Tim Collins has been at the heart of the worlds of Westminster, Whitehall and the media since the mid-1980s.

He was a speech-writer for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Press Secretary (and principal spokesman) for Prime Minister
John Major throughout his victorious 1992 General Election campaign - ending up watching the results come in with him in his home.

As Director of Communications for the Conservative Party he ran Party Conferences, advertising and media relations. He has excellent contacts with many journalists, and has himself written for, amongst others, the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian.

In Whitehall, he has been a Special Adviser in multiple Government Departments, culminating in joining the Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street.

In Westminster, Tim was an MP for eight years, serving on several all-party Select Committees and groups and developing friendships across the political divide.

He was a member of the Shadow Cabinet - under three successive Conservative leaders - for five years. Many of the policies he developed as Shadow Transport Secretary and Shadow Education Secretary are still part of Conservative plans today.

He has known the key members of David Cameron's team for many years, having worked with David himself in the Conservative Research Department as long ago as 1988. He served on the Conservative front-bench alongside almost all of the current conservative members of the Cabinet.

Tim says, "For years both in Government and in Opposition I was on the receiving end of efforts, successful and unsuccessful, by businesses and public affairs firms to inform and influence decision-making. So I know what works - and how important a proper public affairs strategy can be in shaping constructive relationships, with the aim of making the country work better for all of us."

Tim's private passions include air shows, cinema and Doctor Who - of the latter he says "Like Toryism, I was still an enthusiast when it was wildly unfashionable - and in both cases it's fun to see a comeback".