Interview archive

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91 results found.

Alan Johnson

  Alan Johnson was the Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle from 1997 to 2017.  He held a wide range of ministerial portfolios under the Blair and Brown governments, covering universities, welfare, industry, education, health and security.  He served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2011. This interview

Alistair Darling

  Lord Alistair Darling was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007-2010. He served in the Cabinet throughout the Labour Governments of 1997-2010, across the Treasury, Work and Pensions, Transport, Trade and Industry and the Scotland Office. He is a life peer in the House of Lords. This interview was conducted on 8 March 2022.  

Andrew Adonis

  Lord Andrew Adonis worked in the No 10 Policy Unit from 1998, becoming Head of the Policy Unit in 2001.  He entered government as a life peer in 2005, serving as Minister of State for Education until 2008 before becoming Minister, and then Secretary of State, for Transport (2008-10). This interview was conducted on

Andrew Wilson

  Andrew Wilson is a former Member of the Scottish Parliament. He was a founding partner at strategic communications firm Charlotte Street Partners at the time of the interview. He chaired the Sustainable Growth Commission.   This interview was conducted on 1 March 2022.      Q: Could you tell us about your role in

Andy Burnham

  Andy Burnham has been the Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. Previously, he was Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Health Secretary from 2009 to 2010.  This interview was conducted on 28 April 2022.             Q: Could you tell

Andy Haldane

    Andy Haldane worked at the Bank of England from 1989 to 2021, rising to the position of Chief Economist.  He is now Chair of the Royal Society of Arts, and – subsequent to this interview – served as Head of the Levelling Up Taskforce for the UK Government. This interview was conducted on

Andy Street

  Andy Street is the Mayor for the West Midlands, winning the first mayoral election in May 2017 and re-elected in 2021. He was also the inaugural chair of the Greater Birmingham Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership from 2011 to 2017.   This interview was conducted on 11 July 2022.         Q: Could

Bev Hughes

  Bev Hughes served as Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime between 2017 and 2023. Hughes was the MP for Stretford and Urmston from 1997 to 2010. In 2004, she was appointed to the Privy Council. From 2005 to 2009, she served in the Government as Minister for Children, Young People and Families.   This interview was conducted on 12 September 2023.     

Bob Dobbie

Dr Robert Dobbie, known as Bob Dobbie, began as an academic at the University of Edinburgh in Chemistry before becoming a civil servant working in the Department of Trade and Industry and running the Merseyside Task Force in the 1990s. This interview was conducted on 8 February 2022.     Q: Could you tell us

Bob Kerslake

  Bob Kerslake was a Civil Servant. Bob’s work began in local government in London, where he became Chief Executive of the London Borough of Hounslow. From 1997 to 2008, he served as Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council. He became Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency in 2008, and Permanent Secretary of

Catherine Bell

Catherine Bell was a Civil Servant from 1975 to 2005, ending her career as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Trade and Industry. This interview was conducted on 8 December 2021.     Q: Could you tell us about your role in growth and regional policy over the past few decades? I joined what was

Charles Clarke

  Charles Clarke was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 to 2010 and served as Secretary of State for Educations and Skills from 2002 to 2004 and was Home Secretary until 2006. He now holds Visiting Professorships at the University of East Anglia, Lancaster University, and Kings College London, and works with

Chris Haskins

  Chris Haskins retired from the House of Lords in 2020, having served as a life peer since 1998. He served as Chairman of Northern Foods from 1980 to 2002, having helped build the firm into one of Britain’s largest food manufacturers and a founding member of the FTSE.  He served as Tony Blair’s ‘rural

Chris Naylor

  Chris Naylor is former Chief Executive of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. He is currently director of public service consultancy Inner Circle.   This interview was conducted on 3 February 2023.       Q: Could you tell us about your role in growth and region policy in the past few decades?

