ONWARD - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Researcher
- Senior Researcher on the Getting to Zero Programme
Alex Luke is a Senior Researcher at Onward, focusing on the Getting to Zero programme.
Job Titles:
- Development Manager at the Little Hulton Big Local
Alison McGovern is Member of Parliament for Wirral South
Job Titles:
- Head
- Head of Science and Technology
Head of Science and Technology, Allan Nixon, writes for Conservative Home regarding reforms needed in Whitehall to make the UK a science superpower.
Allan Nixon is Head of Science and Technology at Onward. He served in a variety of special adviser roles in the UK Government over 4 years - including to the Prime Minister, the Security Minister, and the Health Secretary throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Before joining the Government, Allan worked in the UK Parliament. He received his MA in International Relations from the International University of Japan and his Honours degree in Law from the University of Dundee.
Anastasia is a Senior Researcher in the Science and Technology team. She previously worked for the International Telecommunication Union, focusing on the United Nations affairs, strategic partnerships, ICTs for Sustainable Development Goals and gender digital divide matters. Anastasia holds an MPhil degree in Politics from the University of Oxford and an MSc degree in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Angus is an Onward Policy Fellow and a Lord Bowen Scholar at Lincoln's Inn. He holds an MPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford.
Angus is Deputy Head of Events and Development, focusing on expanding Onward's corporate sponsorship programme and Business Leaders Network.
Angus is Head of Events with a focus on expanding Onward's corporate sponsorship programme and Business Leaders Network. He was previously Head of Events at The Spectator and before that he worked as Deputy Head of Conferences for the Conservative Party.
Job Titles:
- Senior Researcher
- Researcher and Advisor to Baroness Nicola Blackwood
Anna is a Senior Researcher in the Science and Technology team. Prior to Onward she was the Health and Life Sciences Policy Manager at Public Policy Projects. Anna holds degrees in Spanish, Politics and Law from Queen's University Belfast.
In addition to her role at Onward, Anna is Researcher and Advisor to Baroness Nicola Blackwood, Chair of Genomics England and Oxford University Innovation.
Job Titles:
- Events and Development Manager
Bel is an Events and Development Manager at Onward, helping to deliver our events programme. She graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2021 with a Master of Philosophy in Music, having previously studied at Durham University.
Callum Newton is a Senior Researcher on the Levelling Up programme.
Callum is a Senior Researcher at Onward, primarily focusing on Levelling Up policy. Prior to Onward, Callum worked as a Consultant in Portland's specialist Litigation & Disputes practice. He holds an MA in International Politics (Critical Geopolitics) from Newcastle University.
Senior Researcher Callum Newton emphasises the need to build more homes across the UK if the Conservatives are to win the next election.
Cameron Smith is the Head of Communications at Onward. He is also a councillor in the London Borough of Bexley. Previously, he was responsible for communications at the Conservative Environment Network and London Assembly Conservative Group. He started his career as a press officer for the UK Conservative Delegation to the European Parliament.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- MP Is Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Was Previously a Member of Onward 's Advisory Board
Chris Philp MP is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and was previously a Member of Onward's Advisory Board.
Chris Philp was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in September 2020.
Prior to that, he was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice from February 2020 to September 2021. Before that, he was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice from September 2019 to December 2019 and Minister for London at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from December 2019 to February 2020.
He was previously a member of Onward's Advisory Board, and authored a paper for Onward on reforming stamp duty.
Claire Coutinho is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Education, Minister for Disabled People, and the MP for East Surrey.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner of Edmonds Elder
Craig Elder is a Founding Partner of Edmonds Elder, and is a member of Onward's advisory board
Conservative Member of the House of Lords, former advisor to Prime Minister John Major and Founding Director of Social Market Foundation
Job Titles:
- Board of Directors
- Chairman of the Meller Group
David Meller is a British businessman and is chairman of the Meller Group. He founded the Meller Educational Trust, which runs a number of schools and university technical colleges, and has served as a Non-Executive Director for the Department for Education, where he also chaired the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network and was co-chair of the Apprenticeship Delivery Board.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Inflation Prevention Project
- Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme
Dr Ben Caldecott is the Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme, and a member of the getting to zero steering group
Ben is the Chairman of Onward's Inflation Prevention Project. He was the founding Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group at the University of Oxford. He is also the founding Director of the UK Centre for Greening Finance & Investment. He has extensive experience of environment, energy, and sustainability issues having worked in senior roles in finance, government, civil society, and academia.
Dr Caroline Johnson is the MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham
Dr Rhian Mari-Thomas is the Chief Executive of the Green Finance Institute
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Ivy Farm Technologies
Dr Russ Tucker is the co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Ivy Farm Technologies
Eddie Hughes MP was a member of Onward's Advisory Board and now serves as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Fjolla Krasniqi led Onward's Social Fabric programme and now works for FTI Consulting.
Florence Conway is an intern at Onward. Before joining Onward, Florence read Land Economy at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, and specialised in Levelling Up. She has also worked in corporate sustainability and ESG.
Francesca was a Senior Researcher at Onward, working primarily on levelling up.
Francois is a Senior Researcher on the Social Fabric and Future Politics programmes.
Gavin Rice is the Project Director for Onward's Future of Conservatism project.
Guy Miscampbell was a Senior Research Fellow with Onward, and is now an Associate Director at Hanbury Strategy
Job Titles:
- MP Is the Parliamentary under - Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, and Is the MP for Hexham
Guy Opperman MP is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, and is the MP for Hexham
Job Titles:
- Senior Managing Partner of Lombard Odier Group
Jack Kelly was Onward's Head of Communications from February - November 2022.
Jack Richardson is the Head of Energy and Climate at Onward, leading the Getting to Zero research programme.
