We have an incredible panel of judges, chosen for their deep knowledge of policy and how it works in
practice, as well as to provide a balanced jury representing politics from across the political spectrum.
David was the Conservative MP for South West Hertfordshire from 2005 to 2019. He served in a variety of Ministerial roles in the Treasury from 2010 to 2017, including as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He was appointed Secretary of State for Work & Pensions in 2017 and Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor in 2018. Over the course of 2019 he left the Government, the Conservative Party and Parliament. He is now Head of Public Policy at the law firm Macfarlanes, senior adviser to the public affairs firm Instinctif Partners, chair of the negotiation consultancy Negotient and a regular columnist for ConservativeHome. He recently chaired the Independent Sentencing Review commissioned by the Ministry of Justice.
Harriett was first elected as the Member of Parliament for West Worcestershire in May 2010. She currently serves as Shadow Minister to the Department for Business and Trade. She was elected Chair of the Treasury Select Committee between 2022 and 2024 and remains on the committee. During her time in Parliament she has held a variety of roles. She served as a Government Whip and Economic Secretary to the Treasury (City Minister) in David Cameron’s Government and as Minister for Defence Procurement and as Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development in Theresa May’s Government. From 2019 until 2022 she was Chair of the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Harriet is the Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan and was elected in the 2024 General Election. She is a member of the Scottish Affairs Committee.
Gordon McKee is the Labour MP for Glasgow South and was first elected in July 2024. He is currently Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Work & Pensions and previously ran the leadership campaign of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. Before entering politics, he was a software engineer, developing iPhone apps, and has a strong interest in technology and security policy.
Dr. Jeevun Sandher is the MP for Loughborough, Shepshed and the Villages, serving since July 2024. He is a Parliamentary Private Secretary for the Department for Business and Trade. Before entering Parliament, Jeevun worked as the Head of Economics at the New Economics Foundation and completed a PhD in Political Economy at King’s College London. He was also an Economist in the Finance Ministry in Somaliland between 2016 and 2018 leading on budgeting, macroeconomic policy, and the National Development Plan. Prior to this he worked as an Economist in HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Mark is the Group Public Affairs and Policy Director at Lloyds Banking Group. Mark spent most of his career in the UK civil service, holding senior roles across government. From 2019 to 2022 he was Director General, Economic and Domestic Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, running Cabinet, advising the PM across economic and domestic policy and overseeing government’s legislative programme. Mark’s other roles include Director General, Policy at the Ministry of Justice, Constitution Director at the Cabinet Office and five years in the Political Directorate in the Northern Ireland Office working on implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
Rachel Sylvester is political editor of The Observer and before that was a columnist at The Times where she chaired The Times Education, Health and Crime and Justice Commissions.
Claire Ward is the Mayor of the East Midlands, representing 2.2 million people across the region. As Mayor, she is the Chair of the East Midlands Combined County Authority, working with partners across the region and beyond to deliver inclusive growth for the East Midlands. The mayor also acts as a champion for the region, influencing Government at a national level to boost growth and innovation, shape policy, and access further funding. She has responsibility for transport, skills, housing and land, net-zero, and economic development, and is using those levers to achieve positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes. Claire previously served as MP for Watford from 1997-2010 during which she was as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice from 2009-2010.
Stian Westlake is Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council. Before this, he worked as an adviser to three UK science and research ministers, as Chief Executive of the Royal Statistical Society, and as an Executive Director at Nesta, the UK’s national foundation for innovation, where he ran a think-tank on innovation policy. He is the co-author of two books about the economics and politics of intangible capital, Capitalism Without Capital and Restarting the Future, that have been translated into 12 languages and designated book of the year by the Economist, the Financial Times, the National Review and Marginal Revolution.
Munira Wilson is the MP for Twickenham and the Liberal Democrats’ Spokesperson for Education, Children and Families. Munira spent a decade working in the life sciences industry prior to her election to Parliament in 2019. She has also worked for health and children’s charities, as well as the NHS, and served as a local councillor in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. As the Lib Dems’ health spokesperson at the height of the pandemic, she led the party’s national response to coronavirus and has consistently campaigned for increased investment in children’s mental health services. In addition to being Twickenham’s voice in Westminster, Munira is a champion for women and girls’ access to sport and is campaigning to improve water quality.