Dan Corry

  Dan Corry was the head of the Number 10 Policy Unit and senior economic advisor for British prime minister Gordon Brown. Corry began his career in the civil service as a labour market economist at the Department of Employment, then worked at HM Treasury from 1986 to 1989. He was a special adviser at the

Dan Rosenfield

  Dan Rosenfield is a British Civil Servant.  He worked at HM Treasury from 2000 to 2011, in roles including Principal Private Secretary to Chancellors Alistair Darling and George Osborne. He spent the subsequent decade in the private sector, before returning to government as Downing Street Chief of Staff in 2020. This interview was conducted

Dave Ramsden

  Dave Ramsden is Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking at the Bank of England. Prior to joining the Bank, Dave was Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury and Head of the Government Economic Service from 2007 – 2017. He was responsible for advising on UK macroeconomic policy, This interview was conducted on 20 December

David Blunkett

    David Blunkett was Secretary of State for Education and Employment, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Prior to that he was leader of Sheffield City Council. He also led Labour’s Council of Skills Advisers, who published their report for Labour in October 2022.   This interview was conducted on

David Sainsbury

  David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville, is a Labour life peer and British politician, businessman and philanthropist. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science and Innovation between 1998-2006. This interview was conducted on 25 March 2022.             Q: Could you tell us about your role in growth

Deborah Cadman

  Deborah Cadman is the interim chief executive of Birmingham City Council, appointed in 2021. Previously she was chief executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority, appointed in 2017. She was chief executive of Suffolk County Council from 2011 to 2017, and chief executive of the East of England Regional Development Agency from 2008 to

Derek Mapp

  Derek Mapp was chair of the East Midlands Development Agency. Originally a councillor in Cheshire County Council in the 1990s, he became a Chair of several PLCs and High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 2014. This interview was conducted on 6 July 2021.           Q: Can you tell us about your

Diane Coyle

  Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge and co-director of the Bennett Institute. She is an economist and former advisor to the UK Treasury and was a member of the UK Competition Commission from 2001 until 2019. This interview was conducted on 27 September 2021.    

Douglas Alexander

    Douglas Alexander was Labour MP for Paisley South 1997-2015. He served in a series of ministerial posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown including Minister for Competitiveness (2001-02), Trade Minister (2004-05), Europe Minister (2005-06) and Secretary of State for International Development (2007-10). This interview was conducted on 16 December 2021      

Ed Balls

  Ed Balls was Shadow Chancellor, 2011-2015; Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families, 2007-10; Economic Secretary to the Treasury, 2006-07; Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury, 1999-2004; and Economic Adviser to the Chancellor, 1997-99. This interview was conducted on 8 August 2023.     Q: By way of an introduction, could you tell

Eric Pickles

  Eric Pickles served as Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar from 1992 to 2017. He served as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2010 to 2015, and as shadow Secretary for the same portfolio in 2002, 2003-05, and 2007-09. He became a life peer in 2018. This interview was conducted

Frances O’Grady

    Frances O’Grady, Baroness O’Grady of Upper Holloway, was the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) from 2013 to 2022. She was Deputy General Secretary between 2003-2013.   This interview was conducted on 7 November 2022.           Q: Could you tell us about your role in growth and

Geoffrey Norris

  Geoffrey Norris was a special advisor at the U.K. Department of Business in Whitehall. Previously he worked as the principal business advisor in Number 10 to both Prime Minister’s Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. This interview was conducted on 2 December 2021.           Q: Can you tell us about your

George Osborne

  George Osborne served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016, and as First Secretary of State from 2015-2016. He was Member of Parliament for Tatton from 2001 to 2017. He has been chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership since 2016 and of the British Museum since 2021. This interview was conducted on

Gordon Brown

  Gordon Brown was Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1997 to 2007, the longest-serving holder of that office in modern history. He was Member of Parliament for Dunfermline East from 1983 to 2005, and later Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath from 2005

