Sunder Katwala is a British writer and thinker. He is the director of British Future, a UK-based think tank, [1] and former general secretary [2] of the Fabian Society.
British Future, which also addresses issues of migration and opportunity, launched [3] in January 2012. The think-tank's [4] call for the adoption of an English national anthem, backed by MPs from different UK political parties, won the support of Prime Minister David Cameron, according to reports on the website ConservativeHome [5] and in The Sunday Telegraph . [6]
He was previously with The Observer newspaper, as a leader writer and internet editor, and was Research Director of The Foreign Policy Centre think-tank from 1999 to 2001. He became Fabian general secretary in October 2003, and held the position until July 2011.
Katwala also writes for The Guardian [7] newspaper, for the New Statesman , The Spectator Coffee House blog, and for Liberal Conspiracy [8] blog.
In 2010 the Daily Telegraph included Katwala at number 32 in its list of the '100 most influential left-wingers [9] ' in British politics, while he was Fabian General Secretary. British Future claims to be a non-partisan group which engages across the political spectrum, and to have staff and trustees with backgrounds across the major political parties.
Katwala was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire to an Irish Catholic mother from Cork and an Indian father who converted to Catholicism. [10] [11] He moved to Ellesmere Port, Cheshire at age five and then Essex in his teens. [12] He graduated from Jesus College, Oxford in 1991 with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). [13]
William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond, is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) in North Yorkshire from 1989 to 2015. He was in the Cameron government as First Secretary of State from 2010 to 2015, Foreign Secretary from 2010 to 2014, and Leader of the House of Commons from 2014 to 2015.
Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead, is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidenhead from 1997 to 2024, and has been a member of the House of Lords since 2024. May is the second female UK prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher, and the first woman to have held two of the Great Offices of State. Ideologically, May is a one-nation conservative.
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton, is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and latterly as Foreign Secretary under Rishi Sunak from November 2023 to July 2024. Cameron was Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He was Leader of the Opposition from 2005 to 2010 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Witney from 2001 to 2016. Cameron identifies as a one-nation conservative and has been associated with both economically liberal and socially liberal policies.
George Gideon Oliver Osborne is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 2001 to 2017.
Daniel John Hannan, Baron Hannan of Kingsclere is a British writer, journalist and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 to 2020. He is currently a sitting member of the House of Lords where he takes the Conservative whip, and has since 2020 served as an adviser to the Board of Trade. He is the founding president of the Initiative for Free Trade.
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The Young Fabians is the under age 31 section of the Fabian Society, a socialist society in the United Kingdom that is affiliated with the Labour Party (UK). The Young Fabians operate as a membership-driven think tank that organises policy debates, research projects, publications, conferences, and international delegations. The organisation holds no collective position on policy.
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The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fabian Society was also historically related to some of the furthest left factions of radicalism, a left-wing liberal tradition.
Phillip Blond is an English political philosopher, Anglican theologian, and director of the ResPublica think tank.
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Edward Michael Balls is a British broadcaster, economist and former politician. He served as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010, and as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2011 to 2015. A member of Labour Co-op, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Normanton and later for Morley and Outwood between 2005 and 2015.
Philippa Claire Stroud, Baroness Stroud is a Conservative Party Peer in the House of Lords and leader of several conservative think tanks.
Jonathan Andrew Rutherford is an academic who was formerly a Professor of Cultural Studies at Middlesex University. Within British politics Rutherford is associated with the Blue Labour school of thought within the Labour Party, and has been described as one of its "leading thinkers". He was the editor of Soundings from 2004 to 2012.
British Future is a UK-based think tank and registered charity whose stated aim is to advance the education of the public in the subjects of equality and diversity, human rights, racial and cultural harmony, citizenship and social inclusion.
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