After a decade in the voluntary sector, Patricia became press secretary and policy co-ordinator to Rt Hon Neil Kinnock in 1983, supporting Labour’s Policy Review after the 1987 election. As deputy director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), she established the Commission on Social Justice at the request of Rt Hon John Smith, and became MP for Leicester West in 1997

Assistant Director, The Health Foundation.

David joined the Health Foundation in May 2018 and currently leads a programme of work developing policy and analysis related to the wider determinants of health. His work focuses the role that social and economic policy and business can play in improving health, and understanding the influence that health has on social and economic outcomes of people and places. Previously David worked for the Resolution Foundation as a Senior Fellow working on a range of issues including tax and benefit policy with a focus on Universal Credit, calculating the Living Wage, demographics, pensions and pay progression. Prior to this, he worked as an Economic Adviser at the Department for Work and Pensions on areas including childcare and state pensions.

Chief Executive, Demos

Polly spent much of her career at the Guardian where she reported on health, social affairs and education, before joining the lobby team as Whitehall Editor, writing about government and policy. She went on to be digital editor of the Guardian, then led newsrooms as Editor-in-Chief at HuffPost UK, a Partner at Tortoise Media and Managing Director at PA Media. Her book, Behind Closed Doors, an investigation into social services in England, was published by Virago in February 2022 and was a finalist in the Orwell Prize for political writing. In it, she sets a vision for a different way that the state and communities can work together to solve problems. She serves as a trustee of the Public Interest News Foundation, as well as a Non-Executive Director of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. All her career has been concerned with where the state meets citizen and how we can improve the relationships between those with power, and those without.

Former BBC North America Editor and co-host of The News Agents

From the steps of Downing Street to the inside of the White House press briefing room, Jon Sopel  has spent four decades reporting on global events and interviewing the people who tried to shape  them.

Described by President Trump as ‘another beauty’ his face has graced just about every news  programme on the BBC and his familiar voice has carried across the airwaves of BBC Radio from  Paris, Kuwait City, Washington DC and Blackpool.

In February 2022 Jon announced he was leaving the BBC to launch the News Agents Podcast  alongside Lewis Goodall and Emily Maitlis. In July 2023 Jon launched with Emily News Agents USA.

As the BBC’s North America Editor Jon reported on the rise and fall of President Trump. He was Paris  correspondent when Concorde crashed and was based in Kuwait City during the 2003 invasion of  Iraq.

Jon’s presentational skills have been extensively used across the BBC as an in-studio host for BBC  News Channel, The Politics Show, BBC News at One, BBC Two’s party conference coverage,  Newsnight and on BBC World News.

Outside the studio Jon has reported live into every major BBC news bulletin on location from around  the country and across the globe, including coverage of Nelson Mandela’s funeral, the inauguration  of a new Pope, countless elections, and wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East. He has  interviewed numerous Presidents, Prime Ministers and the occasional Emir.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe was elected Leader of Bradford Council in May 2016. She was also Chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority from 2017 until 2021 and was instrumental in securing the West Yorkshire Mayoral Devolution Deal, which resulted in West Yorkshire electing its first Metro Mayor in May 2021.  Prior to becoming Leader, Susan was the Portfolio Holder for Employment, Skills and Culture and has had a passion for culture-led regeneration ever since.

Before politics Susan had a wide ranging career, from running her own business, to working in marketing and spending five years in a management role at a national newspaper. She also worked for Business in the Community for 10 years where she was Head of Regeneration.