Understanding ModernGov Our Speakers

Tony Benn - Former MP, Father of the House

Tony Benn, born in London in 1925, the son, grandson and father of MPs, retired from the House of Commons in May 2001, after fifty years in Parliament, to 'devote more time to politics', the longest serving Labour MP in the history of the party, which he joined in 1942...Read More

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi (Con) - Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion

Sayeeda Warsi is Shadow Minister for Community and Social Action and is a member of David Cameron's Shadow Cabinet. She is a former Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party and is Shadow Minister for the City of Sheffield. She has been politically active from her early college days and was subsequently instrumental in the launch of Operation Black Vote in West Yorkshire in 1996...Read More

Rt. Hon Patricia Hewitt MP (Lab, Leicester West) - Former Secretary of State for Health

Rt. Hon Patricia Hewitt MP has been the Labour MP for Leicester West since 1997. She served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 1998 to 1999, and then as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from 2001 to 2005. After the 2005 General Election, Patricia was appointed by Tony Blair as Secretary of State for Health, a position she held until she stepped down in June 2007...Read More

John McFall MP (Lab, Dunbartonshire) - Chair, Treasury Select Committee

John McFall is the MP for West Dunbartonshire and the Chair of the House of Commons Treasury Committee. He was first elected in 1987, and between 1989 and 1991 held the position of Opposition Whip before becoming Opposition Front Bench Spokesman on Scottish Affairs, a post he held from 1992 until 1997. After 1997, John served as a Government Whip and in July 1998 he was appointed.. ...Read More

Rt. Hon Lord Charles Falconer (Lab) - Former Lord Chancellor

Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton PC QC, became the Lord Chancellor in June 2003 and the first Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. In May 2007 the DCA became the new Ministry of Justice and Lord Falconer became the first Secretary of State for Justice. Following Gordon Brown's accession to the position of Prime Minister, Falconer has left the Government...Read More

Rt. Hon Charles Kennedy MP (Lib Dem, Ross, Skye and Lochaber) - Former Leader of the Liberal Democrats

The Rt Hon Charles Kennedy is Liberal Democrat MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber. He was first elected to Parliament at the 1983 General Election, and at 24 years old he was the youngest MP of the time. Charles Kennedy was elected UK Party President, the equivalent of party chairman, in 1990, and served in that post until 1994...Read More

Diane Abbott MP (Lab, Hackney North and Stoke Newington)

Diane has served on a number of parliamentary committees on social and international issues. She was also elected on to the National Executive of the Labour Party. For most of the 1990's she also served on the Treasury Select Committee of the House of Commons. This is the committee which deals with business and finance matters. As a member of this committee Diane travelled...Read More

David Cairns MP (Lab, Inverclyde) – Former Minister of State for Scotland

David Cairns became a Labour MP for Inverclyde in 2001 after parliament reversed a law that prevented former Catholic priests from taking up a seat in the House of Commons. In the early 1990s he served as a Catholic priest for three years at churches in Scotland and London. He left the priesthood to become a director of the Christian...Read More

Rt. Hon Michael Meacher MP (Lab, Oldham West and Royton) - Former Minister of State for the Environment

Michael Meacher has been the Labour MP for Oldham West and Royton since the 1970 General Election. During his time in politics he has served in the Governments of Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan as Under Secretary for Industry and Under Secretary for Health and Social Security. In 1983 he became a member of the Shadow Cabinet,...Read More

John McTernan - Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Scotland

John McTernan is special adviser to the Rt Hon Jim Murphy MP, Secretary of State for Scotland. From 2007-8 he was special adviser to the Rt Hon Des Browne, Secretary of State for Defence and Scotland. Prior to this he worked at 10 Downing Street for three and a half years. Until July 2007 he was Political Secretary to Prime Minister Tony Blair. From January 2004 until April...Read More

Rt. Hon Kim Howells MP (Lab, Pontypridd) - Chair, Intelligence and Security Committee

Howells entered the House of Commons 1989. He excelled in the Labour opposition, becoming opposition Spokesman on Trade and Industry, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Development and Co-operation. He had ministerial posts in various departments from the 1997 election until October 2008, including a spell as Minister of State at the Department for...Read More

