Martin Kettle

Kettle is the son of two communist activists, Arnold Kettle (best remembered as a literary critic; 1916-1986) and Margot Kettle (née Gale; 1916-1995). Kettle grew up in Far Headingley was educated at Leeds Modern School. He graduated in modern history from Balliol College, Oxford having matriculated in 1967.

Kettle worked for the National Council for Civil Liberties (now known as Liberty) as a research officer from 1973. He then began his career in journalism as home affairs correspondent for New Society (1977-1981) and moved to The Sunday Times in 1981, working as a political correspondent for three years. He has been with The Guardian since 1984 and also wrote regularly for Marxism Today in its later years. He writes a column on classical music in Prospect magazine.

Kettle is a long-term contributor to for The Guardian, where he is assistant editor, having worked as the newspaper's Washington D.C. bureau chief from 1997 to 2001. He was formerly a leader writer (1993-1997) and chief leader writer from 2001 onward. He has often defended New Labour and Tony Blair (a personal friend), though not over the Iraq War. Kettle has been dismissed by John Pilger as Blair's "most devoted promoter".