Rachel Sylvester

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Rachel Sylvester
Rachel Sylvester 2012.jpg
Sylvester in 2012
Born (1969-11-13) 13 November 1969 (age 56)
Education South Hampstead HS
Alma mater Somerville College, Oxford
OccupationJournalist
Employer The Observer
Spouse
​
(m. 2002)​
Children2

Rachel Mynfreda Sylvester (born 13 November 1969) is a British political journalist. Formerly a columnist with The Times , since 2025 Sylvester is political editor of The Observer . [1]

Contents

Background and education

Born in North West London to Nigel Sylvester and Mary née Cawston, she was educated at South Hampstead High School, an independent school for girls, before reading English at Somerville College, Oxford. [2]

Career

Sylvester joined The Sunday Telegraph newspaper in 1992. She left for a one-year period as political editor of The Independent on Sunday in 1998. [3] She returned in 1999 to The Daily Telegraph as assistant editor (politics), a position she held until 2008. [2]

Sylvester joined The Times in June 2008, where she wrote a weekly political column and a weekly interview piece, often in collaboration with Alice Thomson. [4] She was named 2015 Political Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards. [5] Iain Martin described Sylvester and Thomson as "highly skilled interviewers [with] a gift for getting people to burble on until they say something highly revealing." [6]

Sylvester conducted an interview with Conservative Party leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom during the 2016 leadership election with Leadsom making unhelpful comments about her competitor Theresa May. Leadsom then stood aside in the aftermath of the interview's release allowing May to become leader, which the Evening Standard said "confirmed Sylvester's status as one of the country's most influential political commentators". [7] She was named 2016 Journalist of the Year by the Political Studies Association. [8]

Sylvester has presented the interview series "Past Imperfect" with Thomson on Times Radio , which began in July 2020. Among their first guests were Sir Tony Blair and Paul Nurse. [9]

In April 2025, Sylvester became political editor of The Observer following its takeover by Tortoise Media. [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ponsford, Dominic; Maher, Bron (2 April 2025). "Rachel Sylvester named Observer political editor as around half staff leave title". Press Gazette . Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Ms Rachel Sylvester Authorised Biography". Debrett's People of Today . Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  3. ↑ www.independent.co.uk
  4. ↑ Brook, Stephen (25 April 2008). "Telegraph columnist Rachel Sylvester joins Times". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "2015 British Press Award Winners". British Press Awards website. Society of Editors. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Martin, Iain (9 July 2016). "One word in defence of Andrea Leadsom". Reaction. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2016 - Editors and Journalists". Evening Standard. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "PSA Awards: the public, academics, media, culture and politicians have all shaped an extraordinary year in politics". News. Political Studies Association. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Lerone, Toby (2 June 2020). "Launch date and schedule revealed for Times Radio". RadioToday. Retrieved 3 June 2020.

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