So, a bit about me. I'll write in the third person, as is customary...
Nigel Fletcher was born in Portsmouth, and first moved to London to go to university in 1998. After graduating from Queen Mary, University of London, he worked at City Hall for the Conservative Group on the London Assembly during Ken Livingstone's first term as Mayor. He then joined the Conservative Research Department, and was Special Adviser on Education and Skills from 2004-2008, serving Shadow Education Secretaries including Michael Gove, David Willetts and David Cameron.
He was first elected as a Councillor for Eltham North ward in the London Borough of Greenwich at a by-election in February 2005, and re-elected at the Borough elections in 2006 and 2010. He became Deputy Leader of the Opposition in May 2010, and is the Conservative Group's spokesman on Culture and Olympics. He has a particular interest in heritage issues, and has been an active supporter of the Cutty Sark restoration and other local preservation projects. He is a member of the Board of the Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich.
In 2008 Nigel founded the Opposition Studies Forum, as a cross-party organisation dedicated to promoting greater study of the importance of political opposition. The Forum has now become the Centre for Opposition Studies, and more details on its work can be found at http://www.oppositionstudies.com/. He is also Director of the Conservative History Group.
When not contemplating political powerlessness, Nigel is an active member of the Maritime Volunteer Service (MVS), and is often to be found messing about in boats with them. In May 2010 he took part in the 70th Anniversary commemorations of the Dunkirk evacuation, crewing an MVS vessel escorting the veteran 'little ships' across the channel for the ceremonies.
