Jim McMahon OBE is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton and has been serving these communities continuously since 2015. He is also the chair of the Co-operative Party. In July 2024 Jim became Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. He previously fulfilled the position of Shadow Minister for Local Government & English Devolution. Jim has an extensive background in local government, with his past experience as Cllr and Leader of Oldham Council. He is committed to championing the work of Councilors and Mayors, making the case for further devolution and empowering local communities.

Baroness Hazarika is known for her insightful, witty opinions, and informed observations on current affairs and politics. Host of Times Radio Weekend Drivetime and The Power Test podcast, and regular contributor to TV, radio and print. Ayesha started her career as a stand-up comedian before going into politics, becoming Special Adviser for the Labour Party for eight years, in Government and Opposition. She worked for Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman and Ed Miliband on media and policy as well as heading up initiatives on topics such as Women and Equality. In 2024 she was granted a lifetime Labour peerage to the House of Lords.

Yuan Yang is the Member of Parliament for Earley and Woodley, a new constituency in Reading which also covers Shinfield and Whitley. She is an economist by training, and after her master's degree, founded Rethinking Economics, a charity that campaigns to make economics teaching more relevant to the real world. Before being selected by the Labour Party to stand for Parliament, she spent eight years working as a journalist at the Financial Times. She began her career in journalism on the economics desk of The Economist.

Dan Tomlinson is the first Labour MP to be elected to serve Chipping Barnet, where he lives with his family. He is focused on crime and community safety, improving access to the local NHS, and on reducing the cost of living for local residents. Dan was recently appointed as the Government’s National Mission Champion for Growth.

Before being elected, Dan worked as an economist, primarily focused on improving family living standards and growing the economy. He has previously worked at HM Treasury, and the Resolution Foundation, where he co-authored the paper calling for the furlough scheme. Most recently, Dan was Principal Policy Advisor at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the UK's leading anti-poverty charity.

Claire Ward is Mayor of the East Midlands, representing 2.2 million people across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Mayor Claire has responsibility for transport, skills and adult education, housing and land, net-zero and economic development.

Before being elected Mayor in May 2024, Claire Ward was the Chair of Sherwood Forest Hospitals in North Nottinghamshire, as well as other roles at the Pharmacists' Defence Association and the Institute of Collaborative Working. From 1997 to 2010, Mayor Claire was MP for Watford and served as a Justice Minister under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Ben is an expert on the political and economic drivers that are needed for growth. As Founding Director of Metro Dynamics he leads major strategy projects across the UK advising on governance, inclusive growth and how best to work with Westminster and Whitehall.

Before Metro Dynamics, Ben had a long career in public policy and communications, advising cities, businesses, and charities on how to achieve their public affairs objectives.

He is a Policy Associate at the Future Governance Forum, a member of the Evidence to Impact Committee of Foundations, The What Works Centre for Children and Families, and Founding Director of The Power Test podcast.

Dr Henry Kippin is the Chief Executive of the North East CA, responsible for its delivery programme spanning inclusive economic growth, transport, skills, housing, culture, public service innovation, net zero and devolution. He previously served as Chief Executive of the North of Tyne Combined Authority, and as an Executive Director at the West Midlands Combined Authority. Prior to this he held a number of roles in UK and international public policy, including as CEO of Collaborate and managing the cross-party RSA Public Services Commission. He is a trustee of the Young Foundation, a visiting professor at Newcastle University and was a visiting fellow of the UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence from 2013 – 2018. In 2024 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law by Northumbria University.

Peter Mason is the Leader of the London Borough of Ealing. Before being elected Leader in 2021, he served in cabinet in various portfolios including housing, planning, skills and employment as well as public service reform and transformation. He is the London Councils executive member of planning and skills and the LGA Labour Group Deputy Leader.

Professionally, he is a trained town planner holding a master’s in urban regeneration from the Bartlett School of Planning. Before taking over the leadership at Ealing he was the head of public sector at a leading digital engagement PropTech company. He is a frequent commentator on the issues of power and identity in the built environment.

Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah is Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation and author of "Power to the People: Use your voice, change the world" (Headline Press, 2024). Danny's previous roles include CEO of Oxfam GB, Secretary General of CIVICUS, Director of the Royal Commonwealth Society, Interim Director of the Commonwealth Foundation and various posts at the Institute for Public Policy Research. He is a Trustee of the Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation and has previously been a Trustee of the Baring Foundation, Comic Relief, Disasters Emergency Committee and Praxis Community Projects. He has been a member of two United Nations High Level Panels, on digital co-operation and humanitarian finance. Danny holds a Masters and Doctorate from Oxford University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Sydney.

Sam Freedman is a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and writes regularly on politics and policy for Prospect, TES, The Guardian and others. Sam and his father, Lawrence Freedman, co-author their popular substack newsletter ‘Comment is Freed’ which has over 60,000 subscribers. His first book “Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How to Fix It” was released in July and made the Sunday Times bestseller list. Sam is also a senior adviser to the education charity Ark; Vice-Chair of Ambition Institute; and a trustee of the Holocaust Educational Trust.

Claire is Director of the Project on Center-Left Renewal at the Progressive Policy Institute. Prior to PPI, Claire was the Executive Director of Policy to Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition and the U.K. Labour Party, 2020-22. Claire also served as the Executive Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, where she led work on the social and political attitudes of people with low incomes. She is the author of "The New Working Class: How to Win Hearts, Minds and Votes," Claire is a trustee of Involve, the public participation charity.

