Matthew Patten
Chief Executive
Matthew Patten was Political and Communications Director at the Centre for Social Justice, the UK’s leading think-tank tackling the root causes of poverty and social breakdown. Previously, he was Chief Executive of social mobility charity Mayor’s Fund for London, Chief Executive of youth sports and disability charity The Lord’s Taverners, and founding Chief Executive of global sports and entertainment agency, M&C Saatchi Sponsorship.
Matthew was elected a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands between 2019 and the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020. While an MEP he was a member of the Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee and the Delegation for Relations with Iran. He had previously been a Conservative councillor serving two terms at Tendring District Council.
He is currently Chairman of Chelmsford Sea Cadets. Previous non-executive directorships have included St John Ambulance, The Oxford Literary Festival, The Centre for Brexit Policy, and Ipswich High School Foundation.
Matthew is married with 4 children.
Stephen Webb
Director of Programmes
Stephen Webb worked in senior roles in the UK civil service for over thirty years, including the Treasury, the Northern Ireland Office around the time of the Good Friday Agreement, the Home Office and Cabinet Office. During his civil service career he was responsible for policy and strategy development including passage of multiple Bills, led corporate services functions in departments and arm’s length bodies, and delivered several major technology and infrastructure projects.
More recently Stephen was head of Government Reform and Home Affairs at Policy Exchange, working on radical policy proposals to enhance Ministerial control of the UK administrative system; bring immigration under control; and significantly cut the size of the civil service. He is now working on a book on the collapse of British state capacity and how it can be rebuilt, Make Bureaucracy Great Again, due to be published by Polity Press next year, and for which he secured Emergent Ventures funding. He also writes a regular substack.
Nikki da Costa
Legislative Affairs Director
Nikki da Costa is a recognised authority on the UK’s legislative and parliamentary processes, having founded and led the Legislative Unit in 10 Downing Street.
As Director of Legislative Affairs she was responsible for the Government’s domestic legislative programme under Theresa May and Boris Johnson. She helped to end the parliamentary deadlock over Brexit, securing the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union in law, and served during the second half of the pandemic navigating the complexities of a ‘virtual’ Parliament.
As a Policy Fellow to the then Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch, Nikki was closely involved in contesting the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
Nikki has twice been named one of the top 100 Women in Westminster and is a well-known commentator on policy and legislative issues.