Stephen Pound MP (Lab, Ealing North)

Stephen Pound was elected as MP for Ealing North in May l997. Stephen is an active parliamentarian and his main interest areas are housing, Europe, Ireland, transport and local government. He was a member of the Greater London Authority Select Committee and gave his maiden speech on the bill...Read More

Lord Sutherland of Houndwood (Crossbench) - Chair, Science and Technology Committee

Baron Sutherland of Houndwood was elevated to the peerage in 2001 and since then he has been the Chair of the influential Science and Technology Committee. Prior to entering the House of Lords, he was Professor of Religion at King’s College London, becoming Titular Professor in 1985...Read More

Rt. Hon Kevin Barron MP (Lab, Rother Valley) – Chair, Health Select Committee

Kevin Barron has been a Labour MP for Rother Valley since 1983. In 1985 Kevin was made a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition Neil Kinnock, a position he held until the 1987 General Election. Kinnock gave Barron a frontbench job in 1988 as an opposition spokesman on Energy until 1992. John Smith returned...Read More

Rt Hon Alun Michael MP (Lab, Cardiff South and Penarth) – Former First Minister of Wales

First elected to Parliament in 1987, Alun became Deputy Home Secretary in 1997, with special responsibility for Criminal Justice, the Police and Voluntary Sector. He became Secretary of State for Wales in the Cabinet (1998-1999) and in 1999 was elected the Founding First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales until he stood down...Read More

Rt. Hon Sir Menzies Campbell MP (Lib Dem, North East Fife) - Former Leader of the Liberal Democrats

Sir Menzies Campbell has been the Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife since the 1987 General Election which he won on his fourth campaign for Parliament. He was made Liberal Democrat Chief Spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Defence in 1992. He considered standing for the leadership of the Party in 1999 but ultimately decided against it...Read More

David Burrowes MP (Con, Enfield Southgate) - Shadow Minister for Justice

David was elected as Member of Parliament in May 2005. In July 2007, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Justice. Before entering parliament, David worked as a solicitor for the Enfield firm Shepherd Harris and Co, specialising in criminal law and was an advocate in police stations and Courts in Enfield, Haringey and Hertfordshire...Read More

Stephen O’Brien MP (Con, Eddisbury) – Shadow Minister for Health

Stephen was elected the Conservative MP for Eddisbury at a by-election in 1999. He is currently a Shadow Minister for Health. From May to December 2005, he served as the Shadow Minister for Skills. From November 2003 to 2005, he was Shadow Secretary of State for Industry. Previously, he held the post of Shadow Minister for the Treasury...Read More

Lembit Opik MP (Lib Dem, Montgomeryshire)

Lembit Opik has been Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire since 1997. On election he became the party spokesman on Northern Ireland and for young people. In 2001 he became spokesman for Wales and joined Charles Kennedy's shadow cabinet. In July 2007 Lembit became the Party’s Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform spokesman,...Read More

Wendy Alexander MSP (Lab, Paisley North) - Former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

Wendy Alexander has been an MSP since the Parliament was created and served as a Minister from 1999-2002, in a variety of roles including as Communities Minister and Enterprise, Lifelong Learning and Transport Minister, and has been Convenor of the Finance Committee. She was the Leader of the Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament from...Read More

Parmjit Dhanda MP (Lab, Gloucester) - Former Minister of State at DCLG

Parmjit Dhanda has been the Labour MP for Gloucester since 2001. Parmjit got his first ministerial post in 2006, one year into his second Parliament. After spending a year as an assistant Government Whip he became junior Minister at the Department of Education and Skills, with responsibility for children, young people and families...Read More

Greg Hands MP (Con, Hammersmith & Fulham) - Shadow Treasury Minister

Greg joined the Conservative Party whilst at Cambridge University , and was the Chairman of the University Conservative Association in 1988, and was also an elected officer of the Students Union. He joined Fulham Conservatives in 1991.In 1998, Greg was elected to the Council for the first time, propelling the Conservatives from third into first place in Eel Brook ward, and unseating the Liberal leader...Read More

