Sunder Katwala is a British political activist of Indian and Irish heritage. He is the director of

British Future British Future is a UK-based think tank and registered charity whose stated aim is to advance the education of the public in the subjects of equality and diversity, human rights, racial and cultural harmony, citizenship and social inclusion. H ...

, a UK-based

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...

, and former

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...

. British Future, which also addresses issues of

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

and opportunity, launched in January 2012. The think-tank's call for the adoption of an English national anthem, backed by MPs from different UK political parties, won the support of Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

, according to reports on the website

ConservativeHome ConservativeHome is a British right-wing blog which supports, but is independent of, the Conservative Party. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about bo ...

and in ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid ...

''. It is also campaigning for a special Sunday on Remembrance Sunday 2014. He was previously with ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' newspaper, as a leader writer and internet editor, and was Research Director of The

Foreign Policy Centre The Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) is a British think tank specialising in foreign policy. It was founded in 1998 by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and his colleagues. It was launched at an event with Prime Minister Tony Blair, with the aim of deve ...

think-tank from 1999 to 2001. He became Fabian general secretary in October 2003, and held the position until July 2011. Katwala also writes for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' newspaper, for the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'', the Spectator Coffee House blog, and for

Liberal Conspiracy ''Liberal Conspiracy'' was a British left-wing political blog established in November 2007 and edited by Sunny Hundal. Writing in ''The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Gua ...

blog. In 2010 the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' included Katwala at number 32 in its list of the '100 most influential

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

ers' in

British politics The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, currently Charles III, King of the United Kingdom, is the ...

, while he was Fabian General Secretary. British Future is a non-partisan group which engages across the political spectrum, and has staff and Trustees with backgrounds across the major political parties.

References

Living people British activists British columnists The Observer people British bloggers Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) General Secretaries of the Fabian Society British politicians of Indian descent {{UK-writer-stub