Stuart Ingham (born 9 October 1987) is a British political adviser who has served as Director of the

Number 10 Policy Unit The Number 10 Policy Unit is a body of policymakers based in 10 Downing Street, providing policy advice directly to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone ...

since July 2024.

Early life and education

Stuart Ingham was born on 9 October 1987 and attended Manshead CE Academy in

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fou ...

. He obtained a BA in PPE from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and a PhD in politics from the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

Career

From 2009 to 2010, Ingham worked as a parliamentary intern and campaign assistant to Member of Parliament (MP) Michael Foster. From 2011 to 2014, he worked as an

associate lecturer Academic ranks in the United Kingdom are the titles, relative seniority and responsibility of employees in universities. In general the country has three academic career pathways: one focused on research, one on teaching, and one that combines ...

in politics at the University of Exeter.

Under Starmer

Ingham worked on

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

's leadership campaign in the 2020 Labour leadership election, and was subsequently appointed to work in the policy team of the Labour party after Starmer was elected as leader. He later became the executive director of policy at the Labour Party. Following changes to Starmer's personnel by October 2023, Ingham was the only original member of Starmer's office still a member of the team. He has been described as a "longstanding Starmer ally" by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

.'' After Labour return to power following the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, Ingham was appointed the Director of the

under Starmer in July 2024. He was also appointed a

Special Adviser Special adviser may refer to: *Special adviser (Norway), a high-ranking civil servant *Special adviser (UK) A Special Adviser, also known as a SpAd, is a temporary civil servant who advises and assists UK government ministers or ministers in th ...

to the Prime Minister.

Personal life

Ingham's wife, Jess Leigh, works in the Labour party's press office. They were ranked as the tenth most powerful political couple in the United Kingdom in 2023 by

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingham, Stuart 1987 births Living people Alumni of the University of Exeter Alumni of the University of Oxford British special advisers Labour Party (UK) people People from Bedfordshire

Early life and education

Career

Under Starmer

Personal life

See also

References