Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s world has always revolved around politics. As a babe in arms in 1957, he attended his first Labour Party conference with his father, Doug – now Lord Hoyle – then an aspiring MP. From the age of seven, he was a regular on the campaign trail, delivering leaflets to help his father’s first attempt to stand in Clitheroe. Having his appetite wetted by local politics, Lindsay stood and won the Chorley seat in 1997 – the first Labour MP to represent the constituency for 18 years.

On a pledge to keep MPs, staff and their families safe, to be an impartial chair and improve the image of Parliament, Lindsay was elected as Speaker on 4 November 2019, following the resignation of Speaker John Bercow.

At home, Lindsay is a family man and the proud owner of a menagerie of pets. He is devoted to wife Cath, his daughter and two grandchildren. Outside of politics, he is a fan of rugby league, football, cricket and gardening.

Dame Antonia Romeo was appointed as the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service on 19 February 2026.

Antonia Romeo served as the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office from April 2025 to February 2026, with responsibility for national security, border security and public safety.

Before this Antonia was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice for 4 years, with responsibility for criminal justice, prison and probation services, courts, legal services, and constitutional policy. Before that she was Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Trade with responsibility for trade policy, trade negotiations and market access, trade promotion and finance, inward and outward business investment, and the GREAT campaign.

Antonia joined the Civil Service in 2000 as a professional economist following an early career in the private sector at strategic consultancy firm Oliver Wyman.

Baroness Grey-Thompson is a British Paralympian, winning eleven gold medals over five Paralympic Games, and now sitting in the House of Lords as a crossbench peer with specialist interests in sport, disability, health and youth development. Since retiring from athletics, Baroness Grey-Thompson has been active in speaking out on issues including benefit reform and accessible transport. During heated debates in the House of Lords, she has been instrumental in moving several amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill, making insightful contributions and pushing the Government to make concessions. Baroness Grey-Thompson is the President of NCVO and has a longstanding association with the wider voluntary sector, and was appointed in 2011 as the President of the Leadership 20:20 Commission for developing emerging leaders in civil society. She is a patron of numerous charities including Sportsleaders UK, and is a trustee of vInspired, a charity that helps young people become volunteers. As well as this she is the Patron of the Jane Tomlinson Appeal and is a board member of the Tony Blair Sports Foundation.

Dame Melanie Dawes joined Ofcom as an Executive Board Member and Chief Executive in March 2020.
Prior to joining Ofcom, Melanie was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 2015. She has held a range of senior roles across the Civil Service, working in partnership across the public and private sector, including as Champion for Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion.

She started her career as an economist and spent 15 years at the Treasury, including as Europe Director between 2002 and 2006. She was Director General of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat at the Cabinet Office between 2011 and 2015, and prior to that she served on the Board of HMRC. As Director General for Business Tax she had responsibility for all the business taxes and duties alongside leadership of the department’s relationships with the largest companies.

Farmida Bi is a banking lawyer based in the London office of Norton Rose Fulbright, where she is European Head of Islamic Finance. She has specialised in capital markets and Islamic finance for over 20 years, and speaks frequently in academic and professional forums. She has recently spoken at Cambridge University, Harvard University, Cass Business School, the London School of Economics, University College Dublin and Nottingham University. Farmida is a graduate of Downing College, Cambridge and is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and a New York attorney.

Farmida has collected many accolades for her work. In 2019 and 2020 she was listed as one of the Financial News’ 100 Most Influential Women in European Finance, and one of HERoes’ Top 100 Role Models. She has twice been awarded ‘Best in Banking and Finance’ at IFLR’s European Women in Business Law Awards; named one of the five most powerful Muslim women in the UK at the inaugural Muslim Women Power List published by The Times; and named Commercial Lawyer of the Year by the Society of Asian Lawyers.

During his 32 years as a television journalist Martyn anchored every mainstream television news programme on ITV and BBC. His charitable involvement began with the Hospice movement, and expanded over four decades to include the founding of the UK’s first internet charity YouthNet (now themix.org.uk), and embrace areas as diverse as disadvantaged young people, learning disabilities, dementia, military families, volunteering and leadership. A former Chairman of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, he has chaired the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service since 2010. As a long-time advocate of Constructive Journalism, he is the Patron of the magazine Positive News, and also an adviser to Give-Star, a new fundraising platform for charities.

John Pienaar is Times Radio’s drivetime presenter, having previously been Radio 5 live’s Chief Political Correspondent and joint presenter of Weekend News. A well-connected and respected figure at the heart of the Westminster scene for two decades, both on Radio 5 live and BBC television, John combines sublime explanation of the key themes of politics with the authority of a seasoned insider.

Simon Fraser is Chairman of Chatham House and serves as Adviser to the Europe Programme. He is also Managing Partner of Flint Global. He previously served as Permanent Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Head of the UK Diplomatic Service from August 2010 to July 2015.

Prior to that he was Permanent Secretary at the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. He has also served as Director General for Europe in the FCO; Chief of Staff to European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson; Political Counsellor at the British embassy in Paris; and Head of Policy Planning in the FCO. He is currently Visiting Professor at King’s College London and Adjunct Professor at Sciences Po.