Sebastian Moore

I spent my childhood in the Dorset countryside and I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where we ate dinner together and were encouraged to talk about politics, religion, and anything in-between. I learned early on, especially being the youngest of five, to enjoy a good debate and to be curious about other people’s viewpoints. A stable family gave me a strong start in life, but it also taught me the importance of tolerance, compassion, and my obligations to others.

I’ve always loved travelling and meeting new people. I moved abroad at 18 and spent several years teaching English in Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Maldives. I even opened my own language school in Salamanca. Along the way, a friend and I travelled around Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, making YouTube videos and travel documentaries. It was an unconventional start to adulthood but a formative experience, and one that deepened my appreciation of different cultures, national solidarities, and the human need for belonging.

Coming home, I settled in Manchester almost on a whim but it turns out to be one of the best decisions I could have made. It is a special place and I would now call myself a southern Mancunian (although I think that might be a contradiction in terms). Community is important to me and I’ve spent the last five years getting involved with a variety of different groups, from language exchanges to litter picking sessions and book clubs. I volunteer at a food bank and I am a warden at my church and secretary of my local civic society. These experiences have reinforced my belief that strong communities grow from active citizenship and a willingness to share responsibilities. 

I’ve also enjoyed taking ideas into the wider public sphere, co-hosting the Take me Home podcast with Hilary Salt and contributing to national conversations, recently appearing on LBC Radio and at the Battle of Ideas. It’s been great talking to people with different perspectives on politics, culture and the ideas shaping our society. Engaging with people who hold different views has only strengthened my conviction that open debate and mutual respect are essential to a healthy democracy. 

I have always been curious about what other people think and for that reason I had been absorbed by politics for a long time. But I had no intention of getting involved myself. I didn’t feel there was a party that I could truly call home. Discovering the SDP changed that. Its vision of a more capable state, active citizenship, and renewed social solidarity chimed with my own experience. I have since worked for the party as national organiser as well as being North West chair for the past two years. I have represented the party in four elections, two at a local level, and two for parliamentary seats. I came to believe that if we want to change the direction of our country, people like me cannot simply sit on the sidelines. We have to take responsibility for making things better and the SDP is a party that seeks to do just that.

That conviction has shaped the past few years of my life, and it’s why I’m standing to lead the SDP.