Greg Clark

  Greg Clark is a British politician. He has served as MP for Tunbridge Wells since 2005. He served as a minister from 2010 to 2019, across Communities and Local Government, the Treasury, the Cabinet Office, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. From 2015, he served in Cabinet as Secretary of State for

Hazel Blears

  Hazel Blears is a former Labour politician who served as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2007-2009. This interview was conducted on 29 August 2023.       Q: Could you tell us about your role in regional growth policy over the past few decades? Certainly. I’m delighted to be here

Helen Golightly

  Helen Golightly has served as Chief Executive of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership since 2015, and has worked with the LEP since 2012. She also served as interim CEO of the North East Combined Authority from 2016-2019. Before joining the LEP, Helen spent two decades across various roles in planning and economic regeneration

Henry Overman

  Henry Overman is Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics. He is also Research Director of the Centre for Economic Performance and the director of the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth. This interview was conducted on 13 March 2023.     Q: Could you tell us about yourself and

Howard Bernstein

    Sir Howard Bernstein was Chief Executive of Manchester City Council from 1998 to 2017. This interview was conducted on 20 January 2022           Q: Could you please explain your role in regional growth policy over the past few decades? I was the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council for

Jim O’Neill

  Lord Jim O’Neill is an economist, former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, a member of the House of Lords, and a former minister. Lord O’Neill chaired the RSA’s independent City Growth Commission and subsequently joined the Government. Following his departure from government, he acted as vice-chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership. This interview

Joanne Roney

  Joanne Roney (JR) OBE is the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council. She took up her position in April 2017. Prior to that Roney was Chief Executive for Wakefield Metropolitan District Council from July 2008. James Banks (JB) is the Assistant Chief Executive at Manchester City Council.  This interview was conducted on 18 August

Joe Irvin

  Joseph Irvin began his career as a policy officer for the Trades Union Congress. He later worked as a special advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and then as Political Secretary to Gordon Brown during his time as Prime Minister.   This interview was conducted on 10 November 2021.      Q:

John Armitt

  Sir John Armitt is the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission. He has held positions as Chief Executive of Network Rail (2002-2007), Chairman of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (2007-2012), Chairman of the National Express Group (2013-), and a Board member of Transport for London (2012-2016).   This interview was conducted on

John Cridland

  John Cridland joined the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in 1982, rising to Deputy Director 2000-10 and Director-General 2011-15. Since leaving the CBI, he was the first Chair of Transport for the North, serving 2015-21. This interview was conducted on 28 January 2022.           Q: How you were involved in

John Healey

  John Healey has served as Member of Parliament for Wentworth and Dearne since 1997.  He served as a Treasury minister from 2002 to 2007, and Minister of State for Local Government, then Housing and Planning from 2007 to 2010.  He was shadow Secretary of State for Housing through the late 2010s, and currently serves

John Kingman

  John Kingman is the Chairman of Legal & General since 2016, alongside being Chair of Tesco Bank and Deputy Chair of the National Gallery. He was the first chair of UK Research and Innovation between 2016-2021 and is the former Second Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury. He led on creating the National Infrastructure Commission

John Major

  Sir John Major was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997, overseeing Britain’s longest period of continuous economic growth and the beginning of the Northern Ireland Peace Process. Previously he served in the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 1987. He was promoted to Foreign Secretary in 1989, and

John Swinney

    John Swinney was Deputy First Minister of Scotland; at the time of recording, he was interim Finance Minister. This interview was conducted on 1 November 2022             Q: Could you tell us about your role in growth and regional policy over the past few decades? Thanks very much,

John Tomaney

  Professor John Tomaney is Professor of Urban and Regional Planning in the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. Previously he was Henry Daysh Professor of Regional Development and Director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS), Newcastle University. He has published over 100 books and articles on questions of local

Jonathan Black

  Jonathan Black is currently UK G7/G20 Sherpa, Director General – Cabinet Office. He worked in the Treasury during the establishment of the Regional Development Agencies under the Labour Government and later under the Coalition Government with the development of the Northern Powerhouse agenda. This interview was conducted on 13 May 2022.      

