and make the council more sustainable with limited resources. The world is opening up to all kinds of innovation; we just need to embrace it.
Biography
A party member for over 10 years, with experience campaigning for 4 general election campaigns, 2 by-elections and a council election. I believe in localism, environmentalism and the power of the community. I have spent three years exploring social policy research from health to education policy at university. An experienced businessman, I have also worked with some of the world’s top business leaders from Facebook to Barclays Bank, as well as UK Government advisers from No 10 downwards. As an innovator, it’s my job to understand what people want and why, which gives me a big advantage in policy creation. I have also contributed twice at ConservativeHome, on innovation in politics and Theresa May.
Life Experience
• Public policy and business leader network, 2017-present: as part of my work for knowledge-sharing startup MindSauce, I have built up a network of former government advisers and MPs, and business leaders from major UK startups and FTSE businesses. I can tap into this network for the council, and this can be a big advantage, showing us new perspectives and guidance from experts when facing new challenges.
• Innovating in the business world, 2013-present: early team member of a high-growth startup which now spans across a huge chunk of the financial and legal advice market, I have learned from the best in developing products and services people love
• Education research, 2013: I wrote my dissertation on the league table-topping Finnish education system, and went there to do primary research. Giving children more responsibility and more space to be creative were two vital factors, as was a strong community.
• Social Policy, 2010-13: Bachelors, Social Policy, Bristol University
• Public Speaking, 2011-12: President of Public Speaking Society, Bristol University o Official Toastmaster Club
o Involved coaching members, helping them communicate and not feel daunted by the audience
• Political negotiations, 2011-12: Vice-President of Model United Nations, Bristol University o Conferences I went to included Bath, Cambridge and Barcelona. Involved understanding 3-dimensional political situations, negotiating with several partners concurrently and reaching legal resolutions.
• Journalism and communication, 2011-13: Editor-in-chief, Vantage Student Newspaper, Bristol University o With almost no budget, we reached thousands of students through viral social media and articles. We kept the Student Union to account, and revealed tax evasion by the Student Union President.
Political Campaigning Experience
• 2018 Kensington & Chelsea council election – for Cem Kamahli, who got elected for the first time. A difficult year for Kensington & Chelsea, which had a double blow of Grenfell Tower and being a very Remain area, the Conservatives kept all but one seat they formerly had.
• 2010 Andrew Percy General Election campaign – in a traditionally Labour area, we worked our socks off to get Andrew Percy elected. We went round thousands of houses and Andrew became an MP.
• 2010 Caroline Nokes General Election campaign – a traditionally Lib Dem marginal constituency, I helped Caroline get elected as an MP for the first time.
• 2010 Wilfried Emmanuel-Jones General Election campaign – a Lib Dem/Tory marginal. Wilfried didn’t quite make it in this election, but he came close, falling short by under 2500 votes.
• 2010 Amber Rudd/Greg Clark General Election campaign – I did several days campaigning in Hastings & Rye and the nearby area, helping out a friend who is a local active campaigner
• 2009 Chloe Smith by-election campaign – telephone campaigning from CCHQ
• 2008 David Davis by-election campaign – my first taste of the election process, I was there for three weeks and got recommendations from David Davis and campaign manager Victoria Aitken