Rt. Hon Richard Caborn MP (Lab, Sheffield Central) - Former Minister for Sport in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport

Richard Caborn, Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central since 1983, is the Prime Minister's World Cup Ambassador. Prior to this appointment, Richard was Minister of State for Sport in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, an office he held from June 2001 until June 2007. He served as Minister for Trade at the...Read More

Lord Norton of Louth (Con) - Professor of Government, University of Hull

Lord Norton of Louth is Professor of Government, and Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies, at the University of Hull. When he was appointed to the chair in 1986, he was - at 35 - the youngest professor of politics in the country. He is author or editor of 26 books, including Parliament in British Politics,...Read More

James Clappison MP (Con, Hertsmere) - Shadow Minister for Work & Pensions

James is a former Young Conservative, treasurer of Oxford University Conservative Association, Member of various Ward Committees and Member of Yorkshire Area panel of Voluntary Speakers. In June 1997 he was appointed Front Bench Spokesman for Home Affairs...Read More

Dr. Phyllis Starkey MP (Lab, Milton Keynes South West) - Chair, Communities and Local Government Select Committee

Dr Phyllis Starkey was elected to Parliament in 1997. Between 1999-2001 she was a member of the Modernisation of the House of Commons Select Committee. In 2002 she became PPS to Denis MacShane, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. In 2005, she was made Chair of the Select Committee for Communities and Local Government - a post she still holds...Read More

John Bercow MP (Con, Buckingham)

John Bercow has been MP for Buckingham since 1997. He is a member of the International Development Select Committee. He has previously been Conservative Opposition Spokesman for Education and Employment, Work and Pensions, and Home Affairs. He has also served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Shadow Secretary of State for International Development...Read More

David Gauke MP (Con, South West Hertfordshire) - Shadow Minister for the Treasury

David Gauke read law at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University. He qualified as a solicitor in 1997 and worked for a leading City firm until his election as MP for Hertfordshire South West on 5 May 2005. David has been an active member of the Conservative Party since 1993 as a council candidate, association officer and campaign organiser. He was appointed to the Conservative frontbench...Read More

Baroness Harris of Richmond (Lib Dem) - Whip

Angela Harris is a Liberal Democrat Life Peer and has been since 1999. Since entering the House of Lords she has chaired the European Union Select sub-Committee F and has been a member of the European Union Select Committee, Offices Committee and Refreshment Sub-Committee. She is a Whip for the Liberal Democrat group of Peers,...Read More

Sue Calthorpe - Media and Communications Specialist

Susan is an experienced communications professional who now also lectures on a range of issues including effective briefing and policy skills. She trains a number of high-profile public and private sector organisations in effective internal and external communications' strategies, including, in Government, the Crown Prosecution...Read More

Robert Rogers - Clerk of Legislation

Robert Rogers is the Clerk of Legislation and has been since October 2006. He joined the civil service as an Assistant Clerk in the House of Commons in 1972. He has served in all the Offices of the Clerk’s Department. He was Parliamentary Counsellor to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1992 to...Read More

John Pugh MP (Lib Dem, Southport) - Treasury spokesman

John has been an MP since 2001. He graduated in philosophy from Durham University before becoming a teacher. He taught in secondary modern, comprehensive and independent schools and prior to his election as MP was head of philosophy and religious studies at Merchant Taylors' School in Crosby...Read More

Alan Waters - Policy Analyst, Local Government Information Unit

Alan Waters is a Policy Analyst working in the Centre for Service Transformation. He has extensive experience of delivering training and development programmes for councillors on a wide range of topics including - community leadership, local government finance, partnership working, scrutiny and the impact of the community empowerment...Read More

Cllr Henry Smith - Leader, West Sussex County Council

Henry Smith has been a County Councillor since 1997 and became the Leader of the Council in 2003 when at 34 he was the youngest county leader in the country. He is currently Chairman of the South East County Leaders grouping which represents all county councils across the greater South East of England...Read More