Jonathan Price

Jonathan Price has been the Chief Economist to the Welsh Government since 2006. Prior to that he held various economist roles within the Welsh government covering all aspects of the economy in Wales including rural and agricultural issues. Before joining the Welsh Government, he worked for the Office of National Statistics. This interview was conducted

Judith Blake

  Judith Blake, Baroness Blake of Leeds, is Opposition Frontbench Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Before joining the House of Lords in 2021, Blake served as leader of Leeds City Council from 2015-2021, serving in local government from 1996 and as chair of the Core Cities network. This interview was conducted on 20

Justine Greening

  Justine Greening served as Secretary for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transport from 2011 to 2012 and Secretary of State for International Development from 2012 to 2016.   This interview was conducted on 20 September

Kate Barker

  Dame Kate Barker was appointed an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England between 2001-2010. During this time, she led reviews for Government on UK Housing Supply (2004) and Land-Use Planning (2006). Among other roles she was a non-executive director of Taylor Wimpey plc (2011-20) and a member of

Kate Kennally

  Kate Kennally is Chief Executive of Cornwall County Council, before where she worked for a decade in the London Borough of Barnet.  This interview was conducted on 7 February 2023.        Q: Could you tell us about your role in growth and regional policy over the past few decades? I’m the chief

Ken Clarke

  Ken Clarke was MP for Rushcliffe from 1970 until 2019, serving in the cabinets of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major. He was Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and then Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997. Since standing down as an MP, he has served as a Conservative Member of the

Ken Livingstone

  Kenneth Robert Livingstone is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office in 2000 until 2008. He also served as the Member of Parliament for Brent East from 1987

Kitty Ussher

  Kitty Ussher was Special Adviser to Patricia Hewitt at the Department of Trade and Industry, 2001-04 and Member of Parliament for Burnley 2005-2010.  She was Economic Secretary to the Treasury 2007-08, Minister for Work and Pensions 2008-09 and Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury 2009-10. She is currently Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors.

Liam Byrne

    Liam Byrne has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hodge Hill since 2004. He served in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Cabinet from 2008 to 2010 as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 2008 to 2009. He was Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2009 to

Mark Drakeford

    Mark Drakeford has served as the First Minister of Wales since 2018.  He has been a Member of the Senedd since 2011.  He was Professor of Social Policy and Applied Social Sciences at Cardiff University from 2003 to 2013 and worked as an advisor to Rhodri Morgan as First Minister. This interview was

Mark Gibson

    Mark Gibson was chief executive of The Whitehall & Industry Group (WIG). Prior to joining WIG in 2009, Mark was a civil servant and his career included roles in the Department of Trade and Industry, HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office. This interview was conducted on 16 December 2021.        

Martin Donnelly

      Sir Martin Donnelly worked at HM Treasury in the 1980s and the European Commission in the early 1990s before returning to the UK Civil Service. He held a variety of posts in the Cabinet Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office relating to international trade and European affairs, before becoming Permanent Secretary at

Martin Hill

  Martin Hill is a Conservative councilor and Leader of Lincolnshire County Council.   This interview was conducted on 10 February 2023.        Q: Could you tell us about your role in growth and regional policy in the past few decades? I have been the leader of Lincolnshire County Council since 2005. For

Melanie Dawes

  Melanie Dawes is Chief Executive of Ofcom.  She was Permanent Secretary of the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government from 2015 to 2020 and before that worked in senior roles in the Treasury, HMRC and Cabinet Office. This interview was conducted on 26 January 2022.             Q: Could

Michael Gove

    Michael Gove has been the Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath since 2005. He served in the Cabinet of three Prime Ministers, including as Secretary of State for Education (2010-14), Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2017-19), Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (2019-21) and as Secretary of State for

Michael Heseltine

    Michael Heseltine served as Secretary of the State for the Environment from 1979 to 1983 and again from 1990-1992.  He was Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from 1992 to 1995, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997. This interview was conducted on 8 February 2022.          

