[2] His published works have focussed mainly on the development of progressive political movements in the UK[3] and the USA.
[5] He was formerly chief speechwriter to Ed Miliband during the Labour leader's unsuccessful 2015 General Election campaign.
In 2011 he became a member of the Institute for Public Policy Research, looking particularly at the relationship between the state and society.
[8] Stears is one of the editors of "The Labour tradition and the politics of paradox"[9] along with Maurice Glasman, Jonathan Rutherford and Stuart White.
This book came out of a series of seminars in Oxford and London, which seek to find a new direction for the Labour Party after its 2010 electoral defeat.