Donald Roy has been a more or less active member of the Labour Party for over half a century and has lived in Putney even longer. He attended Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and holds a degree in economics. He worked as an economist in the public sector for nearly a quarter of a century but is long retired. Since then, he has been involved with the NHS in a lay, unpaid capacity, as well as with various community organisations. Over his lifetime, he has visited roughly a hundred countries.