Janan Ganesh (born February 1982) is a British journalist, author and political commentator. Ganesh is a biweekly columnist for the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

''. He writes on international politics for the FT and culture for FT Weekend.

Background

Ganesh was born in Nigeria. He attended Stanley Technical School for Boys, a

voluntary aided school A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. He studied politics at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

, where he was president of the Politics Society, and then public policy at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. Ganesh was active in

Labour Students Labour Students is a student organisation within the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party of the United Kingdom. It is a network of affiliated college and university clubs, known as Labour Clubs, who campaign in their campuses and communities for L ...

, the student wing of the Labour Party, having been inspired to join when he was 17 by

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

's 1999 annual Labour Party Conference speech. In a 2001 interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Ganesh described himself as "essentially a Portillista", indicating views the newspaper described as "liberal on social affairs, centre-right on economics". Ganesh opted not to attend his local constituency Labour Party meetings as they were "too dominated by Trots".

Career

For two years, Ganesh was a researcher at

Policy Exchange Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". Policy Exchange is a registered charity; it most ...

, a Westminster-based think tank on the political right set up by Conservative MPs

Nick Boles Nicholas Edward Coleridge Boles (born 2 November 1965) is a British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Grantham and Stamford from 2010 to 2019. He was a member of the Conservative Party until 2019. Before entering parliament ...

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove, Baron Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician and journalist who served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet positions under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rish ...

and

Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2010 to 2015. He also served ...

. He was political correspondent for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' from 2007 to 2012, before joining the ''

''. From 2012 to 2018, Ganesh wrote for the ''Financial Times'' as a columnist on British politics. In early 2018, he relocated to Washington, D.C. to write about

American politics In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal republic, federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches Separation of powers, share powers: United States Congress, C ...

for the same publication. He later moved to Los Angeles before returning to London in 2022. Between 2013 and 2017, Ganesh regularly appeared on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

show ''

Sunday Politics ''Daily Politics'' is a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January 2003 and 24 July 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas ac ...

''. Ganesh co-authored ''Compassionate Conservatism'' (2006) with

Jesse Norman Alexander Jesse Norman (born 23 June 1962) is a British politician who has served as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons since November 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hereford and So ...

, which received the T. E. Utley Memorial Prize for young journalists. He is the author of ''George Osborne: The Austerity Chancellor'' (2012), a biography of British Chancellor of the Exchequer,

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born 23 May 1971) is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganesh, Janan 21st-century British journalists 21st-century English male writers Alumni of University College London Alumni of the University of Warwick British commentators English columnists English expatriates in the United States English journalists English libertarians English political writers Financial Times people Living people The Economist people Journalists from London English biographers People from Croydon 1980s births Year of birth missing (living people)