Jonathan Ashworth MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
James Kirkup, Director, Social Market Foundation (Chair)
About the speaker:
Jonathan was elected Member of Parliament for Leicester South at a by-election in May 2011.
In November 2021, Jonathan was appointed Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions, having previously been Labour’s longest running Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. He has also served as Shadow Minister without Portfolio and Shadow Cabinet Office Minister and is a Policy Fellow at the Centre for Science and Policy, University of Cambridge.
Before becoming an MP, Jonathan worked in the Treasury as a special advisor to Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor, and continued to work for Gordon Brown when he became Prime Minister. Outside of politics, Jonathan is a keen book-worm and runner.
About the chair:
James Kirkup is the Director of the Social Market Foundation, responsible for the overall management and work of the think-tank. He joined the SMF in 2017 after a 20-year career in journalism, most of it spent at Westminster covering government and politics. He was Political Editor and Executive Editor at the Daily Telegraph and a correspondent for The Scotsman and Bloomberg News. He is a regular columnist for publications including the Spectator and the Times, writing about politics and public policy.