INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENT - Key Persons
Akash is a programme director at the Institute. He leads the Institute's devolution programme, overseeing work on the state of the union, and devolution to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and to English cities and regions.
He has previously conducted research on subjects including civil service accountability, parliamentary reform, coalition and minority government.
Akash studied politics and political economy and joined the Institute in 2008 after completing a master's degree. He has worked at the UCL Constitution Unit, the British Academy, the London School of Economics, and as an English teacher in Prague and Paris.
In May 2022 Akash was also appointed by the Welsh Government to the expert panel advising the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.
Alex is a programme director leading the Institute's work on the civil service and policy making. He heads the team researching civil service reform, government accountability, better policy making and looking at the effectiveness of government departments. Alex is a regular commentator on radio, television and in the print media.
Alex joined the IfG in January 2020, having previously been a director in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), leading teams working on Brexit and animal and plant health. Before that, Alex was principal private secretary to Sir Jeremy Heywood, cabinet secretary and head of the civil service.
Alex worked in the Department of Health from 2015-16, the Cabinet Office on constitutional and electoral matters from 2010-15, and in Defra from 2003-10 on a variety of environment, climate change and agricultural policies.
Alex is one of the Institute for Government's two Events Officers. He assists in the IfG's work putting together and delivering both public and private events. He also leads on the IfG's regular Data Bites series, bringing together civil servants across government showcasing interesting data projects.
Alex studied Classics at university before completing a masters in Public Administration, specialising in devolution and local government. After leaving university he ran audience development for a local journalism network before working at an electoral reform campaign. He joined the IfG in 2022.
He is active in his North London community, including helping out at an LGBT+ tennis group and volunteering at his local food bank.
Alice is a senior researcher. As part of the IfG Academy team, which helps those in government to be effective and those outside it to understand it better, she delivers workshops for academics and others seeking to better work with government.
Alice also runs much of the Institute's day-to-day work on the UK Parliament and is a regular expert commentator on parliamentary procedure and practice on radio and television.
Prior to joining the Institute, she began her career in academia, writing a PhD on the history of anti-poverty policy in the US and UK in the 1990s.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Parliament for Wallasey
Angela Eagle is the member of parliament for Wallasey, elected in 1992 as the seat's first Labour MP.
She has served as a government ,inister in several departments, including the Home Office and Treasury in both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's governments, and in several shadow cabinet positions including shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, shadow leader of the House and shadow secretary of state for Business, Innovation and Skills.
She is an honorary fellow of St John's College Oxford, and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year Honours for parliamentary and political service.
She currently sits on the Treasury Select Committee, and holds a number of positions within the Labour Party including membership of the National Executive Committee and National Policy Forum.
Job Titles:
- Producer
- Podcast Producer & PD Diary Manager
Candice McKenzie is the podcast producer at the Institute for Government, developing and producing all IfG LIVE podcasts and other special audio events.
Candice has worked in audio and music for over 20 years. Prior to working at the Institute, she spent much of her career working in the music industry, working for major record labels Atlantic Records, Warner Music and Defected Records, and as a radio presenter and producer.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Programme Director
Catherine is a programme director overseeing the IfG Academy programme, which brings together our expertise on government to provide practical training and support. As part of the IfG Academy team, Catherine delivers workshops and other development sessions for ministers, their private offices and other civil servants, as well as the IfG's pre-election preparation for government programme with opposition politicians.
Catherine has brought an historical angle to the Institute's commentary. Catherine is an expert commentator on the role of ministers, the constitution, No.10 and the Cabinet Office, preparation for government by political parties and the constitutional rules around general elections, and the history of government and civil service reform.
Before joining the Institute in November 2008, Catherine was a lecturer on security and intelligence history; taught contemporary British history; and worked as a historian and researcher, including for the Cabinet War Rooms' Churchill Museum and for various publications and media outlets.
Chloe Smith talks about serving as constitution minister under three different PMs, her time in the Truss government, and ministerial maternity cover.
