Torsten Bell
Torsten Henricson-Bell (born September 1982) is the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, an economic thinktank. He was appointed in 2015, having been Ed Miliband's head of policy and a Treasury civil servant who became special adviser to Alistair Darling.[1]
Bell's parents are Clem Henricson, a policy analyst and activist, and Bill Bell, an academic and children’s rights advocate. His twin brother, Olaf, is a civil servant.[2]
Bell studied at the University of Oxford. At Oxford, he was editor of the student newspaper, Cherwell.[3] Since 2017, he has written a column in The Observer newspaper named Hidden Gems from the World of Research.[4]
Bell writes regularly about poverty and inequality in the United Kingdom,[5] about the North–South divide in England and the levelling-up policy of the British government.[6] He described the September 2022 United Kingdom mini-budget as "the biggest unforced economic policy error of my lifetime."[7]
Bell has been associated with the coordination of policy developments for the Labour Party.[8] He has received recognition across various factions within the party for his attention to detail.[9]
In November 2022, Bell was appointed Honorary Professor at the UCL Policy Lab.[10]
In September 2023, Bell was named as the tenth most powerful left wing figure in the UK by the New Statesman.[11]
In May 2024, Bell was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the seat of Swansea West in the 2024 general election, which raised some criticism from local members for having "no connection".[12]
References[edit]
- ^ "Ed Miliband's former head of policy appointed director of living standards think tank". Independent. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ Johnston, John (2021-10-27). "Saved By The Bells: The Influential Twin Brothers Who Have Held Some Of The Biggest Jobs In Westminster". Politics Home. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
- ^ "Media Guardian: Student Media Awards". The Guardian. 2003-09-08. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
- ^ "Torsten Bell | The Guardian". www.theguardian.com.
- ^ Elliott, Larry; Allen, Katie (31 January 2017). "UK faces return to inequality of Thatcher years, says report". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ "Britain's Unbridgeable Divide". The Atlantic. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ "Policy errors set Chancellor on course to announce 'Osborne-level' spending cuts to balance the books". Resolution Foundation. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ "The real clever cogs in Labour's machine". Financial Times. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ "The making of Ed Miliband". The Guardian. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ "Torsten Bell appointed Honorary Professor at the UCL Policy Lab". UCL. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ Statesman, New (2023-05-17). "The New Statesman's left power list". New Statesman. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ "Gwadu bod ymgeiswyr Llafur yn cael eu 'gorfodi' ar Gymru". BBC Cymru Fyw (in Welsh). 2024-06-02. Retrieved 2024-06-03.