Policy Exchange seem to be getting on the front foot when it comes to think tanks’ influence over the Government, becoming further entwined with the Boris administration since No. 10 hired from their fold in February. Guido now learns PX has taken on Nusrat Ghani MP as a Senior Fellow researching Maritime Business and focusing on launching a new era for British shipping; leaping on Boris’s February Greenwich trade speech that promised “an explosion of global trade propelled by new maritime technology”. Ghani takes the role having been freed from ministerial duties in the reshuffle…

PX also takes on Chris Brannigan as a ‘national resilience’ fellow, having served as a SpAd to the PM working on defence and space policy.

In return Policy Exchange are donating Dr. David Shiels, who only recently joined PX when Open Europe was absorbed by them, and who is leaving to become a Northern Ireland SpAd to Brandon Lewis.

Since last week, Guido hears;

• Leonara Campbell is on the No. 10 briefing team
• Alex Hitchcock has moved to BEIS, after previously having worked with Alok Sharma at Work and Pensions
• Ben Jafari has become the third MoJ SpAd, with Rajiv Shah going joint with No. 10’s policy unit on a non-specific legal oversight brief

Keep up to date with Guido’s rolling SpAd list here…