Andy McSmith was for many years Senior Writer for the Independent newspaper, having previously been a political correspondent on the same paper, as well as Political Editor of the Independent on Sunday and Chief Political Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph and Observer.

He is the author of several books, including biographies of John Smith and Kenneth Clarke, a collection of short biographies called Faces of Labour, a novel, Innocent in the House; and No Such Thing as Society, a narrative history of Britain under Margaret Thatcher, published by Constable & Robinson.

His most recent book is a memoir, Strange People I Have Known, published in 2023 by Biteback.