Paul Roberts OBE – Director of Strategy, Improvement and Development Agency

Paul Roberts is currently Director of Strategy at the IDeA. He leads on policy, planning, quality and communications, as well as overseeing the Agency’s services in specific areas such as innovation, sustainable communities, health and social care, the voluntary sector and services for children and young people...Read More

Jane White – Committee on the Merits of Statutory Instruments

Currently one of two advisers to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Merits of Statutory Instruments, which publishes a weekly commentary on all the orders and regulations laid before Parliament by the Government (approx 1200 per year). Her role is to investigate the policy behind this "secondary legislation" for the information...Read More

Fergus Reid – Clerk, Justice Select Committee

Fergus Reid has had a longstanding career in the civil service. For 15 years he has been a House of Commons Clerk. He has worked on the Health, Foreign Affairs and Standards and Priveleges Committees. He also had a leading role in the creation of the Environmental Audit Committee and in the running of the Culture, Media and Sports...Read More

Kate Cassidy - Head of Constitutional Affairs and Legislation Management, Welsh Assembly Government

Kate Cassidy is Head of Constitutional Affairs and Legislation Management for the Welsh Assembly Government. Her team worked closely with the Secretary of State for Wales, Peter Hain, and the First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, to deliver the Government of Wales Act 2006. Since then she has seen through the change programme to implement the...Read More

Jonathan Morgan AM (Con, Cardiff North) - Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services

Jonathan Morgan AM was elected to the Welsh Assembly in 1999. He served as education spokesman during the first assembly term and was then handed the health brief in 2003. He is now the Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services in the Assembly...Read More

Alun Davies AM (Lab, Mid and West Wales Region)

Alun Davies is the Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales Region and has was first elected in 2007. Alun also runs his own Public Affairs consultancy, Bute Communications, which he set up in 2004. Prior to entering politics, Alun was Director of Corporate Affairs at the Welsh-speaking TV station S4C...Read More

Nick Bennett - Member, All Wales Convention

Nick Bennett was appointed Chief Executive of Community Housing Cymru, the national membership body for not for profit housing providers in the summer of 2006. Nick, 39, has been a founding executive director of both an economic development consultancy and public affairs agency...Read More

Rt. Hon Sir John Wheeler - Former Chair, Home Affairs Select Committee

Sir John Wheeler was a Conservative MP for the City of Westminster, Paddington from 1979-1983 and then for Westminster North from 1983-1997. During this time he served on a variety of committees culminating in chairing the Home Affairs Select Committee from 1987-1992. He then went on to be Deputy Secretary of State for Northern...Read More

John Cooke – Former Senior Civil Servant, Department of Trade and Industry

John Cooke is an international economic relations consultant. He is Chairman of the Liberalisation of Trade in Services (LOTIS) Committee at International Financial Services London (IFSL). He is also Deputy Chairman of SITPRO (the UK agency for trade facilitation and simplification of international trade procedures) and Co-Chairman of the...Read More

Liz Kitchen – Private Secretary to Joan Ruddock MP, Minister of State at the Department for Energy and Climate Change

Liz Kitchen is the Private Secretary to Joan Ruddock MP, working in the Private Office of the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Prior to this she worked in the same role for Joan Ruddock MP in the Department of the...Read More

Phil Willis MP (Lib Dem, Horrogate and Knaresborough) – Chair, Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee

Phil Willis entered Parliament as MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough in 1997 and from 1999 until 2005 he was Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills. In 2005 he was appointed Chairman of the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee. In May 2007 he was also appointed Chair of the Joint Committee on the...Read More

Jenny Randerson AM (Lib Dem, Cardiff Central) – Shadow Minister for Education, Economy and Transport

Jenny Randerson is the Lib-Dem Shadow Minister for Education, The Economy and Transport. She was first elected for Cardiff Central in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007 with over 50% of the vote. She was formerly leader of the opposition on Cardiff Council until her election to the Assembly in 1999. During the partnership Government of...Read More

