Social Market Foundation

The Social Market Foundation SMF is a Blairite pro-market think tank. [http://www.smf.co.uk/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=4 According to its website]: "The SMF was established in 1989 to provide a source of innovative economic and social policy ideas. Steering an independent course between political parties and conflicting ideologies, the SMF has been an influential voice in recent health, education, welfare and pensions policy reform. Our current work reflects a commitment to understanding how individuals, society and the state can work together to achieve the common goal of creating a just and free society."

Key SMF People:

Ann Rossiter: Director since Jul '05; a former Director of Fishburn Hedges, the corporate communications consultancy, and Lexington Communications; 4 yrs. in Parliment for John Denham Mp and Glenda Jackson MP on pensions and transport policy; 4 yrs. in BBC Political Policy Unit; board member of OFT Futures Advisory Board

Natalie Tarry: Dep Dir/Dir. of Research since Apr '06; 4 yrs. with New Local Government Network, an independent local govt. think tank; prio work at European Parliment;

Dermot Kehoe: Managing Dir.; 8 yrs. at BBC in Public Policy, Strategy and Comm.; Secretariat to Iraq Commission; previous Director of Fabian Society, specilising in constitution reform and modernising govt.; former broadcaster/producer for GMTV

Former SMF People:

Nina Temple: former secretary of the British Communist Party and Democratic Left

Valerie Johnson: United Nations, the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service

Jacqueline Cassidy: Development Editor working on the Financial Times, Reuters and ft.com

The SMF shares its 11 Tufton St. address with the Adam Smith Institute. Dahrendorf argues in the SMF's 2003 - 2004 Annual Report that 'The Social Market Foundation is well placed to combine economic, social and political analysis. The three approaches are often separated, yet for policy decisions they have to be brought together. This makes the SMF uniquely relevant.' Given that the SMF line-up are familiar faces in the think tank circuit (Stevenson, d'Ancona and Haskins have ties to Demos) its difficult to percieve what is so unique about the Foundation.

Its funders include: Barclays Bank, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Boots, BP International, British Nuclear Fuels, British Property Federation, BSkyB, BUPA, Camelot Group,CBI, Centrica, Chemical Industries Association, Corporation of London, Edexcel, EDS, Electoral Commission, Energywatch, Finance & Leasing Association, Fujitsu, GlaxoSmithKline, Go-Ahead Group, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Learning & Skills Development Agency, Marks & Spencer, Mobile Operators Association, National House Building Council, National Youth Agency, Pfizer, Pharmacia Pharamaceutical Services Negotiating, Safeway Stores, J Sainsbury, Shell International, Specialist Schools Trust, Sugar Bureau, Sun Microsystems, Sutton Trus,t Thames Water Utilities, T-Mobile, UBC Media, Ufi/ Learn Direct, UPS Vauxhall Motors, Vodafone.

Corporate donations form 56.06% of its funding, Statutory Bodies and Not for Profits 40.55% and Charitable Trusts 3.39% .

Labour fringe meetings

SMF organised a wide range of fringe talks at the 2004 Labour Party conference. Many of the discussions were sponsored by companies that have a direct business interest in the topics. Nearly all of the discussion panels feature a Labour minister. For example, the Mobile Operators Association(MOA) sponsored a discussion with the title "Listening to the public: does community consultation improve the planning process?", with environment minister Alun Michael MP on the panel. The MOA has been lobbying for some time to prevent stricter planning regulations on mobile phone masts. The MOA sponsored a similar talk at the 2003 conference.

Personnel

• Chairman: Lord Lipsey
• Director: Philip Collins
• Deputy Director: Beth Breeze (formerly Egan)
• Director of Research: Ann Rossiter
• Research Fellow: Roger Wicks
• Researchers: Jessica Asato
• Director of Communications: Sarah Schaefer
• Events Manager: Valerie Johnson
• Conference Events Manager: Jaqueline Cassidy
• Finance & Administration: Ben Llewelyn

Directors

• Viscount Chandos
• Gavyn Davies
• David Edmonds
• John McFadden
• Baroness Noakes
• Brian Pomeroy

Patrons

• Lord Flowers
• Rt Hon Lord Owen CH
• Lord Sainsbury of Turville
• Professor Lord Skidelsky

Policy Advisory Board

• Wendy Alexander, Member of the Scottish Parliament and alumnus of the British American Project
• Tim Allan, ex Downing Street spin doctor, then worked for Murdoch's Sky Television
• Matthew d'Ancona, Deputy Editor, Sunday Telegraph
• Simon Crine
• Don Cruickshank
• Lord Ralph Dahrendorf SDP founder
• Evan Davis, BBC Economics Editor
• Ed Davey
• Daniel Finkelstein, ex Tory spin doctor
• Prof. Tony Giddens
• Liam Halligan
• Lord Chris Haskins
• Deirdre Hutton
• Peter Lampl
• George Osborne MP
• Lord Bhikhu Parekh
• Trevor Philips, Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality
• Lord Plant
• James Purnell MP
• Sue Slipman
• Lord Dennis Stevenson
• Dr Wendy Thomson
• Stephen Twigg MP
• Andrew Tyrie MP
• Shriti Vadera international development advisor to Gordon Brown
• David Willetts MP

Contact details

Social Market Foundation
11 Tufton St
Westminster
London
SW1P 3QB
Website: http://www.smf.co.uk/

SourceWatch resources

• Katherine Raymond
• Labour Party conference

External links

• "Who is sponsoring whom at the Labour Party Conference", Spinwatch, September 9, 2004.
• Guardian profile of Social Market Foundation
• Nick Mathiason 'The marketing of Blairism', The Observer, 31 July 2005