| Stephanie Flanders | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 5 August 1968 |
| Known for | Television presenter |
| Education | Balliol College, University of Oxford Harvard University |
| Parents | Michael Flanders |
| Relatives | Laura Flanders (sister) Alexander Cockburn (uncle) Andrew Cockburn (uncle) Patrick Cockburn (uncle) Claud Cockburn (grandfather) |
Stephanie Hope Flanders (born 5 August 1968) is the daughter of British actor and comic singer Michael Flanders. She is the Economics Editor of the BBC's Newsnight. Educated at St Paul's Girls' School, Balliol College, Oxford and Harvard University, Flanders began her career as an economist at the London Business School and the Institute for Fiscal Studies. She then became a leader writer and columnist at the Financial Times from 1994.[1] Flanders became a speechwriter and advisor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers in 1997, and joined the New York Times in 2001.[2] She joined the BBC's Newsnight in 2002. A keen cyclist, Flanders presented a review of Britain's economic status for Panorama from her bicycle in 2005, travelling the length of the country. She also contributed (with reference to her father's song "A Transport Of Delight") to the BBC News coverage of the last of Routemaster buses. In 2006 and 2007 she presented some relief shifts for BBC News 24 between 2pm and 5pm. On June 30, 2007, Stephanie presented a BBC documentary about Michael Flanders, featuring her journey of discovery about her father's career, on BBC Radio 4's The Archive Hour, called "Flanders on Flanders." [3] On a Newsnight programme in August 2007, Flanders interrogated Conservative Party leader David Cameron about his proposed policy of tax breaks for married couples while questioning him with other journalists, asking him whether he had ever met anyone who would get married for an extra £20 per week. As an unmarried mother, she also asked Mr Cameron whether the Conservative Party would like her to be married. Her contribution was criticised by Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn on 31 August 2007,where he made references to her "privileged" educational background and later wrote that "If Stephanie Flanders speaks for Britain, then I'm a gnu " (recalling a famous song by her father and Donald Swann).
Family
United States based journalist Laura Flanders is her sister, and journalists Alexander Cockburn, Andrew Cockburn and Patrick Cockburn are her uncles. She is the granddaughter of the famous British Communist journalist, Claud Cockburn and is distantly related to the novelists Alec and Evelyn Waugh. Her cousin is the television and film star Olivia Wilde.
