MRS Honours Four Big Names

Britain's MRS has appointed four more honorary fellows: diversity and inclusion advocate Seema Malhotra, YouGov co-founder and vaccine roll-out minister Nadhim Zahawi, polling guru Sir John Curtice and former IMF and Bank of England senior exec Baroness Minouche Shafik.

The awards continue the celebration of the Society's 75th anniversary and recognise 'exemplary work supporting market research'. They join nine people awarded in March.

Tory MP Zahawi co-founded YouGov in 2000, and most recently has led the UK's widely praised vaccine deployment programme, as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment.

Malhotra is awarded for her work on evidenced policy development while at professional services firm PwC and for being a consistent supporter of MRS' diversity and inclusion programme. She is the founder of the Fabian Women's Network, promoting women's influence in politics.

Baroness Shafik is Director at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and began her career in the research department of the World Bank. In between, roles have included Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and Deputy Managing Director of the IMF.

Curtice is President of the British Polling Council, as well as one of the best known names and faces in election polling and its interpretation. He is Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde and a Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Social Research.

MRS Chief Executive Jane Frost CBE comments: 'Each of these Honorary Fellows has a long track record of championing evidence throughout an impressive career. It feels pertinent that they are receiving the Honorary Fellowship at this moment, with the role of research in shaping public policy and economic strategy more important than it ever has been'.

Web sites: www.mrs.org.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.