Marc Phillips – All Wales Convention Executive Committee Member

Marc Phillips is a member of the All Wales Convention Executive Committee as the nominee of Plaid Cymru. Although no longer active in party politics due to the restrictions of his current employment, he is a former Chair of Plaid Cymru and has twice been a candidate for both the Westminster and European Parliaments. He has worked in the...Read More

Zoe Holland – Head of Legislation Policy Team, Welsh Assembly Government

Zoe Holland is the Head of the Legislative Policy Team responsible for overseeing the use of legislation to extend the powers of the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government, providing advice on Welsh provisions in Parliamentary Bills and subordinate legislation matters. Her team also advises the Welsh Ministers...Read More

Daran Hill – Director, Positif Politics

Daran Hill is the Managing Director and Principal Consultant at Positif Politics. He founded and manages Wales' fastest growing public affairs firm in 2006. Daran's specialisms include horizon scanning and picking up the political mood, which enables clients to be forewarned of shifts in policy and political emphasis...Read More

Laura McAllister - Professor of Governance, University of Liverpool

Laura McAllister is Professor of Governance at the University of Liverpool’s School of Management. She was educated at Bryntirion Comprehensive School, Bridgend and is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Cardiff University where she completed a PhD in politics...Read More

Denis Arnold – Clerk, Bills Office, Northern Ireland Assembly

Denis Arnold is the Clerk of Bills in the Northern Ireland Assembly, responsible for dealing with primary legislation. He has had a long career in the Northern Ireland Civil Service in various management and policy role. In 1996 he was transferred to the newly established Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue in 1996 during...Read More

John Torney – Principal Clerk, Northern Ireland Assembly

John Torney is the Principal Clerk of Statutory Committees in the Northern Ireland Assembly, a post which he first took up in 2001. Over the course of a long career in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, John was involved in with the Assembly from its creation in 1998. He has been Clerk to the Education Committee, the Further and Higher...Read More

Simon Hamilton MLA (DUP, Strangford)

Simon Hamilton was elected to represent the Strangford constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly in March 2007. He is also currently Deputy Chairperson of the Finance & Personnel Committee and a member of the Enterprise, Trade & Investment Committee and the Public Accounts Committee....Read More

Dr Henning Meyer - Head of European Programme, Global Policy Institute

Dr Henning Meyer is head of the European Programme at the Global Policy Institute, London Metropolitan University, and visiting fellow at the School of International Labor Relations, Cornell University. Dr Meyer has been a consultant on policy issues for several private and public institutions such as the European...Read More

Tony McCusker – Former Senior Civil Servant

Tony retired early in 2005 following a career in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, the last 20+ years as a member of the Senior Civil Service. During his career he has undertaken some of the most complex and politically sensitive jobs in government including legislation, strategic and policy analysis/development, negotiations,...Read More

Dermot Nesbitt (UUP) – Former Minister of the Environment, Northern Ireland Executive

Dermot Nesbitt was educated at Queen’s University of Belfast. Before becoming a full-time politician in June 1998 had been a Senior Lecturer in Finance at Queens and also head of the Department of Accounting and Finance. In 1998, Dermot was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly representing South Down. In 2002 he served as Minister...Read More

Mark Devenport – BBC Northern Ireland Political Editor

Mark Devenport is BBC Northern Ireland's Political Editor and Chair of the Stormont Correspondents' Association. Mark has reported in various capacities for BBC Northern Ireland since the mid 1980s, covering events such as the IRA ceasefire of 1994, the Good Friday Agreement and the Omagh bombing...Read More

Sheree Dodd – Media and Communications Consultant

Sheree Dodd is a communications consultant with extensive senior level experience in government. After a career in journalism with many years as a political correspondent based in the Westminster lobby, she joined the civil service as Head of News in the Northern Ireland Office just in time for the Good Friday Agreement. Posts as Head...Read More

Brian Hackland – Transformation Director of Government Office Network

Brian Hackland was appointed national Transformation Director of the Government Office Network in June 2008. Brian moved to his current post from the Government Office for the East of England where he had been Regional Director since 2005...Read More

