Workings of Whitehall October 2022: Key Players in the Policymaking Process

Helen is currently Professor in Practice at the University of Durham's School of Government and International Affairs. She was a Minister in the last Labour Government 2007-2010. She was the first woman Deputy Leader of the House and then at DWP, responsible for £33bn of expenditure. In a varied career Helen also worked for 16 years at HM Treasury: in the voluntary sector and overseas. She has published on a wide variety of public policy issues including the reform of Whitehall.

Philip Rycroft worked in the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) between March 2017 and March 2019, from October 2017 as Permanent Secretary. He was responsible for leading the department in all its work on the Government’s preparations for Brexit. From June 2015 to March 2019 he was head of the UK Governance Group in the Cabinet Office, with responsibility for advising ministers on all aspects of the constitution and devolution. From May 2012 to May 2015, he was the Director General in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.
Through his career, Philip worked in a variety of roles, in the civil service in Scotland and London, in the European Commission and in business.

He is now a non-executive director, academic and consultant.

JP Spencer works at Metro Dynamics on policies and projects across the UK focused on economic strategy, investment and devolution. Previously, he was the first Head of the Green Book and Major Projects Unit in HM Treasury and was a founding member of the Darlington Economic Campus. He worked for almost a decade in the public sector in HM Treasury, HM Revenue & Customs and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Aidan Corley leads on economic issues in Google UK's Government Affairs and Policy Policy team. He focuses on innovation and growth in the tech sector, and how new developments can be used to support British businesses. Additionally, he has a particular interest in the UK's trade policy, including our trading relationship with the US, and the UK Government's efforts to secure new deals around the world. 

Prior to that he was Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in No.10 Downing Street, where he focused on preparations for Prime Minister's Questions, and a Special Adviser to the Digital Secretary. He also worked on a number of political campaigns in advisory roles.

Elena started off her career in the Civil Service, working on a range of policies across the Welsh Government, the Department for International Trade, the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy department, and the Department for Education.

Elena now works as Policy Manager at the Edge foundation where she leads Edge’s policy network in the education field, develops proactive policy responses to current events and interacts with policy makers within the education sector, civil service and Members of Parliament to shape and develop education policy. In her spare time, Elena is an avid climber and trail runner and enjoys volunteering for Food Cycle. 

Olly Newton spent 12 years in the Department for Education working on policies including 14-19 diplomas, raising the participation age and finally as Head of Apprenticeship Strategy. Olly is now Executive Director of the Edge Foundation, where he oversees a programme of primary research, is lead author on all of the charity’s policy reports and runs the Edge Future Learning delivery programme for schools and colleges.

In his spare time, Olly volunteers with the Scout Association, is Enterprise Adviser for Firth Park Academy and supports community theatre in Sheffield.

As Director of External Engagement, Tom is responsible for overseeing the WIG Events & Content team and the Membership team. The main focus is to ensure WIG continues to be the leading platform for constructive collaboration between government, industry and the not-for-profit sector. Tom originally joined as Head of Content and Events in 2017.

Before joining WIG, Tom worked across both government and industry. He ran the energy division for a commercial conference company, worked within the Department for International Trade, and developed new business for an independent TV production company that worked exclusively with not-for-profits.

Tom graduated from UCL with a BA (Hons) in History and subsequently picked up a Masters in International Security and Global Governance from Birkbeck.

Outside of WIG, Tom is a keen Tottenham Hotspur fan and spends time exercising, and walking his dog.

Rifka Noronha is Head of Corporate Affairs for Tata Consultancy Services, UK and Ireland. Previous to joining TCS, she was Head of UK Retail Public Affairs at Boots UK, leading government engagement on retail issues, including Covid trading impact, sustainability, and the future of high street retail. Prior to that, Rifka worked at Tesco and Barclays Bank in several UK and International roles covering government relations, internal communications, and corporate sustainability.