David Cameron’s policy guru to take sabbatical

Steve Hilton is the ultra low-profile Downing Street insider credited with showing the softer side of the Conservative party and ‘decontaminating’ the Tory brand.

He comes from an advertising background, ex-Saatchi & Saatchi – the Conservatives’ favourite agency in the 80s – and during Labour’s years in office ran a company called Good Business which helped businesses adopt a better corporate image via social responsibility.

Reported to earn over a quarter of a million pounds per year, Mr Hilton’s image has raised eyebrows among seasoned Westminster types, favouring as he does, a rather casual personal style which often precludes shoes.

Shirt sleeves

A 42-year old shaven-headed Ross Kemp lookalike and a workaholic, he has also been nicknamed Gollum by senior Tories after the imp-like creature in Lord of the Rings.

Some who have met and worked with him however describe him as being very down to earth and easy to get on with.

His family fled Hungary during that country’s revolution in the 1950s and changed their name from Hircsak to Hilton.

It was thanks to Hilton that David Cameron started delivering speeches in a more casual style with his shirt sleeves rolled up and without a tie. Cameron became ‘Dave’, the man who in opposition encouraged us to hug a hoodie. Some have speculated that his departure may see the party move towards the right.

Hilton’s wife Rachel Whetstone is a senior executive with Google (and former chief of staff to ex-Tory leader Michael Howard) and until the last election, they lived in Palto Alto, California.

Move to Stanford

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “Steve Hilton will be taking an unpaid academic sabbatical at Stanford University, starting this summer and returning next summer.

“With his wife and young family, Steve will be moving to California. He will join Stanford as a visiting scholar at the university’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and will also be a visiting fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution.

“He will spend his year on campus teaching, researching and writing, and will focus on innovation in government, public services and communities around the world.

“He will work with a wide range of centres and organisations across the university, including FSI’s Centre on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law and The Europe Centre; the Graduate School of Business’ Centre for Social Innovation; the Centre on Philanthropy and Civil Society; and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design.”

An Oxford graduate in the politician’s degree of politics, philosophy and economics, Hilton stood for selection as Conservative candidate for the safe seat of Surrey Heath in the last election. The candidacy was won by Michael Gove.

With several months to go before his sabbatical starts it does not look likely that Mr Hilton will be slowing his work rate as rumours start speculating on who might step into his non-shoes for 12 months.