Michael Marmot

  Michael Marmot is the Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London and Director of the Institute of Health Equity.   This interview was conducted on 27 February 2023.        Q: Could you please give us a brief overview of your interest in the question of regional inequality and growth

Mike Emmerich

    Mike Emmerich is the Founding Director of Metro Dynamics. He was Chief Executive of New Economy in Manchester, a leading player in the emergence of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and served as a Civil Servant in both the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit and as a founding member of the Treasury’s Productivity Team.

Neale Coleman

    Neale Coleman was an aide to Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson as Mayors of London. Neale led work on the Olympic and Paralympic Games at the Greater London Authority (GLA) from 2000, and currently sits on the National Infrastructure Commission.  This interview was conducted on 13 December 2021.          

Nick Forbes

    Nick Forbes served as leader of Newcastle City Council from 2011 to 2022. He was leader of the Local Government Association Labour Group from 2016 t0 2023. This interview was conducted on 3 May 2022.               Q: Could you tell us about your role in growth and

Nick Macpherson

  Lord Nicholas Macpherson joined the Treasury in 1985 and served as Permanent Secretary from 2005 to 2016.   This interview was conducted on 18 October 2021.           Q: Could you tell us about your engagement in regional policy at the Treasury? My role in regional policy was relatively limited. I

Norman Lamont

    Lord Norman Lamont was Member of Parliament for Kingston-upon-Thames 1972-1997, Minister for Trade and Industry 1981-85 and Defence Procurement 1985-86, Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1986-89, Chief Secretary to the Treasury 1989-90 and Chancellor of the Exchequer 1990-93.  This interview took place on 17 January 2022.           Q: Can

Pat Ritchie

    Pat Ritchie is a former Chair of the Government Property Agency and Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council for over eight year. She is a former Chief Executive of Homes and Communities Agency (now Homes England) and former Deputy Chief Executive of One NorthEast Regional Development Agency (‘RDA’). This interview took place on

Patricia Hewitt

    Patricia Hewitt served as Member of Parliament for Leicester West from 1997 to 2010. She joined the Cabinet in 2001 and served as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from 2001 to 2005, and Secretary of State for Health from 2005 to 2007. She is the Independent Chair of Norfolk and Waveney

Paul Rowsell

  Paul Rowsell is Head of Governance Reform and Democracy at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.   This interview was conducted across two sessions, on 7 June and 3 August 2023.       Q: Could you tell us who you are, and what your work has been over the decades on

Paul Tucker

  Paul Tucker was Deputy Governor of the Bank of England (2009-2013) and sat on its monetary policy, financial stability, and prudential policy committees.   This interview was conducted on 28 May 2023.      Q: Can you start by telling us in what ways you have been engaged in UK growth policy over the

Peter Mandelson

    Lord Peter Mandelson is a member of the House of Lords and served as MP for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004. He served as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in 1998, and again as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2008-10. He was European Commissioner for Trade from

Philip McCann

  Professor Philip McCann holds the Chair of Urban and Regional Economics at The Productivity Institute, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester. He was previously the Chair of Urban and Regional Economics at Sheffield University Management School when the interview was conducted. He was also previously Special Advisor to two EU Commissioners for Regional

Philip Rycroft

    Philip Rycroft joined the Scotland Office in 1989.  He held a series of roles across Scottish government up to 2007, including in the Executive’s Policy Unit, as Head of Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Development, and finally as Director-General for Education.  He also served in the Cabinet of Leon Brittan at the European

Richard Caborn

  Richard Caborn was the Labour MP for Sheffield Central, 1983–2010, and Minister for Sport, 2001–2007. He served as a junior minister in the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions and Department of Trade and Industry.   This interview was conducted on 11 March 2022.     Q: By way of introduction, could you