Linda Screen - Former Head of Policy and Performance at Dorset County Council

Linda is an experienced speaker on local and regional government, the third sector and Local Strategic Partnerships. A former Head of Policy and Performance at Bridgnorth District and Dorset County Council with interim experience in South Gloucestershire Unitary Authority and working with Penwith and Bath & NE Somerset Council, Linda's experience includes senior management,...Read More

Bob Neill MP (Con, Bromley & Chislehurst) - Shadow Minister for Local Government

Bob Neill was elected as the Conservative MP for Bromley and Chislehurst in June 2006. This was at a by-election following the death of Rt. Hon Eric Forth. After only a year in Parliament Bob was appointed Shadow London Minister, joining the Shadow Communities & Local Government team. In 2008 he was made Shadow Local Government...Read More

Richard Douglas – Environmental Audit Committee

Richard Douglas works for the House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee as a committee specialist. Previously he worked for three years as an analyst at the National Audit Office. At the Commons he has worked on...Read More

Colin Mackay - Political Commentator

Colin Mackay has been Political Editor for seven of Scotland's biggest commercial radio stations since 1999. Previously he worked for the BBC around Scotland and as a senior producer on Good Morning Ulster. After the first Scottish Parliament election Colin took up his current post covering Holyrood for Radio Clyde, Forth, Northsound,...Read More

Frances Bell - Clerk, Scottish Parliament

After seven years in the civil service, Frances joined the Parliament on its establishment in 1999. She has worked in the Chamber Office since then, first of all in the team dealing with parliamentary questions and motions and since September 2001 in the Legislation Team, which works with the Parliament's committee clerking teams in...Read More

Elinor Mitchell – Head of Cabinet Secretariat, Scottish Government

Elinor is a career civil servant, who has worked in Whitehall Departments, the European Court of Auditors, as well as holding various positions in the Scottish Government. She has been in her current post as Head of the Cabinet and Corporate Business Secretariat since summer 2008. That post places her in an ideal position to understand how...Read More

Cathy Jamieson MSP (Lab, Carrick Camnock and Doon Valley) - Shadow Health Minister

Cathy Jamieson was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999. She was appointed Minister for Education and Young People in 2001, and following the 2003 election she became Justice Minister. Cathy was Deputy Leader of Labour in the Scottish Parliament from 2000 until June 2008, when she stood down...Read More

Patrick Harvie MSP (Scottish Green Party, Glasgow Region) - Convenor, Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee

Serving as an MSP for Glasgow since 2003, Patrick has taken a particular interest in environmental issues like climate change, as well as equality and civil liberties, food, energy and IT....Read More

Lord Dominic Addington (Lib Dem) - Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords

Lord Addington entered the House of Lords at the age of 22 after taking his father's title and becoming the youngest serving peer. Dominic has used his youth to his advantage in the chamber, particularly during the student loans Bill. However, it wasn't until he graduated from the University of Aberdeen that he became an active member of the Lords...Read More

Jonathan Tillson - Head of Sustainable Development Unit, DEFRA

Jonathan Tillson has worked for most of his career in what is now Defra, dealing mainly with environmental protection. Before taking up his present post in June 2006 he spent four years at the Government Office for London...Read More

Alison Spalding - Food Standards Agency

Alison's academic training was as a microbial geneticist. For ten years she worked in the Health and Safety Executive regulating work with genetically modified organisms. This involved the dual roles of technical specialist in risk assessment and in developing policy. A lot of her work was on European negotiation and implementing European law. In 2001, Alison moved to the Food Standards Agency...Read More

Karen Dell - Food Standards Agency

Karen's academic/professional background is in law and internal audit. She has worked in the public sector for over 20 years, mainly in the areas of agriculture and food. She has been with the Food Standards Agency since its inception in 2000 and has worked on food standards, animal feed and sustainable development...Read More

Farooq Ullah - Sustainable Development Commission

Farooq Ullah is a policy analyst for the SDC and works to deliver the SDC's watchdog function to assess the extent to which the principles of sustainable development are being embedded into governmental operations, procurement, people, policies and governance...Read More

