Summer 2021Paul Waugh: From Rochdale to Westminster

Having grown up in Rochdale, journalist Paul Waugh has revealed the part his hometown has played in his reputation for holding prime ministers to account.

Currently HuffPost UK’s Executive Editor, Politics, the tables were turned on Mr Waugh when he became the focus of the media in April 2021 after questioning PM Boris Johnson’s integrity – and his relationship with US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri - at a televised Downing Street press conference.

With over 20 years of experience reporting from the House of Commons, Waugh reflects on his journey from Rochdale to Westminster with Katie Davies.

Before getting a place at Oxford University, Waugh attended local Meanwood Community Primary School and Oulder Hill Community School.

“It was during my time at Oxford that I really got the bug for journalism”, he said. “Whilst studying philosophy and physiology, I was involved with The Oxford Student [Oxford’s biggest student newspaper] in my spare time and ended up being one of the very first editors. It was a great job.

“From there, I spent a year completing a postgraduate course at Cardiff University’s Centre for Journalism Studies.”

Kickstarting his successful career, Waugh’s first job was at Hampstead & Highgate Express – a weekly paper in London, otherwise known as Ham&High – where he had just completed a work placement.

“I covered the councils in North London, which was great training in political reporting,” he recalled. In the late 90s, Waugh was hired by editor Max Hastings at the Evening Standard, which shared the building with the Daily Mail, and he brought a taste of Rochdale to London.

“My big claim to fame was getting them to add mushy peas to the Friday fish and chips instead of those boring old garden peas,” he joked.

“I became the local government reporter for the whole of London at the Standard, going from covering one or two councils to 33! It was a really good experience and got me spotted by The Independent, where I became a lobby correspondent for the House of Commons in 1999.”

Waugh was the first lobby reporter for a national paper to join Twitter in 2009. Now, he has nearly 195,000 followers who he shares political news with daily.

“As an independent journalist it shows just how much impact you can have through social media,” he commented.

Before joining HuffPost in 2015, Waugh returned to the Evening Standard in 2004, where he covered ‘one of the finest moments’ of his career, exposing how former Prime Minister Tony Blair had claimed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq and the resulting war.

Waugh’s interviews with Dr Brian Jones, a former intelligence insider in the MoD, revealed just how the No.10 dossier had made claims that were not backed up by evidence. Dr Jones went on to become a key witness in an inquiry into the affair.

But his last job was as editor of the website PoliticsHome.com.

Nowadays, the straight-talking political editor’s workload involves providing news, insight, and analysis on the UK Parliament at HuffPost UK, as well as producing his daily newsletter/blog ‘WaughZone’.

Paul is also one of the presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster and found it ‘strange’ to learn he was the centre of attention after asking Boris Johnson whether he acted with ‘honesty and integrity’ in his relationship with US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri. Johnson said he had.

“Always at the back of my mind I imagine what would my family in Rochdale think? What questions would they want asking?

“I had a chat with my mum [after the press conference] and she said, ‘you got him there, didn’t you!’. If you grow up in the North, you are going to ask questions that reflect your own background that perhaps others might not ask.”

Waugh, a lifelong Rochdale AFC supporter, was raised on a council estate near Spotland and even though he has worked at Westminster for over two decades, he remains a vocal supporter of his hometown.

“I felt really proud when I was researching a story about track and trace and one of the companies involved was based at Kingsway Business Park. Rochdale still has a lot of pioneering businesses and it’s a continuation of its history. Rochdale has always been pioneering - you can see the ‘Rochdale Pioneers 1844’ sign as you drive into the town.

“I’m incredibly proud of where I’m from because it’s the home of the modern co-operative movement.

“I was in Rochdale only a few weeks ago and was really impressed with Rochdale Riverside, and opening up the river has made a big difference and brings pride to the area. There is a sense of regeneration in Rochdale."