Polly Toynbee
Polly Toynbee | |
|---|---|
Toynbee in 2006 | |
| Born | Mary Louisa Toynbee 27 December 1946 Yafford, Isle of Wight, England, UK |
| Education | Badminton School Holland Park School |
| Alma mater | St Anne's College, Oxford |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1966–present |
| Notable credit(s) | BBC Social Affairs editor (1988–1995) The Guardian columnist (since 1998) |
| Political party | Labour (until 1981; c. 1990–present) SDP (1981–1988) 'Continuing' SDP (1988–1990) |
| Spouses | |
| Father | Philip Toynbee |
| Relatives | Arnold J. Toynbee (grandfather) Rosalind Murray (grandmother) Evelyn George Harcourt Powell (grandfather) Richard Wollheim (step-father) Emma Tennant (cousin) |
Mary Louisa "Polly" Toynbee (/ˈtɔɪnbi/; born 27 December 1946) is a British journalist and writer. She has been a columnist for The Guardian newspaper since 1998.
She is a social democrat and was a candidate for the Social Democratic Party in the 1983 general election. She now broadly supports the Labour Party, although she is critical of its left-wing former leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
Toynbee previously worked as social affairs editor for the BBC and also for The Independent newspaper. She is vice-president of Humanists UK, having previously served as its president between 2007 and 2012. She was named Columnist of the Year at the 2007 British Press Awards. She became a patron of right-to-die organisation My Death My Decision in 2021.