Who we are
Our Team
We are policy experts, political strategists and pollsters drawn from politics, academia, business and civil society.
Josh Simons, Director
Josh’s first book, Algorithms for the People: Democracy in the Age of AI, was published in 2023. He was previously a Research Fellow at Harvard, a Visiting Research Scientist in AI at Facebook, a Technology Policy Fellow at New America, and a researcher at the Institute for Public Policy Research. He also worked for the Labour Party as a Policy Advisor. Josh is the founder and a Trustee of the Civic Power Fund and a Trustee of Engage Britain.
Josh Williams, Deputy Director
Josh is a speechwriter and strategist. In 2018, he co-founded The Draft, Britain’s leading speechwriting firm, with Tony Blair’s former speechwriter. He has written for and advised politicians in the UK and abroad, and chief executives at some of the world’s top companies and charities. He has previously worked as an aid worker and in business and writes a regular column in CityAM.
Christabel Cooper, Director of Research
Christabel spent fifteen years working as a data analyst in the private sector, specialising in Big Data. She has worked with DataPraxis in analysing the 2019 General Election result and carried out extensive research and polling with YouGov after the Brexit referendum. She was formerly a Labour councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham.
Kevin Ferriter, Chief Economist
Kevin is an economist with a specialism in macroeconomics. He was previously co-head of research for the >$1 trillion multi-asset department at BlackRock and was a Fellow at Harvard, teaching macroeconomics and conducting research across a range of policy areas.
Eleri Kirkpatrick-Lorente, Operations Manager
Eleri was previously the Correspondence Officer for Oliver Coppard, the Mayor of South Yorkshire. She has worked as a Parliamentary Assistant to Paul Blomfield MP, as the lead organiser in several Parliamentary selections, and as an intern with YouGov.