Job Titles:
- Head of Politics & Polling
James Blagden leads Onward's Future Politics research programme and is also Chief Data Analyst, working across our research.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Board
- Chief Research Officer at Focal Data
James Kanagasooriam is Chief Research Officer at Focal Data. He was previously a Partner at Hanbury Strategy, leading the Data Strategy Team where he advised a range of clients on projects involving political and commercial strategy.
Prior to this, James was a strategy consultant at OC&C. Between 2014-2018 James was Head of Analytics for Populus where he and his team utilised data science techniques to optimise political campaigning. Their efforts contributed to Ruth Davidson's Scottish Conservatives' successful 2017 Election. Prior to that James was an investment banker at Rothschild.
Jenevieve is a Senior Researcher at Onward, working primarily on the Levelling Up programme.
Jesse Norman MP served as a Minister in the Department for Transport and as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, among several other ministerial roles. He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Hereford and South Herefordshire in May 2010.
Job Titles:
- Intern, and Later a Researcher at Onward, and Now Works at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Jessica Hopwood was an intern, and later a researcher at Onward, and now works at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
John Lamont is the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Scotland Office and Member of Parliament for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
Jonathan Branton leads the Government and Public Sector Group at DWF
Katie Fairclough was Finance Director at Onward, overseeing all of Onward's partnerships and fundraising.
Job Titles:
- MP Is Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and a Former Member of Onward 's Advisory Board
Kemi Badenoch MP is Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and a former Member of Onward's Advisory Board.
Job Titles:
- Kt Is the Minister of State at the Department of International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel Kt is the Minister of State at the Department of International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Lord Gus O'Donnell served under three Prime Ministers and was Permanent Secretary to the Treasury under the Brown chancellorship
Job Titles:
- Advisory Board, Chairman of Social Fabric Steering Group
Job Titles:
- Member of the Economic Affairs Committee
Luke Stanley was a Senior Researcher at Onward and led the Social Fabric programme.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Working on Our Science Superpower Research Programme
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Chairman of the Board and Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Head of Energy and Environment
- Head of Onward 's Energy
Ned Hammond is the Head of Onward's Energy and Environment research programme.
Job Titles:
- Member of Parliament for Harborough
Neil O'Brien OBE MP co-founded Onward in May 2018, alongside Danny Finkelstein, Will Tanner, Martyn Rose and Nick Faith. He has written numerous research reports for Onward including Measuring Up for Levelling Up; Green, Pleasant and Affordable; and Firing on All Cylinders. Neil was also the founding chair of the Levelling Up Taskforce, a group of 65 Conservative MPs that Onward convened to press for greater ambition on the levelling up agenda.
Neil served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities till July 2022, and currently serves as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care. He was previously the Prime Minister's adviser on Levelling Up, with responsibility for the Levelling Up White Paper.
Neil O'Brien was elected as the Member of Parliament for Harborough in June 2017. Prior to entering Parliament, Neil served as a Special Adviser in both Theresa May's Number 10 Policy Unit and within George Osborne's team in HM Treasury. As well as co-founding Onward, Neil is the former Director of Policy Exchange and Open Europe.
Job Titles:
- Board of Directors
- Director and Co - Founder of WPI Strategy
Nick Faith is the Director and co-Founder of WPI Strategy and a recognised expert in political communications and media strategy. Previously, he was Director of Communications at Policy Exchange for four years and advised business leaders as a consultant for a leading communications agency.
Job Titles:
- Member of Parliament for Cities of London
Nickie Aiken is the Member of Parliament for Cities of London and Westminster
Job Titles:
- Councillor for Talbot and Branksome
Philip Broadhead is the Councillor for Talbot and Branksome Woods, and Deputy Leader for the new BCP Council.
Job Titles:
- Head of New Deal for Parents
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive at Shelter
Richard Harrington was the MP for Watford and was the Minister for Business and Industry
Robert Edward Jenrick is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Immigration from 2022 to 2023. Jenrick has been a Conservative MP for Newark since 2014.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Board
- Portfolio Manager in the Multi
Rupert Harrison is a Portfolio Manager in the Multi-Asset Strategies group at BlackRock. He is a member of the Government's Industrial Strategy Council and is the Chair of The Fore, a charity dedicated to funding grass roots charities across the UK.
Seema Kennedy OBE is a member of Onward's Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Senior Researcher
Shivani H Menon is a Researcher at Onward on the Levelling Up programme.
Senior Researcher Shivani H Menon writes for the Local Government Association on how local leaders can unlock philanthropy in their communities.
Siobhan Baillie is the Conservative MP for Stroud, and has been an MP since 12 December 2019. She is a member of Onward's Advisory Board.
Job Titles:
- Board of Directors
- Chairman of MacSteel
Sir Mick Davis is the Chairman of MacSteel and the former Chief Executive and Treasurer of the Conservative Party. Prior to this he was Chief Executive of Xstrata plc and Executive Director of Billiton plc. In the past he has been President of the Jewish Leadership Council of the United Kingdom and trustee of the Foundation and Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens. He is also actively involved in a number of charities.
He is a member of Onward's Board of Directors.
Sir Richard Leese is the Leader of Manchester City Council
Tracey Crouch MP served as the Minister for Sport between May 2015 and November 2018. She was elected as the Conservative MP for Chatham and Aylesford in 2010.
Victoria Prentis is MP for Banbury and Attorney General.
Job Titles:
- Founding Chief Executive of Power to Change
Vidhya is the founding Chief Executive of Power to Change, with extensive policy experience
Virginia Crosbie is Member of Parliament for for Ynys Môn.
Will Holloway is Special Adviser to Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP at the Department for International Trade. Prior to this he was Onward's Deputy Director.
Will Tanner is the Former Director of Onward. He is now Deputy Chief of Staff in Number 10 Downing St.