Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has picked Daisy Sampson, a
journalist for parliamentary magazine The House, as his senior press
secretary (PR Week, 8 October).
Sampson starts in two weeks’ time and will work in the leader’s office
in the House of Commons. She will report to Kennedy and is expected to
oversee a junior press secretary who has yet to be appointed.
Although Sampson will not be based at the party’s Cowley Street
headquarters, she will work closely with Liberal Democrat communications
director David Walter and his press team.
Sampson said: ’Charles has a good image and is media friendly. I am not
envisaging any media problems. This is an exciting time for the Liberal
Democrats and I am thrilled to be part of it.’
Sampson, 27, has worked as a political journalist for seven years. She
was managing editor of The House - the House of Commons magazine - for
two years until 1997, when she became a freelance contributor.
Kennedy’s media relations since he was elected leader last August have
been handled by Paddy Ashdown’s former press secretary, Miranda Green,
who left last week.
GPC senior consultant James Gurling worked on Kennedy’s PR during the
Liberal Democrat leadership election.
