20 people to meet at Labour’s conference – POLITICO

Neil Amin-Smith

He’s a former popstar who’s now the main adviser on financial services policy for Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Neil Amin-Smith, the ex-violinist of chart-topping band Clean Bandit, is the key political person in the Treasury for City policy and for the party’s investment ambitions. He also sits on Reeves’ economic council. 

Ian Corfield

A Labour donor who was parachuted into a top Treasury job. Former banker Ian Corfield’s appointment kickstarted a furor over cronyism in top jobs under the new Labour government this summer. Corfield has since moved into an unpaid role, where he’s spearheading the upcoming investment summit in October.

Anna Valero

Valero, a prominent economist and policy expert, was tapped by the chancellor to continue to be a member of the Treasury’s council of economic advisers in July. Valero knows her stuff as up until the election she was a senior policy fellow at the London School of Economics. She wrote an essay about Labour’s economic agenda in April, too. Valero is providing Reeves with expert advice on economic policy.

John Van Reenan

Van Reenan worked with Valero at the LSE for years and joined her again as a member of Reeves’ council of economic advisers after the election. He started his career at the Institute of Fiscal Studies in the early ’90s, before becoming a senior adviser to then-Secretary of State for Health Alan Milburn, and later at Number 10 Downing Street. Van Reenan is big on economic growth, so he is a key cog in the chancellor’s ambition to boost it.

Katie Martin

A former director of public affairs for Citizens Advice, she was appointed Rachel Reeves’ chief of staff in 2021 while Labour was in opposition, and kept the role in government. During the Gordon Brown Labour government, Martin was chief press officer in Downing Street and held other civil service roles in the Home Office, too. 

Sophia (née Morrell) Kewell 

Kewell rejoined Jonathan Reynolds’ office at the Shadow Department for Business and Trade before the election, after almost three years as the policy boss at UK Finance. After Labour’s election win, she was promoted to special adviser. Kewell has dipped her toes in at either end of the lobbying world, and now she’s back and has the business secretary’s ear. 

The unofficial advisers

Charles Randell 

Charles Randell is the former chair of the Financial Conduct Authority and Payment Systems Regulator and now vocal Labour supporter. In an usual move, he stepped down from his position early — and was publicly critical of Tory decisions on financial services policies. Randell put his name to Labour’s plan for financial services, and told POLITICO in June that “Labour will bring stability after a period of steadily increasing chaos in the Conservative Party. We need that stable platform to support investment in the sustainable and inclusive growth of our economy.”