Women in Westminster: In Conversation With Lucy Fisher
Lucy Fisher is the Whitehall Editor for the Financial Times and the host of the FT’s Political Fix podcast. As part of our Women in Westminster series, we sat down with Fisher to learn about reporting complexity with clarity and discuss how the culture of Westminster is changing
Lucy Fisher did not set out to cover British politics. She was more interested in foreign affairs and conflict reporting. As a student, she admired correspondents working in some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones, like Marie Colvin and Christina Lamb, and landed her dream first job on the Sunday Times foreign desk, where she was able to learn from them directly.
“I was hugely in awe of Marie Colvin,” she remembers. “But I realised quite quickly that wouldn’t be for me. It wouldn’t suit my temperament. That need to be so emotionally hard-nosed and deal with seeing horrific things.”
Instead, Fisher’s path took her into the Westminster Lobby. She describes winning the prestigious Anthony Howard Award for Young Journalists as her first “big break”. That opened up the opportunity to write for The Times, The Observer, and the New Statesman. Political reporting soon had Fisher firmly in its grip.
“I just sort of fell in love with it,” she explains. “Policy and the way politics works has infinite variations. And it’s exciting, in many ways, seeing the best of humanity trying to come up with solutions.”
In particular, the role that women can play to make a positive difference was partly shaped by Fisher’s earliest political and cultural memories. She remembers Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide and the then media’s focus on “Blair’s Babes.” Fisher also was influenced by broader cultural moments of the period such as the Spice Girls with their championing of “Girl Power”.
Although Fisher acknowledges the way these moments were represented at the time can now be viewed as slightly problematic, that doesn’t dilute the impact that they had on her during her formative years.
“That political and cultural moment really penetrated my psyche and made me feel like anything was possible,” as a young girl, she says. “It’s one of those things about breaking glass ceilings,” she reflects. “They can only be broken once and then it's easy to take things for granted. But for me, it felt really important at the time.”
Fisher herself is well-used to reporting on issues where women have often been underrepresented. Her specialist knowledge of defence, military and foreign affairs has taken her into parts of the policy world that remain overwhelmingly male-dominated.
“I remember attending conferences where I was literally the only woman in the room,” she says. “But at least you know, if you put your hand up, you're going to be chosen to ask a question by the moderator.”
Fisher’s writing and broadcasting always carry a weightiness and depth of analysis that sometimes struggles to find space in a media environment focused on generating online clicks. The former defence editor of The Times and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute has an enviable talent for conveying enormously complicated stories and issues in a way that makes sense to her audiences.
“It’s when you really understand something that you can explain it clearly and simply,” she tells us. “It’s when you’re slightly skating on thin ice that one tends to obfuscate or reach for the jargon to fake your way into sounding authoritative.”
She tells us that the positive feedback from listeners of the FT’s Political Fix podcast proves there is still space for in-depth reporting on issues that don’t always make front-page headlines.
“People tell us they like the policy deep dives,” Fisher says. “They get something from it they don’t get elsewhere.”
When it comes to the changing culture around UK political reporting, Fisher is equally thoughtful, identifying the “Pestminster” scandal and the wider impact of the #MeToo movement as important moments that set new expectations.
“It’s not to say bad behaviour doesn’t still exist,” she says. “But I think it shone a light and that has changed the culture.” She also believes the presence of more women MPs and journalists has made a significant difference. “There’s a trickle-down effect,” she says. “It has an impact on staff in the Commons, and in the wider workforce.”
Fisher also has an interesting take on how the growth of platforms that journalists now have to speak directly to the public has also impacted on the culture of Westminster.
“Every journalist has their own X or Bluesky account,” she tells us. “Most MPs understand how power works. There’s more wariness now. Journalists can speak out as individuals, not just on behalf of brands.”
Fisher describes the Lobby working environment as “friendly, welcoming and warm.” It is a culture that she plays an important role in shaping. Last year, as chair of the Press Gallery, she played an important leadership role in building connections between parliamentarians and reporters.
However, she never loses sight of the fact that ultimately all journalists are essentially competing for the biggest stories.
“I absolutely wouldn’t want to give the impression of cosiness,” she says. “It is competitive. I want to get scoops. I want to beat other organisations.”
That level of drive is something Fisher regards as an essential attribute for success in any walk of life.
“The biggest thing that I’ve learnt is that there are no shortcuts,” she says. “In any career or workplace, you see people at the top who are so good at what they do that it looks effortless. And the thing you learn is you get out what you put in. Yes, you hope for lucky breaks along the way, but the hard work part is non-negotiable.”
