Tom Harwood is a British political journalist and broadcaster whose public career began in student political campaigning before moving into Westminster reporting and national television. He chaired Students for Britain during the EU referendum period, later became president of the Durham Union, ran for NUS president, and briefly appeared on a local-election ballot before moving into professional journalism.
He worked at Guido Fawkes from 2018 to 2021 before joining GB News as a political correspondent. His role later expanded to Deputy Political Editor, while his work also included television presenting and political commentary. In a 2025 interview, Harwood said he now preferred journalism to seeking elected office, which helps explain the shift from his earlier political activity to his current profession.
| CategoryDetails | |
|---|---|
| Profession | Political journalist and broadcaster |
| Current employer | GB News |
| Current role | Deputy Political Editor |
| Previous journalism role | Senior reporter at Guido Fawkes |
| Student political activity | Chaired Students for Britain |
| University role | President of the Durham Union |
| Electoral activity | Conservative candidate in East Chesterton |
| Professional recognition | Pagefield broadcast journalism award shortlist |
Students for Britain Put Harwood Into National Political Campaigning
Before entering journalism, Harwood was publicly involved in the campaign surrounding Britain’s EU membership referendum. During 2015–2016, he chaired Students for Britain, a pro-Brexit student campaign.
Contemporary reporting identified him as the person running the national student campaign, while Harwood later recalled working to expand its presence across university campuses. His role placed him in organized political campaigning before he had established a professional media career.
Looking back on that period in a 2025 interview, he said the campaign taught him the importance of keeping political messaging straightforward and repeating it consistently. That was his own assessment of what he learned from the experience rather than an independently established explanation for the referendum result.
Durham Union and the NUS Expanded His Public Profile
Harwood’s university years also brought him into debating and student politics. He became president of the Durham Union, where his responsibilities put him at the center of political discussion, public speaking, and debates.
One of the better-documented episodes from that period came in 2017, when the Chinese Embassy contacted the debating society over an event involving activist Anastasia Lin. Contemporary reporting confirmed that the event went ahead and included comments from Harwood as Durham Union president.
Years later, Harwood connected that experience with his continuing belief that universities should protect open debate. His broader characterization of the organizations involved in the dispute was his own view, but the embassy’s contact with the debating society was reported at the time.
He also ran for National Union of Students president in 2017. His campaign included proposals concerning student participation, housing, living costs, institutional reform, and antisemitism. The campaign added another stage to his public political activity before he moved fully into journalism.
His Cambridge Council Candidacy Came as His Journalism Career Was Beginning
Harwood also appeared on a local-election ballot in 2018, the same year his documented period at Guido Fawkes began.
Cambridge City Council‘s official election record lists Thomas Hedley Fairfax Harwood as the Conservative candidate for East Chesterton in the election held on May 3, 2018. He received 336 votes and was not elected.
Harwood’s later recollection contains a minor chronology conflict. In his 2025 interview, he said he stood as a Cambridge “paper candidate” in 2017. The council’s official record shows the East Chesterton election took place in 2018.
That candidacy helps explain Harwood’s later comments about electoral politics. In 2025, he said he did not currently want to stand for election again and preferred journalism as a way to influence political debate.
Guido Fawkes Became His Entry Into Westminster Journalism
Harwood worked as a senior reporter at Guido Fawkes from 2018 to 2021. The role marked the clearest transition between his earlier campaigning and professional political journalism.
During this period, his public profile also expanded beyond online Westminster reporting. In July 2019, he appeared on BBC Question Time, where contemporary coverage described him as the youngest panelist on a regular edition of the program. The distinction has also remained in his professional biographies.
Harwood later spoke about that first appearance as a significant professional adjustment. He said he had been nervous at the time, but repeated live broadcasting gradually made such appearances feel more normal.
GB News Marked His Move Into National Broadcasting
In February 2021, Harwood announced that he was leaving Guido Fawkes to join the newly established GB News as a political correspondent. The move took him from Westminster reporting at Guido Fawkes into television broadcasting.
His responsibilities developed further after joining the channel. In March 2023, Press Gazette reported that he had been promoted to Deputy Political Editor as GB News expanded its Westminster operation.
Professional recognition had also followed his move into broadcasting. Pagefield shortlisted him for its Up-and-coming broadcast journalist of the year category in 2022. The recognition was a shortlist, not an award win.
His work at GB News combined political reporting with presenting. That gave him a broader public role than the reporting position he had held earlier at Guido Fawkes, while keeping Westminster politics at the center of his professional work.
Harwood Says Journalism Now Matters More to Him Than Elected Office
Harwood’s earlier campaigning and Conservative council candidacy naturally raise the question of whether he still wants to enter elected politics. He addressed that directly in his 2025 Palatinate interview.
Asked about standing for election again, he said he did not currently want to. He described journalism as a more attractive way for him to influence political debate and cited William F. Buckley Jr. when explaining the kind of role he preferred.
His comments provide a clearer distinction between his earlier political activity and his current career. Rather than presenting the Cambridge candidacy as the beginning of an electoral path, Harwood now describes media work as the route he prefers.
The interview also offered insight into how his professional habits changed with experience. He said live television became less intimidating through repetition, while working around Parliament eventually became more ordinary after initially feeling impressive and unfamiliar.
Harwood has also stated a principle about how he approaches reporting. Writing in 2022 during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he argued that journalists should resist making events appear more positive simply because optimistic stories can be appealing. He warned against letting optimism bias shape coverage.
His GB News Role Remained Active in 2026
Harwood remained active at GB News well beyond his initial move to the channel. An official programme record from June 2026 listed him as a weekday presenter of Good Afternoon Britain alongside Emily Carver.
His Deputy Political Editor title was also still current later that year. A City A.M. column published in July 2026 identified him in that role, and another signed column in August continued to use the same professional description.
By 2026, his work still spanned broadcasting, political reporting, and written commentary. His 2025 interview also made clear that journalism, rather than another attempt at elected office, was the professional direction he preferred then.