Isabel Hardman, Lady Walney (born 5 May 1986), is an English political

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and the assistant editor of ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

''. In 2015, she was named Journalist of the Year at the Political Studies Association's annual awards.

Early life

Born in Camden, Hardman is the daughter of Michael Hardman, the first chairman and one of the four founders of the

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is ...

. She attended

St Catherine's School, Bramley St Catherine's School is an independent girls' school in the village of Bramley, near Guildford, Surrey, England. The school is divided into a senior school, for ages 11–18, and a preparatory school for girls aged 4–11. History St Cat ...

, and

Godalming College Godalming College is a sixth form college, situated in Godalming, south-west of London and five miles from Guildford, Surrey. The college had been consistently oversubscribed in years prior to 2010. It is the successor to Godalming Grammar Scho ...

, before graduating from the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

with a first-class degree in English literature in 2007. While at university, Hardman worked as a freelance journalist for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''. She completed a National Council for the Training of Journalists course at

Highbury College Highbury College is a further education college in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It offers vocational and academic education and training, including apprenticeships, A-levels and foundation degrees. The college is a member of the Collab G ...

in 2009.

Career

Hardman began her career in journalism as a senior reporter for '' Inside Housing'' magazine. She then became assistant news editor at

PoliticsHome Merit Group plc is a British publishing holding company founded in 2001. It is company number 04267888. Its largest shareholder is the Conservative politician and businessman Lord Michael Ashcroft. It was formerly known as Huveaux plc (from 20 ...

, moving to ''

'' in 2012. In September 2014, '' GQ'' magazine named her as one of their 100 most connected women in Britain, and in December 2015, she was named "Journalist of the Year" at the

Political Studies Association The Political Studies Association (PSA) is a learned society in the United Kingdom which exists to develop and promote the study of politics. It is the leading association in its field in the United Kingdom, with an international membership includi ...

's annual awards. She is currently the assistant editor of ''The Spectator''. She appears on television programmes such as '' Question Time'', ''

The Andrew Marr Show ''The Andrew Marr Show'' is a Sunday morning talk show presented by Andrew Marr. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2005 to 2021. The programme replaced the long-running '' Breakfast with Frost'' as the network's flagship Sunday talk show when D ...

'' and '' Have I Got News for You'', and is a presenter of the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

programme '' Week in Westminster''. She hosts ''The Spectator Podcast''. She also writes a monthly column for the '' i paper'' on health policy and a weekly column for the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' on nature in London.

Personal life

In April 2016, Hardman

tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that a male member of Parliament had referred to her as "the totty" and that she had reported him to the whips. She was not intending to name the man who was subsequently revealed to be the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

MP Bob Stewart. Hardman has written about suffering from depression, and in October 2016 wrote that she had stopped working temporarily due to anxiety and depression. She has said that, in 2017, she was diagnosed with

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

, due to a serious trauma in her personal life. She wrote that her recovery was partly down to time spent outdoors: she is a cold-water swimmer, and in 2019 ran the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

for Refuge, raising £37,000 for the charity. Hardman began a relationship with the politician John Woodcock in summer 2016. In November 2019, Woodcock announced he and Hardman were expecting a child. Hardman gave birth to a son on 12 May 2020. On 30 July 2021, the couple married in a small ceremony at

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 t ...

's registry office. This gave Hardman the title Lady Walney as the wife of a baron.

Bibliography

* Hardman, Isabel (2018), ''Why We Get the Wrong Politicians'',

Atlantic Books Atlantic Books is an independent British publishing house, with its headquarters in Ormond House in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is perhaps best known for publishing Aravind Adiga's debut novel '' The White Tiger'', which rec ...

, London, UK * Hardman, Isabel (2020), ''The Natural Health Service'', Atlantic Books, London, UK

References

External links

Isabel Hardman talking about her career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardman, Isabel Living people Alumni of the University of Exeter English political journalists People educated at St Catherine's School, Bramley People from the London Borough of Camden The Spectator people Spouses of life peers 1986 births