Experts

Melissa Lawford is an economics reporter at The Telegraph. Before that, she was property correspondent for three and a half years. Prior to joining the Telegraph, Melissa worked at British Airways’ High Life magazine and freelanced property stories for the Financial Times.

Christopher Lawson is a Faculty of Arts & Science Postdoctoral Fellow in the History Department at the University of Toronto.  He completed his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley in 2020.  He is a social and political historian of Modern Britain and the world, and his work focuses on the intersection of decolonisation, deindustrialisation, and the rise of ‘neo-liberalism’ in the mid-to-late 20th century.

Richard Layard is a labour economist who worked for most of his life on how to reduce unemployment and inequality. He is also one of the first economists to work on happiness, and his main current interest is how better mental health could improve our social and economic life.

David is a behavioural data scientist interested in using big data to understand and support human decision-making. He currently leads a team of behavioural scientists at Lloyds Banking Group, having held similar roles at Barclays Wealth, PwC, and hedge funds including First New York Securities and Tradelink LLC. David’s PhD is in Psychology from the University of Warwick.

Lee’s work focuses on innovation, labour markets, and economic development. He has also been Visiting Professor at Science Po Toulouse and before joining academia was Head of Socio-Economic Research at The Work Foundation, a think-tank. He has acted as consultant for projects for organisations ranging from the OECD, the British government, the World Bank, and the Kuwaiti government. He is Chair of the Policy Committee for the Regional Studies Association (RSA).

Bill Lee is a Professor of accounting at the University of Sheffield Management School. He is a leading authority on the use and application of qualitative research methods in accounting and he has a deep interest in the operation, strengths and merits of credit unions, both in the UK and internationally.