Dan was a research assistant, working on the Institute's devolution programme. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 2020.
Prior to joining the Institute he worked in the higher education sector.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Director of the Behavioural Insights Team
Dr David Halpern is currently director of the Behavioural Insights Team, a mutual joint venture with the government and Nesta, where he has been leading efforts to use behavioural insights to improve public service delivery across government.
Previously David was chief analyst in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit (2001-07). He led numerous reviews, including the UK government's strategic audits and recent policy reviews; set up the Social Exclusion Task Force and drafted its action plan; and authored many of the Strategy Unit's most influential papers, such as those on life satisfaction, personal responsibility and behaviour change.
Before entering government, he held tenure at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Cambridge University. He has also held posts at Nuffield College, Oxford; the Policy Studies Institute, London; as a visiting professor at the Centre for European Studies, Harvard; and was the first research director of the Institute for Government.
He has published widely including the books Hidden Wealth of Nations (2009); Social Capital (2005); Options for Britain: a strategic policy review (1996); Options for a New Britain (2009) and Mental Health and the Built Environment (1995).
Gil is a research assistant working in the Institute's public services team.
He studied Government and History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, specialising in 18th and 19th century cultural and political history. After university, he worked as a researcher for Professor Meg Russell in the Constitution Unit at University College London, studying Brexit and parliament. After a brief stint as a teacher, Gil joined the Institute in June to work on the Institute's Performance Tracker publication.
Job Titles:
- Leader of the SNP, Must Now Assemble His Top Team, Set Out His Independence Strategy, and Reset Relations With Westminster.
Humza Yousaf, elected leader of the SNP, must now assemble his top team, set out his independence strategy, and reset relations with Westminster.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Senior Researcher
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Head of Learning and Development
Sue Gray's move to become Keir Starmer's chief of staff could cause difficulties for the civil service.
Keir Starmer has made some big changes to Labour's shadow ministerial team.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Board
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Head of Digital Content / Associate
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Board
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to the Director
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Non - Executive Director of Liberty Global Plc
- Trustee of Garsington Opera
Miranda Curtis is a non-executive director of Liberty Global plc, having retired from her executive role with the company after leading the sale of Liberty's Japanese interests in early 2010. In January 2018, Miranda joined the board of Liberty Latin America Ltd.
Miranda was chair of Waterstones from 2011-2016, and served as a non-executive director of Marks & Spencer plc from 2012-2018. She was a trustee of The Royal Shakespeare Company from 2011-21, latterly deputy chair from 2016.
Miranda has been a trustee of Garsington Opera since 2010 and deputy chair since 2012. She will take over as chair in early 2023. Miranda also serves as chair of the leading African girls' education charity Camfed and was lead non-executive director on the board of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from March 2017 to July 2020.
In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Miranda was made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for her services to global gender equality.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Board
- Research Assistant
Baroness Amos was a member of the British government from 1998-2007 and served in the cabinet as secretary of state for international development and leader of the House of Lords from 2003-07. She is also a former under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs for the United Nations.
Job Titles:
- IfG Academy Researcher and Recruitment Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Director of Finance and Resources / Associate
Job Titles:
- Senior Partnerships Manager
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Director of Communications and Marketing
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Head of Digital Marketing
Simon Case is right to speak out against ministers who describe the civil service as the 'blob'
Job Titles:
- Northern Ireland Secretary
Sir Brandon Lewis discusses the benefit of local government experience, the challenges of the Home Office and his time as Northern Ireland secretary.
Brandon Lewis is the Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth. Between 2012 and 2022, he served as a minister in DCLG, the Home Office, as party chair and as secretary of state for Northern Ireland and for Justice.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chair of the Board
Robert Buckland discusses Brexit's impact on the law officer role, the end of the Truss government, and managing the courts system in Covid.
Author Tim Bale joins the podcast team to make sense of the prime minister's battles over boats and bust-ups around Brexit.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team