Matthew Taylor

Matthew Taylor is Chief executive of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce). Prior to this appointment, he was Chief Adviser on Political Strategy to the Prime Minister. Matthew was appointed to the Labour Party in 1994, before which his activities included being a county councillor, a parliamentary candidate, a university research fellow and the director of a unit monitoring policy in the health service. During the 1997 General Election he was Labour’s Director of Policy and a member of the Party’s central election strategy team. He was the Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research between 1999 and 2003, Britain’s leading centre left think tank. Matthew is a frequent media commentator on policy and political issues, and has written for publications including The Guardian, The Observer, New Statesman and Prospect.