Spencer Livermore, Baron Livermore
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Spencer Elliot Livermore, Baron Livermore (born 12 June 1975) is a British politician and strategist serving as a Member of 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 ...
since 2015 and
Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...
since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he was chief strategist to
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 ...
during his tenure as
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 ...
and
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
.


Early life and education

Spencer Elliot Livermore was born on 12 June 1975 in
Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
. He was raised in
Wickford Wickford is a town and civil parish in the south of the English county (England), county of Essex, with a population of 33,486. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London, it is within the Borough of Basildon along with the orig ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
and attended Beauchamps High School and Basildon College. In 1996, Livermore graduated from the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
with a Bachelor of Science in Economics; he later became a visiting senior fellow at the university.


Career


Treasury

Livermore worked for
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 ...
, then
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer The shadow chancellor of the exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer, chancellor of ...
, during the 1997 general election campaign. Following Labour's election victory and Brown's appointment as
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
, he was employed as a special adviser in the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
. He was seconded to Labour's election team ahead of the 2001 general election, as director of attack and rebuttal, and returned to the Treasury following the election. He was also seconded to several US Congressional campaigns whilst working for Brown. Livermore was campaign strategist to the Chancellor for the 2005 general election, and described by Philip Gould as one of seven people who devised Labour's election strategy in 2001 and 2005. Following the 2005 election, he was appointed chief strategy adviser to Brown. Prior to the 2007 Budget, Livermore reportedly advised against Brown's decision to abolish the 10p
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
rate.


Downing Street

Following Brown's appointment as
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 ...
in 2007, Livermore was appointed as director of strategy in
Downing Street Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...
. Responsible for strategic planning and attending Cabinet meetings, he devised the strategy for the Prime Minister's transition and first 100 days in office. Livermore unsuccessfully advocated for a General Election in Autumn 2007, writing the initial strategy memo to the Prime Minister on the matter. He left Downing Street in 2008, the first of Brown's senior advisers to do so, to become a senior strategist at
Saatchi & Saatchi Saatchi and Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency ...
. Livermore reportedly declined an offer from
Peter Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, (born 21 October 1953) is a British politician, lobbyist and diplomat who has served as British Ambassador to the United States since February 2025. A member of the Labour Party, Mandelson serve ...
to become
Downing Street Chief of Staff The Downing Street chief of staff is the most senior Special adviser (UK), political appointee in the 10 Downing Street#Office of the Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, acting as a senior aide to the Prime Minist ...
, and a request from Gordon Brown to work on Labour's 2010 general election campaign. He has since been an occasional commentator on political strategy in the media.


Private Sector and Opposition

Livermore became director of strategy at
Teneo Teneo is a public relations and advisory company. The company was founded in June 2011 by Declan Kelly, Paul Keary, and Doug Band, and as of 2025 has more than 1,600 employees located in 40 offices. In 2019, Teneo sold a majority stake to  ...
Blue Rubicon after leaving Saatchi & Saatchi, where he established Thirty Six Strategy in 2012. He subsequently worked at
McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...
in their European Banking Practice. He returned to politics in 2014, as director of Labour's 2015 general election campaign. Livermore was appointed to 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 21 October 2015, as Baron Livermore of
Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...
in the
London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...
. He was a member of the Economic Affairs Select Committee from 2016 to 2019. Following
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
's election as Labour Leader in April 2020, Livermore served as an opposition
whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
until July 2020. He returned to the shadow front bench as Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in April 2023. He was a member of the General Election Strategy Group for Labour's 2024 general election campaign.


Government

Following the 2024 general election, Livermore was appointed
Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...
on 8 July 2024.


Personal life

In 2007, Livermore was listed as the 'most powerful' gay man in British politics by both the ''
Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''GAY TIMES Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...
'' and ''
Pink News ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning community (LGBTQ+) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in July 2005, initially released in print, b ...
''.Writer, Staff. (27 December 2007
Profile: The most powerful gay man in British politics
PinkNews.co.uk.
He is married to
Seb Dance Seb Dance, (born 1 December 1981), is a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the London region from 2014 to 2020 and since January 2022 serves as Deputy Mayor of London for transport. He ...
, a former Labour
Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
now serving as Deputy Mayor of London for Transport. They live in
Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...
, London.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Livermore, Spencer Livermore, Baron 1975 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics People from Slough British special advisers English gay politicians LGBTQ life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Labour Party (UK) life peers Labour Party (UK) officials People from Wickford Labour Friends of Israel Spouses of British politicians