William is the national leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – only the fifth since Lord David Owen. The SDP have experienced rapid growth under William’s leadership and and have policy influence far beyond the size of the party. Their blend of politics, culturally right leaning and economically left leaning, has attracted leading political commentators and academics and some of their policy ideas have been adopted by the main parties.
Originally from Durham, William has lived in Northumberland for many years, is Chairman of Corbridge Parish Council and has been a parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party and the SDP. William became leader of the Social Democratic Party in 2018 and was re-elected in 2020, with 89% of of the votes.
His earlier careers were in planning and property development and William holds first and Masters degrees in Urban Planning and Property Management and read Philosophy at Durham University at Postgraduate level.