I’ve recently joined Campaign Collective to help forge the Scottish Rewilding Alliance’s ‘Rewliding Nation’ campaign and to create social media content and short films for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition.
My aim is simple: make complex energy policy clear and useful, and keep the focus on what really matters.
My route here hasn’t been a straight line. I spent 17 years as a full-time member of the band Texas, joining in 2003. I was the keyboard player, musical director and, later, the drummer. Alongside life on the road and in the studio, I also composed commercial music for TV and film. In 2012 I went back into education, studying for an LLB at the University of Strathclyde while still touring and recording. I graduated in 2017 with a growing interest in public and constitutional law, and decided to step away from music and into frontline politics.
In 2021 I began working in Westminster, first as a researcher and within a year as chief of staff. During that time I worked on fuel poverty issues, including the prepayment meter scandal. That’s when I first worked closely with Simon Francis and the End Fuel Poverty Coalition and saw how clear evidence, consistent messaging and patient coalition-building can shift the dial.
When the MP I worked for lost her seat, I moved into digital content full-time: part-time with former First Minister Humza Yousaf, and freelance photography for clients such as Ava Innes Cashmere, the Kimpton Hotel Group and the Forget The Ball podcast. I then joined CC on the Scottish Rewilding Alliance’s “Rewilding Nation” campaign, before moving onto content for EFPC.
Why Campaign Collective? Because they focus on campaigns that are, quite simply, good, ethical, practical and aimed at improving people’s lives. I’ve been really impressed by the diversity of the Campaign Collective’s client base and how they manage very different briefs, from health to environment to community projects, without losing sight of outcomes. The approach is hands-on and effective: understand the issue, centre the people affected, and keep going until change happens.
At EFPC, that means helping to tell stories that connect the dots: how energy pricing works and why it feels unfair; what standing charges are and why they matter; how improving the fabric of a home cuts bills and protects health; and why a fair transition away from expensive gas is essential for energy security. My job is to make this information accessible and shareable, short films, explainers and posts that respect people’s time and experience.
I don’t think communications should get in the way of the message. Done well, it helps people see themselves in the story and understand what can change. That could be a 60-second explainer on why bills are still high, a short case study about a family whose home was retrofitted, or a simple visual showing how policy decisions land in real living rooms.
I live in Kilmacolm on a small farm with my partner, our three children and our horses. Free time is rare, but when I get it I’m usually behind a camera or at the piano, but without the pressure of it being my job anymore!
Working with Campaign Collective and EFPC is rewarding because the work matters and you can see results, better public understanding, pressure where it’s needed and policies that move in the right direction. I’m looking forward to contributing more of that: practical content that helps the Coalition keep making the case for warm, affordable homes. If you’ve got a story we should amplify, data we should explain, or a community perspective that needs a platform, I’d love to hear it.