Stewart Wood, Baron Wood Of Anfield
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Stewart Martin Wood, Baron Wood of Anfield (born 25 March 1968) is a Labour
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the
Blavatnik School of Government The Blavatnik School of Government is the school of public policy of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The School was founded in 2010 following a £75 million donation from business magnate Len Blavatnik, supported by £26 million fro ...
at the University of Oxford and a Senior Adviser to policy, economics and public affairs fir
Bradshaw Advisory


Early life

Wood grew up in Tonbridge, Kent, and attended
the Judd School The Judd School (often known simply as Judd) is an 11–18 voluntary aided, grammar school and sixth form in Tonbridge, Kent, England. It was established in 1888 at Stafford House on East Street in Tonbridge, where it remained for eight years bef ...
. In 1986 he went to
University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...
, where he obtained a first-class degree in
Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...
. He then went to
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
as a
Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...
where he completed a PhD in government in 1996.


Professional career

He has taught at Oxford University since 1995. From 1996 to 2011 he was a Politics Tutor at
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...
, where he is still an (unpaid) emeritus fellow. In 2016 he was appointed a Fellow of Practice at the
Blavatnik School of Government The Blavatnik School of Government is the school of public policy of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The School was founded in 2010 following a £75 million donation from business magnate Len Blavatnik, supported by £26 million fro ...
in Oxford. From 2001 to 2007 he was a member of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Council of Economic Advisers, specialising in education policy, local government affairs & EU policy. He was part of the Treasury team that delivered the "Five Tests" assessment recommending that the UK not join the euro in 2003. From 2007 to 2010 he served as an adviser to
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
, covering foreign policy; Northern Ireland; and culture, media and sports policy. After the 2010 election he helped run Ed Miliband's campaign to become Leader of the Labour Party, and served as an adviser to
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
, the Labour party's leader, from 2010 to 2015.


Parliamentary career

On 15 January 2011, Wood was created a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
with the title Baron Wood of Anfield, ''of
Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
in the
County of Kent Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...
'', and was introduced in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
on 18 January 2011, where he sits as a Labour peer. From 2011 to 2015 he served as a
Shadow Minister without Portfolio The Shadow Minister without Portfolio is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. The postholder shadows the ministers without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head ...
.


Writing

Wood's research and writing focuses on contemporary political economy in Europe, German politics, American politics, and public policy issues around industrial policy & the future of the welfare state. He worked with the think tank
Policy Network Policy Network was an international centre-left think tank based in London. The President of Policy Network was former UK First Secretary of State and EU Trade Commissioner Lord Mandelson; Lord Liddle (former Special Adviser to President of the ...
on the concept of
pre-distribution Pre-distribution (or Predistribution) is the idea that the state should try to prevent inequalities occurring in the first place rather than ameliorating them via tax and benefits once they have occurred, as occurs under Redistribution of wealth, ...
as a means to tackle what
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
has described as 'the growing crisis in living standards'. The announcement that pre-distribution would become a cornerstone of the UK Labour Party's economic policy was jokingly mocked by Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
during
Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention (political custom), constitutional convention in the United Kingd ...
in the House of Commons.


Positions

In July 2016 he succeeded Sir Jeremy Greenstock as Chair of the United Nations Association (UNA-UK). In the same month he was appointed to the Board of the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission. He has been a board member of the Royal Court Theatre since 2006, and in 2017 he became a Director of Janus Henderson's Diversified Income Trust. In November 2018 he was appointed to the Board of the Good Law Project.


Publications

* S. Wood and A. Glyn, "New Labour's Economic Policy", in A. Glyn (ed), ''Social Democracy in Neoliberal Times'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 200–222. * "Labour Market Regimes under Threat? Sources of Continuity in Germany, Britain, and Sweden," in P. Pierson (ed), ''The New Politics of the Welfare State'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 368–409. * "Business, Government and Patterns of Labor Market Policy in Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany", in P. Hall and D. Soskice (eds), ''Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 247–274. * "Education and Training", in S. White (ed), ''New Labour: The Progressive Future?'' Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood Of Anfield, Stewart Wood, Baron Wood 1968 births Alumni of University College, Oxford British people of German descent Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Labour Party (UK) officials Living people Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni