Our policy advisory board

Charlotte is an Expert in inclusive growth and a leading advocate of devolution and inclusive economic development. Having led the RSA City Growth Commission and RSA Inclusive Growth Commission. She set up the Centre for Progressive Policy in 2018, and advises international institutions, global city leaders and civil society organisations on place-based economic policy and public service reform.

Sir Steve Bullock was elected mayor of Lewisham for 16 years. He also chaired the London Boroughs Grants Committee. He assesses groups nominated for the Kings Award for Voluntary Service, is a trustee of a mental health charity and chair of a housing association specialising in supported housing.

Jabeer Butt, OBE, is Chief Executive of the Race Equality Foundation. Jabeer has gained an international reputation for the use of evidence in developing interventions that help overcome discrimination and disadvantage and recently was part of the team that produced the report We Deserve Better (2023).

Rukaiya leads the design and implementation of UpRising’s leadership and employability programmes, delivered to 18-25-year-olds from underrepresented and underserved communities. Since 2016 she has been the driver behind their flagship Environmental Leadership Programme. Before joining UpRising, Rukaiya spent nine years at the Muslim Youth Helpline as the Head of Advocacy.

Sunder Katwala is the director of British Future, the think-tank, founded a decade ago in 2012 which addresses issues of identity and immigration, race and integration. He was previously general secretary of the Fabian Society and an Observer journalist. He is the author of How to Be a Patriot (Harper North).

Charlie has been Director at Reform since April 2019. Prior to taking up this role, she was Managing Editor at UnHerd.com, and had previously spent three years at Reform as Deputy Director. She was Policy Director at the Centre for Social Justice, before working in government as Expert Advisor to the then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith. She is also a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC), the NHS Assembly and the Poverty Strategy Commission.

Neil Sherlock CBE is a partner at Acuti Associates and has been a partner at both KPMG and PwC, as well as being the Non-Executive Chair of Echo Research. He was business adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister in the Cons-Lib Dem Coalition Government. He has saved on the Armed Forces Pay Review Board, the Board of London First, and Institute of Government, and has chaired Working Families and now chairs Words Matter. He is a trustee of the National Literacy Trust and was one for Demos and Centre Forum.

Caroline is the Director of Civil Exchange, a think tank aiming to improve how government works with civil society.  She is a regular commentator in the media and a co-founder of a Better Way, a cross-sectoral leadership network committed to better services, stronger communities and a fairer society.

Sarah Smith is Professor of Economics at the University of Bristol (and was Head of Economics from 2014 – 2021). Previous positions include at the London School of Economics, the Financial Services Authority, HM Treasury and the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Sarah was awarded an OBE in June 2022 for services to economics and education. She is founder and co-chair of Discover Economics, a campaign to increase diversity among economics students.

Nicholas Timmins is a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and The King's Fund. He is a former public policy editor at the Financial Times and author of The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State (3rd edition William Collins 2017).