Anushka Asthana is deputy political editor at ITV News and co presenter of the Peston programme. She has previously worked as policy editor at the Observer, chief political correspondent at the Times, senior political correspondent at Sky News as well as joint political editor at the Guardian- and presenter of its award-winning daily podcast, Today in Focus. Her book, Taken as Red: How Labour Won Big and the Tories Crashed the Party was published in September 2024.

Before founding the Future Governance Forum, Nathan was the Director of Progress, and Executive Director of Progressive Britain. He was previously Head of Policy and External Affairs at the social sector think tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), Strategic Policy Adviser at the London Borough of Sutton, Head of the Labour Group Office at the Local Government Association (LGA), and an analyst at the BBC Political Research Unit. Elected to Torfaen County Borough Council in 2022, he is currently Chair of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund. He is the editor of Rethinking Labour’s Past (2022) and a contributor to The Times, New Statesman and The Guardian.

Helen joined FGF as Chair in October 2024, bringing decades of experience at the highest levels of government, a wide-ranging network and an unshakeable dedication to public service and the importance of getting things right. Helen’s previous senior roles include over a decade at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. She managed the domestic Cabinet Secretariat (2013-15) and coordinated preparations for the 2015 general election. She was Director General for Housing and Planning, before returning to the Cabinet Office in 2018 and serving as Deputy Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Cabinet Secretariat until February 2021.

Alfie is Director of Insight and Policy and Chief Economist, leading the evidence, economics and policy teams at JRF. Previously he was Director of Research and Chief Economist at the New Economics Foundation (NEF), leading research teams across economics, environment and social policy. Prior to that, Alfie was senior economist at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), leading macroeconomic and fiscal policy research for the Commission on Economic Justice. Alfie is a regular contributor in national media through TV, radio and print.

Kitty is a former MP who was Economic Secretary (City Minister) during the 2007-08 financial crisis, MP for Burnley from 2005-10, a special adviser in the 2001-05 government and a Lambeth councillor in 1998-2002. Since 2010 she has specialised in public policy research including as CEO of the Westminster think-tank Demos and chief economist at the Institute of Directors. She currently leads the public policy research team at Barclays. She is a member of The Times Shadow Monetary Policy Committee and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2023.

Tim Fassam is Public Affairs Director at Phoenix Group, where he is responsible for public policy and government relations. Prior to joining Phoenix Tim was Director of Government Relations and Policy at UK wealth management trade association PIMFA, MD of Public Affairs, Policy and Research at TheCityUK and Director of UK Public Affairs at Prudential. He has previously acted as a trustee of international relations think tank Asia House and international development charity TFAC.

Tom is the deputy mission director for the fairer start mission at Nesta. His research focuses on government innovation and the ways data can help governments to improve decision making. Prior to Nesta Tom was an associate at Social Finance, a not-for-profit organisation that works with government, the social sector and the finance community to develop solutions to complex social problems. including children’s services, early years provision and health and social care integration. Tom previously worked at the Local Government Association, and before that was a senior researcher at the think tank New Local Government Network.

Vicky Spratt is i's Housing Correspondent. She reports on the housing crisis, particularly renters' rights, the cost of living, the plight of mortgage prisoners and the mortgage crisis. Her book Tenants: the People on the Frontline of Britain's Housing Emergency, was published in 2022.

Martha Crawford is an Assistant Director at the Living Wage Foundation. In this role she is responsible for developing innovative levers to tackle in work and post work poverty with an accredited network of employers. This includes the Living Hours and Living Pensions campaigns, adapting the Living Wage for the gig economy, and the Global Living Wage Initiative. Since joining in 2015, Martha has worked in different roles across the Living Wage Foundation and at Citizens UK. Martha has a background in community organising and knowledge exchange and innovation in higher education.

Ben is an expert on the political and economic drivers that are needed for growth. As Founding Director of Metro Dynamics he leads major strategy projects across the UK advising on governance, inclusive growth and how best to work with Westminster and Whitehall.

Before Metro Dynamics, Ben had a long career in public policy and communications, advising cities, businesses, and charities on how to achieve their public affairs objectives.

He is a Policy Associate at the Future Governance Forum, a member of the Evidence to Impact Committee of Foundations, The What Works Centre for Children and Families, and Founding Director of The Power Test podcast.

Ben is CPP’s Interim Chief Executive. At CPP he has overseen impactful programmes of work on the importance of health, adult education and childcare to inclusive growth. His research has appeared in all major national and regional media – print and broadcast, and he has advised national politicians and local leaders on the linkages between growth, inequality and public services. Before this, Ben was Assistant Director at the International Longevity Centre, where he led major projects on the employment challenges facing the over 50s and the future of the UK’s pensions landscape. Prior to working in thinktanks, Ben undertook economic analysis for the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Treasury. He has also worked for a professional body in the insurance industry.

Annabel is Director of Place and Practice at CPP and works to translate inclusive growth from theory to practice across national, regional and local government. Leading our Inclusive Growth Network, she works with cities and regions across the UK to build a better understanding of what inclusive growth looks like and how it works in practice, as well as informing policy at the national level.

Dan joined CPP in April 2024 as Head of Research and Analysis. Before joining CPP, Dan worked as Senior Policy Advisor to the Mayor of South Yorkshire and as a researcher at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Dan’s previous research has focused on regional inequalities and governance in the UK, as well as the practicalities of place-based economic policy. He previously held several government positions, working on devolution and place-based industrial policy as a Civil Servant. Dan holds a BA from Oxford and an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, and was a Frank Knox Memorial Fellow at Harvard.