Richard Leese

    Sir Richard Leese served as a councillor in Manchester City Council for 38 years from 1984 to 2022. He served as deputy leader of the Council from 1990, and leader from 1996 until 2021. He was knighted in 2006 for services to local government and now chairs the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care

Rosie Winterton

    Dame Rosie Winterton is the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. She has been Member of Parliament for Doncaster Central since 1997 and served as a Minister in the Departments of Health, Transport, Work and Pensions and Local Government, as well as Labour Chief Whip. Before entering parliament, she worked for John

Ruth Kelly

  Ruth Kelly is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Bolton West from 1997 until 2010. She was appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in 2006 to 2007 and Secretary of State for Transport from 2007 until 2008. This interview was conducted on 6

Sajid Javid

    Sajid Javid has been the Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove since 2010. He served in the Cabinet from 2014, as Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport [DCMS], for Business, Innovation and Skills [BIS], for Communities and Local Government [DCLG/DLUHC], as Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Secretary of State for

Sharon White

  Sharon White is the current Chair of the John Lewis Partnership. She was the Chief Executive of the British media regulator Ofcom from March 2015 to November 2019, and was Second Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury from 2013 to 2015. This interview was conducted on 7 August 2023.       Q: Could you tell us about your roles with respect

Stephen Haddrill

    Stephen Haddrill began his career as a civil servant in 1978 in the Department of Energy and subsequently working in  the Department for Trade and Industry and Trade, as well in the Governor’s Central Policy Unit in Hong Kong between 1990-1994. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council between

Steve Fothergill

    Steve Fothergill is an economist working at Sheffield Hallam University. Most of Steve’s work has been within the field of urban and regional development, particularly in the UK context, including studies of cities, rural areas, coalfields and seaside towns. This interview was conducted on 22 September 2021.            

Terry Burns

  Terry Burns has been a life peer since 1998 for his services as a former Chief Economic Adviser and Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury. He has also been President of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, and of the Society of Business Economists. This interview was conducted on 6 September 2021.  

Tom Riordan

    Tom Riordan is an English civil servant. He has been Chief Executive of Leeds City Council since August 2010. Tom Riordan moved to Leeds in 1997 and helped set up Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency for Yorkshire and Humber, becoming its chief executive in 2006.   This interview was conducted on 15

Tom Walker

  Tom Walker joined Essex County Council in April 2022 as Executive Director for Economy, Investment and Public Health. He has spent his career in Whitehall, working predominantly in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, most recently leading the Levelling Up Task Force.   This interview was conducted on 6 March 2023.  

Tony Blair

    Tony Blair was leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007, and Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007. He is now head of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. This interview was conducted on 7 October 2022.               Q: How much was the pattern of

Tony Danker and Matthew Fell

Tony Danker joined the CBI [Confederation of British Industry] as Director-General in November 2020, departing in 2023. Before the CBI, Tony was the first CEO of Be the Business, a business-led movement created to transform UK’s productivity founded by a group of FTSE-100 Chairmen and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne. From 2010-2017

Tony Reeves

    Tony Reeves is a former Chief Executive of Liverpool City Council of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. He has worked for a number of Yorkshire councils, including involvement in the regeneration of former coalfield communities. In recognition for his work for Bradford, Business in the Community asked him to become an

Vaughan Gething

  Vaughan Gething has served as Welsh Government Minister for the Economy since 2021. He previously served as the Minister for Health and Social Services from 2016 to 2021. He has been a Member of the Senedd for Cardiff South and Penarth since 2011.   This interview was conducted on 10 August 2023.    

Vince Cable

    Sir Vince Cable is a British politician. He was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. He also served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2010 to 2015.

Yvette Cooper

    Yvette Cooper has been the Member of Parliament for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford since 1997. She currently serves as Shadow Home Secretary. Previously she served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2008-2009, Work and Pensions Secretary from 2009-2010. This interview was conducted on 30 May 2022.