Kitty Ussher

Kitty Ussher is an economist and former Labour party politician.

Ussher holds degrees in economics from Balliol College, Oxford and Birkbeck College, London. and previously worked as an economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, the Centre for European Reform and Britain in Europe where she was the chief economist for the pro-European campaign group.

She was a councillor in Lambeth from 1998-2002 where she chaired the finance and environment scrutiny committees.

Her government experience also includes three years as special adviser to the then Department for Trade and Industry on industrial and trade policy, from 2001-04.

As MP for Burnley from 2005-10 she helped get a university, new schools, better housing and a new health centre as well as starting the ultimately successful campaign for a direct train line to Manchester.

From 2007-09 she held ministerial positions in the Treasury (twice) and the Department for Work and Pensions, most notably as Economic Secretary to the Treasury in the early phase of the financial crisis. Her interests include all areas of industrial, regional, welfare and economic policy including macroeconomics, financial services and government finance.

After stepping down at the 2010 general election she wrote four pamphlets on economic and industrial policy as Director of the think-tank Demos before moving in January 2012 to the Smith Institute, where she is a research fellow.

Ussher is an associate at the Centre for London, a member of The CityUK’s Independent Economists’ Panel and a co-founder of Labour in the City. She provides economic and policy analysis to Portland Communications and its clients.

Connections

• Peter Bottomley - uncle.