Who We Are
Persuasion UK is a small non-partisan, not-for-profit research initiative which aims to understand what's shaping public opinion on the issues that will define the next decade of public policy.
We study the narratives, messengers and experiences which are moving public opinion now - and those which have the potential to do so in the future.
Our starting point is that voters' views on any given issue are often not fixed but in flux, being pulled in different directions by competing or even contradictory currents. We try to surface these currents in our research and freely publish our findings, with a view to informing debate on where there is space for progressive policy change.
In addition to all of this, we analyse the way electoral battlegrounds are changing and how that might shape the dilemmas facing policymakers.
Steve Akehurst
Steve is Director of Persuasion UK and leads our research work. He has spent his career working at the intersection of politics, policy and public attitudes, with a focus on communications-orientated polling research. In recent years, he has specialised in global attitudes to the Net Zero transition. In addition, Steve has written extensively about UK electoral battlegrounds, being the first person to coin the term ‘Blue Wall’ and define these constituencies in a UK context. His work has featured in the likes of The Times, Telegraph, FT and Guardian.
Lorna Greenwood
Lorna is Deputy Director of Persuasion UK and leads our communications work. Lorna brings a decade of communications and campaigns experience on a wide range of issues. After spending several years at 38 Degrees as a Campaigner Manager, she led the UK country desk at the Meliore Foundation where she crafted and delivered a number of impactful and award-winning communications strategies.
Persuasion has a strategic partnership with IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research). We remain separate and independent organisations, but we regularly work together on issues of shared interest. Persuasion provides insight and polling work to support IPPR’s policy thinking.
Advisory council
We benefit from an advisory council made up of experts drawn from across politics, research and communications. Members of this council do not necessarily share every view we express but - as the name suggests - are there to provide advice and guidance on our work.
Adam Terry
Adam is Deputy Director of Programmes and Communications at the Future Governance Forum and Senior Adviser at Global Counsel. Prior to that, he was Head of Policy development for the Labour Party, setting up the party's 2021-2023 policy review, and Head of Policy in Labour's Shadow Treasury Team. He has also worked as a civil servant in No 10 Downing Street and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Christine Quigley
Christine is a public affairs and communications professional with private sector, political and third sector experience. She is currently Vice President of Crestview Strategy and prior to that was a Director at Grayling.
Tarik Abou-Chadi
Tarik is Associate Professor in European Union and Comparative European Politics at the Department of Politics and International Relations and Professorial Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. His research focuses on elections, political parties, and the transformation of political competition and democratic representation in post-industrial societies. Before joining Nuffield, Tarik was an Assistant Professor at the University of Zurich.
Anne Baxendale
Anne is a charity sector leader who has held board and director positions in national organisations including Shelter, Child Poverty Action Group and Women's Aid Federation of England. She has led many successful campaigns to help families struggling with insecurity and the cost of living, through influencing public debate and winning policy and legislative change. Anne is now a consultant supporting large charities to adapt to new challenges and thrive.
Tom Railton
Tom is Director of Campaigns and Advocacy at the Economic Change Unit, an organisation focused on convening and campaigning for economic systems change. His work focuses on political and communications strategy in relation to economic policy, and he is Director of the Invest in Britain campaign focused on UK public investment. His background is in politics, both for the Labour Party and for the trade union Prospect.
Sof Jenkinson
Sof is Deputy Director at Round Our Way, a NGO which shares the stories of ordinary communities affected by climate change and helps those impacted tell their stories. Sof has a particular interest in strategic and political communications. Prior to her current role she was Head of Communications & News at the New Economics Foundation and Head of News and Digital at IPPR.
Tom Mauchline
Tom is Director of Campaigns at 89Up, a communications agency focused on social impact. He works with non-profits in the UK, EU and America to build campaigns that make positive change. He was previously a Director at Portland.
Will Somerville
Will is UK Director at Unbound Philanthropy, a global foundation, where he specialises in programmes relating to refugees and migration. He is also Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield in the Department of Politics and has published over sixty articles, papers and chapters. His most recent book was ‘Immigration under New Labour’ (2007).
Harry Quilter-Pinner
Harry is interim Executive Director at IPPR. Prior to this he lead the institute's research, policy and influencing work at Westminster, and has also worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Funding
Persuasion UK is a project of, and part-funded by, the Meliore Foundation. In addition, we receive support from the European Climate Foundation (ECF). On joint IPPR and Persuasion projects, IPPR make contributions to research costs.