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Ryan Shorthouse

London, U.K.

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British Writer and Thinker

Founder and Chief Executive of BrightBlue

'One To Watch' as named by The Observer

“I reached out to Ryan to enquire as to whether he would be interested in coming to speak at LGT Vestra as part of a speaker series organised by our internal diversity and inclusion initiative, which I am part of. I had heard Ryan speak before on TV on social mobility.”

“At the event, Ryan was an extremely eloquent speaker, on what can be a potentially emotive subject. There was a lot of very strong feedback following the talk, both on Ryan’s delivery, which was excellent and the content of the talk which the audience found very engaging. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Ryan to another organisation as an extremely professional and impressive speaker.”

Phoebe Stone, Head of Sustainable Model Portfolio Service, LGT Vestra LLP

Ryan Shorthouse is a writer, thinker and entrepreneur. He was named as ‘One to Watch’ in 2015 by The Observer. Ryan is the Founder and Chief Executive of BrightBlue; an independent think-tank for liberal conservatism.

Founded in 2010, BrightBlue defend and champion liberal, open, democratic and meritocratic values, institutions and policies. Now a leading and respected think-tank, and membership organisation, they deliver an extensive programme of research, publications and events. The organisation was shortlisted for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 UK Social Policy Think Tank of The Year and UK Environment and Energy Think Tank of the Year in Prospect Magazine Awards.

Many of Ryan’s policy ideas have been adopted by the UK Government over the past decade and he has been featured regularly in the national press and broadcast media. He has appeared on Newsnight, BBC News, Sky News, Channel 4 News, Radio 4, and LBC Radio, and The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Times, Evening Standard, The Daily Mail, The Spectator and The New Statesman. His areas of expertise range from political intelligence and commentary; social trends; public attitudes; Government and Whitehall reform; the world of work; education and skills; social mobility; immigration; pensions; public health; energy and environment; charities and civic society; law, justice and human rights.

Prior to BrightBlue, Ryan was a researcher for Rt Hon David Willetts MP, an adviser to the Conservative Party on families and education, formulating party policy and managing media relations. He was the Political Secretary of the Bow Group, a centre-right think tank and was previously the editor of three political magazines: Crossbow, The Progressive Conscience and Centre Write.

Ryan is a Senior Visiting Fellow at King’s College London. He is a trustee of the Early Intervention Foundation, and was previously a trustee for the Young Women’s Trust (2014-2019) and the Daycare Trust (2010-2015). He sits on the advisory council of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research and Shelter’s Big Conversation on Social Housing. He is a mentor for the Social Mobility Foundation and a governor of a new secondary school in East London.