Simon Fletcher has over twenty years political experience including eight years at the most senior levels of London government.

He was the mayor of London’s chief of staff 2000-2008, the first two terms of London’s elected mayoralty.

He was campaign manager of Ken Livingstone’s 2000 successful independent candidacy for the London mayoralty, and agent.  He was also campaign manager of Mr Livingstone’s bid to become the Labour candidate in 2000. He resigned his post as chief of staff to work as director of Ken Livingstone’s mayoral campaign in 2004, when he was re-elected – this time as the Labour candidate.

He was involved in all major areas of policy, politics and media strategy, as part of a ground-breaking admininstration that delivered record Met police numbers, falling crime and neighbourhood policing in every part of London; successfully bid to host the 2012 Olympics; secured the biggest transport investment programme since the Second World War; revived London’s bus service; saw London become a world leader in transport policy with the congestion charge, cutting traffic levels and boosting public transport; played a leading role in the work of cities tackling climate change; combined investment with progressive fares policies such as the abolition of all bus and tram fares for under-18s; and promoted London’s position internationally as a modern multicultural city.

He is currently London Campaign and Research Director for the Labour party, having been appointed to this post in December 2009.

Simon has contributed political commentary to Comment is Free and Labourlist. He was consulting editor on the New Statesman’s Ken Livingstone guest-editorship September 2009 and helped establish Progressive London.

Simon has been a member of the Labour party since 1988 and is a member of the Unite union. He has a first class degree BA (Hons) in Politics and Government from the City of London Polytechnic, now part of London Metropolitan University.