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Alex Thomson | Chief Executive
Alex has more than a decade's experience as a policy maker both in government and in opposition. Prior to joining Localis in August 2010, Alex was the Conservative Party's specialist policy adviser for decentralisation and local government, leading on the development of the Party's policies on local government, housing and planning, and responsible for writing the Party’s green papers ‘Control Shift’, ‘Strong Foundations’ and ‘Open Source Planning’. Alex has also worked in central government for various departments including DCLG and Defra, and was part of Boris Johnson’s successful Mayoral campaign team. |
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Tom Shakespeare | Director of Policy and Research
Tom leads on policy and research for Localis, and is also currently in charge of developing our growing network of members and sponsors, linking our future vision for local government to a number of key projects and events. Tom joined Localis in 2008, having previously worked for Policy Exchange where he contributed to a report on party funding. He has a undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MA in Political Research from the University of Nottingham. His dissertation looked into the application of the second law of thermodynamics to agent-based models of human behaviour and ethnic conflict. |
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Dominic Rustecki |
Dominic joined Localis in February 2011. He previously worked as a Research Assistant to Rt Hon. Charles Kennedy MP and Lord Dholakia OBE carrying out research and speech writing. Dominic graduated from Cambridge University with a BA in Social and Political Sciences, specialising in politics. His dissertation examined the effects of US state-level social policies on the Afro-American community.
Dominic is responsible for communications, media management and events at Localis. He is also currently leading on Localis' Big Green Society project. |
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Richard Carr | Research Fellow
Richard started at Localis in July 2011 and is currently working on housing and planning policy. He has previously worked as a postdoctoral lecturer at the University of East Anglia, By-Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge, and for Rachel Reeves MP. He has a BA and PhD in History from UEA, and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge. Previous think tank work aside, he has written widely on both interwar British Conservatism and the cultural effect of the First World War. A monograph based on his doctoral thesis is due for publication in 2012. |
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Dr Laura White | Secondee (Essex County Council)
Laura has joined Localis on secondment from Essex County Council, where she works as a Policy Analyst. At Localis she is working on research related to strategic commissioning. Laura has a PhD in Politics from the University of Sheffield, where her research focused on the UK’s aid relationship with Rwanda. She also has an MA in Research Methods in Politics/International Relations, and a BA in History & Politics, both from the University of Sheffield. She has a particular interest in the voluntary and community sector and has previously worked as a researcher for the Social Enterprise Coalition. |
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