About
Paul was born in Birmingham in 1988. His parents were active trades unionists; his dad in Smethwick at Guest, Keen, and Nettlefolds, and his mom as a health visitor on Castle Vale estate. Both the work of Equity members and the union movement were central to his childhood – from Banner Theatre and Birmingham Rep, the City’s Royal Ballet, and the variety fixtures of pubs and clubs – it was the work of our union’s members which were sources of respite and resistance in a time marked by de-industrialisation, austerity and attacks on working people.
Paul was the first person in his family to go to university, and read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Mansfield College, Oxford. After a time working for the Democratic Party in the United States as a speechwriter and press officer in the UK, Paul became a full time official for Community union, negotiating and organising workers in Yorkshire and Humberside. Community’s members are concentrated in the steel industry and allied workplaces, and after dealing with well over 1,000 redundancies, dozens of pay negotiations, and driving 500 miles a week across the region, Paul began working at Equity in 2011.
Between 2011 and 2020, Paul was the lead official for almost every theatre agreement. Working with Equity’s incredible deps across musical theatre, Paul oversaw Equity membership rise from 45% to 75% in commercial theatre, a record pay rise in subsidised theatre in 2017, and the first five day rehearsal week in an Equity agreement at the National Theatre. Independent theatre pay outstripped inflation every year, and the ITC agreement’s ‘optional’ terms were overwhelmingly reincorporated into the compulsory agreement. NT Live agreed royalty payments for stage management for the first time, and subsidised theatre ASM parity was restored. Paul was also responsible for the London Branches, Theatre Designers, Fight Directors, and freelance dance over that period – all vehicles that reached record levels of membership and density.
In 2019 Paul became the West End Organiser and stewarded Equity’s members through the unprecedented horror of the COVID closures. West End Deputies fought and beat producers’ attempts to end the agreements three times, and secured payments in excess of the minimum through a period of government neglect for our members.
In 2020, Paul was elected General Secretary of Equity, following nomination by the Council. He was, and remains, the first openly LGBTQ+ General Secretary of any major union, and the youngest General Secretary of a TUC affiliate. Paul’s promise in 2020 was to build a union which is radical, but pragmatic – and despite taking office in the middle of the first year of the COVID pandemic, he’s worked hard to deliver on that promise every day, and every year.
Paul promised to work for a second northern area councillor, full democratic rights for our student members (and a student organising staff team), universal branch coverage, and significantly improved insurance benefits. As with all his manifesto commitments – he delivered them, by working with, and listening to, your council, committees, branches, and activists.
Outside of Equity, Paul served as a local councillor in the London Borough of Southwark for eight years and as a school governor. As an councillor, he chaired the powerful Audit Committee, overseeing millions of pounds of Council spending. He spends his weekends acting as Equity’s archivist, tending his garden & allotments, as well as following National Hunt horse racing. He lives in South London with his partner Simon, and his dog, Stanley – who is now a regular visitor to branch and committee meetings across the UK.