I was born in South Wales and have been involved in politics since a young age.  My grandparents were Fabians, and I joined the Labour Party when I was sixteen.  I also joined my first union at sixteen and am now a member of the GMB.  When I was at Cambridge University I helped set up a refuge for victims of domestic violence and this is an issue I remain strongly committed to.   

I became a television producer and reporter working in Hong Kong before joining the BBC, first as a reporter in Westminster and eventually as Assistant Home News Editor where I ran the TV news desk in London.  I covered a wide range of stories including the miners' strike and worked with BBC correspondent Kate Adie in China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.  Before being elected as an MP, I worked as a lecturer in further education.  

I fought my first general election campaign as the Labour candidate for Chichester in 2001 where I recorded the best vote for Labour in thirty years.  In 2005 I was selected to fight Ivor Caplin MP's seat in Hove and Portslade, which I won three months later, against all odds, with a majority of 420 votes. 

 I am currently Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ian Pearson MP, Minister of State for Science and Innovation in the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.  I have also been a member of the Environmental Audit and Procedure Select Committees and have served on standing committees for the Equality Bill, the Police and Justice Bill, the Finance Bill, and the Statistics Bill. Most recently, I served on the Education and Skills Committee.  

I'm married to former BBC Foreign Correspondent Sam Jaffa.  We have three school aged children and live in Hove.