Professor Richard Parry - University of Edinburgh

Richard Parry is Reader in Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh and Head of Social Policy in the School of Social and Political Science. He worked previously at the University of Strathclyde and in the civil service in London and Edinburgh...Read More

Peter Haley - Employment Group, DWP

 Peter Haley started his civil service career in local social security offices in South Yorkshire before spending three years in Department of Health working on public expenditure survey and supply estimates for the NHS.  When he returned to social security he worked on major changes to community care policy and legislation...Read More

Peter Waller - Former Senior Civil Servant (BERR) & FOI Expert

Peter Waller joined the civil service with a law degree in 1976; and worked in policy advisory roles in central departments, mainly DTI, throughout his career, working for numerous Secretaries of State and Ministers. He was strongly engaged in the government privatisation programme...Read More

Julie Garbutt - Chief Executive, NHS Norfolk

 Julie has more than 16 years' experience in Board level positions including the last six years as Chief Executive of Southend PCT and was appointed CEO of South East Essex PCT in October 2006. She was born and raised in Hartlepool and received an MA in Geography from St Andrew's University in 1982...Read More

Matt Sowrey - Team Leader, Olympics 2012 - Sustainable Development Unit, DEFRA

 Matt joined Defra in 1999 having spent several years living and working in Spain following the completion of his degree in Spanish Studies, and his Postgraduate Diploma in European Business Management at Barcelona University.  He started his career in Defra as a policy advisor, working on BSE...Read More

Cllr Keith Moffitt (Lib Dem) - Leader of Camden Borough Council

Councillor Keith Moffitt became Leader of the Council following the local elections in May 2006.  He was first elected as a Liberal Democrat Councillor for West Hampstead in 1994 and has been a resident of the area for over 30 years. In his role as Leader of Camden Council he identifies key priorities as sustainability, improving the responsiveness of the Council...Read More

Peter Peacock MSP (Lab, Highlands and Islands Region) - Former Scottish Education Minister

 Peter Peacock has been an elected politician in the Highlands for the past 25 years.  He was a regional councillor and then the first leader of Highland Council. In 1999 he was elected to the Scottish Parliament as an MSP for the Highlands and Islands, holding the post of Deputy Finance and Public Services Minister. He has also been Minister for Europe, Gaelic, Local Government and Education...Read More

John Stoker - Former Senior Civil Servant

John is a highly experienced former senior Civil Servant who has been working as an independent consultant to public sector clients since 2004.  He has previously been Chief Commissioner at the Charity Commission, Director General at the Office of the National Lottery and Regional Director of the Government Office for Merseyside. Prior to this he spent 19 years at the Department of the ...Read More

Dr Theresa Crowley - Head of Strategy and Research, National Audit Office

 Dr Theresa Crowley is Head of Strategy and Research at the National Audit Office. Previously, she was Research Director at NESTA , the UK innovation catalyst organisation. Her earlier career was in evaluation of public policy and programmes at the Policy Studies Institute, the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury...Read More

Ian Fifield PhD CPFA

Ian is a CIPFA qualified accountant and an experienced trainer and facilitator, with more than 20 years experience of financial management in the public services. Ian specialises in financial management training for local authorities and other public service organisations and has also worked as an accountant in local government and an external auditor for both local government...Read More

Dr Ben Worthy - FOI Expert

Ben is a research associate in the constitutional unit at University College London. He is currently working on an ESRC funded project into the impact of FOI upon British central government. Using interviews, surveys and media content analysis, the study is the first of its kind to investigate to what extent FOI has achieved its objectives and how it has impacted upon Whitehall....Read More

Laura Moffatt MP - (Lab, Crawley)

Laura was elected to Parliament as MP for Crawley, West Sussex on 1 May 1997 and re-elected on 7 June 2001 and 5 May 2005. In the Commons she has served variously as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Lord Chancellor Derry Irvine (2001-03); the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Charles Falconer (2003-05); the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions....Read More

Jonathan Mackay - Assistant Director, Sector Skills, Skills Directorate, BIS

Before joining the civil service Jonathan worked in FE for 20 years. In 1999 he joined the Home Office as Head of QA for Police Training, then as an inspector for HMI Constabulary. In 2001 he joined DfES as Head of Quality for Connexions, heading up the FE Monitoring and Governance Unit in 2002, before being seconded..Read More

Cheri Kelly - Outreach and Liaison Manager, National Assembly for Wales

Cheri has had a long career in the Civil Service working mostly in the  Department for Work and Pensions. She joined the Department for Health and Social Security which went through many changes over the years including changing names, introduction and abandonment of many different benefits, merging with Jobcentre, and the introduction of call centre working. She has worked in many roles including..Read More

Christina Dykes - Political Director (Conservative), Leadership Centre for Local Government

Christina has been working in British politics for over 25 years. Her career has taken in many different aspects of the Conservative Party. Christina worked in the Conservative Research Department spending 6 years there and progressing to being a Special Adviser on health issues. She also ran the Conservative Medical Society for 7 years, gaining extensive experience of the voluntary sector of the Party...Read More

Sally Kemp - Chair, NHS Berkshire East

Sally has worked at board level in the NHS since 2001 and is currently the Chairman of NHS Berkshire East, a role she has held since 2006. She was formerly the Chairman of Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead PCT and a Non-Executive Director at Wokingham PC... Read More

Lord Redesdale (Lib Dem)

Rupert Redesdale is the youngest Life Peer created thus far, initially admitted as a Hereditary in 1991, and subsequently returning as a Life Peer in 2000 at the age of 33.For eleven years he was heavily involved in International Development as the Party's Spokesperson and also travelled widely in his capacity as an election monitor for the United Nations. Rupert recently became Chair...Read More

Mike Sewell - Dalkia

Mike was appointed Marketing Director for Dalkia in Apr 2008 with a brief to develop both strategic and tactical marketing activities as well as improved real time market knowledge.  Key programmes included Dalkia 100, a CRM initiative to focus on key clients together with the development of CarbonCare to become a Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) compliance programme for clients...Read More

David Torrance - Political Reporter, STV

David Torrance was born and brought up in Edinburgh and educated at Leith Academy, the University of Aberdeen and Cardiff University's School of Journalism. He began his journalistic career on the Edinburgh Evening News as a reporter from 2000-01, covering general news, the local arts scene and Scottish politics. David then moved into television to present and produce ...Read More

Simon Thomas - Special Advisor, Cabinet Secretariat, Welsh Assembly Government

Simon Thomas is currently a special advisor for the Welsh Assembly Government.  He was assistant curator for the National Library of Wales from 1986-92 after graduating from the University of College Wales, Aberystwyth.  From 1992-4, he was Policy and Research Officer for the Taff-Ely Borough Council and then from 1994-2000 he was Rural Development Manager...Read More

Julian Bowrey - Deputy Director, Strategy and Network Communications, Government Office network

Julian Bowrey is Deputy Director, Strategy and Network Communications in the Network Centre and Services(NCS) formerly known as Regional Co-ordination Unit(RCU), part of the Government Office network.  He is responsible for the GO Network's strategy, communications and secretariat functions...Read More

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale (Lab)

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale was educated at the University of Glasgow and the Graduate Institute for International Affairs, Geneva. She served in the British diplomatic service from 1969 to 1991.  As a Case Officer with the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS/MI6), she served with distinction in Stockholm and in Helsinki where, as the SIS Head of Station...Read More

Paul Daly - Private Secretary to Alan Campbell MP, Home Office

Liam Laurence Smyth - Clerk of the Journals, House of Commons

David Leedham -  Partner, Commercial Property, Speechly Bircham LLP

David is noted for his "pragmatic, problem-solving approach and an engaging style" (The UK Legal 500).  He advises on a wide range of commercial property transactions for developers, tenants in the financial, retail and leisure sectors and investors specialising in development and property investment...Read More

Christine St John Cox - AEA Group

Christine is one of the lead technical consultants at AEA specialising in the provision of Carbon Management and CRC services to a range of sectors including retail, telecoms and financial services.  She is an expert in low carbon organisational change and specializing in energy and carbon policy, strategy and abatement...Read More