The Whitehouse Consultancy | Specialists in public and parliamentary affairs
Houses of Parliament

Who are the Whitehouse Consultancy team?

The Whitehouse Consultancy delivers a range of experience from across the political and public affairs spectrum.

 

All Whitehouse staff adhere to the highest ethical standards in the provision of public affairs, media and political consultancy services.

 

The Whitehouse Consultancy is a member of the Association of Professional Political Consultants.

Chris WhitehouseChris Whitehouse

Managing Director

 

Chris leads the Whitehouse team. An active player in national politics, a senior figure in local government and a regular visitor to Brussels, he has wide experience at every level of public policy development in the UK and EU... MORE

 

Chris brings 16 years of experience working in the Houses of Parliament for MPs and Peers. He has a solid track record advising companies, trade associations and campaigning groups on strategies for influencing public policy in Westminster, Whitehall and Brussels. An experienced media performer, he regularly lectures on politics and public affairs.

 

His service in Parliament, working for All-Party Parliamentary Groups and the Chairs of Select Committees, provides excellent contacts with Government Ministers, Opposition spokespersons, special advisers to Ministers and key backbenchers. He works closely with Members of the European Parliament, and has substantial expertise in dealing with the European Commission and Council of Ministers.

 

Chris was an adviser for many years to the British Olympic Association, helping bring the 2012 Games to London, and currently chairs several national organisations representing private sector partners working with the NHS.

 

He served as Deputy Leader of a local council and is qualified with distinction in Business Studies and Public Administration.

 

David HareDavid Hare

Director

 

David takes the strategic lead on a host of clients involved in the delivery and management of public services. He works with independent and private sector organisations that partner with Primary Care Trusts and local authorities to deliver health, education, social care and regeneration projects... MORE

 

David also works with organisations developing the UK’s renewable energy market and has experience of working with the institutions of the European Union on complex legislative matters.

 

Having previously worked in the voluntary sector, David has an excellent understanding of the government’s interrelationship with the sector and he now delivers strategic political support services to a number of children’s charities. David’s work has helped many charities secure long-term and sustainable funding and a higher profile for their issues.

 

A former adviser to the Liberal Democrat frontbench, David brings significant experience of public affairs and broader communications issues and is able to deliver a tailored service across a large number of policy areas.

 

David has a Bachelors degree with Honours in Politics from the University of Newcastle.

 

Emma CarrEmma Carr

Senior Consultant

 

Emma delivers strategic counsel to several key Whitehouse clients in a range of areas from NHS procurement, nutrition and health policy, through to forces pensions and sports policy... MORE

 

Emma has experience across the public, private and third sectors delivering effective public affairs and communications campaigns in a wide range of policy areas, with a special focus on health and social care but also including regulation, education, financial services, energy, welfare reform and family policy.

 

As well as having worked at the Social Market Foundation, Emma is a former Vice Chair of the Young Fabians and was a founding member of the Interns’ Network, giving her an excellent understanding of the think tank world and its influence on policy. Emma has also worked in-house for a public sector regulator, working closely with Departments across Government.

 

Emma has a Bachelors degree with Honours in Linguistics from the University of Central Lancashire and has completed post-graduate studies covering Health Economics and Health Policy at Birkbeck College, University of London.

 

Sofie HooperSofie Hooper

Consultant

 

At Whitehouse, Sofie works with companies, trade associations and charities in the food and nutrition industry seeking to influence European food and nutrition policy by devising and executing targeted strategies based on her extensive experience of the European political arena... MORE

 

Sofie provides training courses on the European Union and leads on our European monitoring.

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Sofie worked for a Brussels-based consultancy specialising in European public affairs. There she led the client relationship with one of the UK’s largest retailers, Tesco, specialising in European food law, consumer protection and environment policy, and played a key role in the policy development and training of in-house legal and policy teams.

 

Sofie has a Masters in Law and a Masters in International Relations from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. Having grown up in Belgium and studied for a time in Australia, she is fluent in Dutch, French and English.

 

Carl ThomsonCarl Thomson

Consultant

 

Carl provides strategic advice and analysis to a range of clients in the private sector. He has a thorough knowledge of parliamentary procedure gained through five years experience working for two Shadow Cabinet Ministers in the House of Commons. He has experience of working across a number of policy areas, including environment, energy and transport policy... MORE

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Carl worked as a Research Assistant to the Rt. Hon Theresa May MP while she was Shadow Secretary of State for the Family and for Culture, Media and Sport. He then worked as Senior Parliamentary Assistant and Chief of Staff to the Rt. Hon John Redwood MP in his role as Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation and Chairman of the Conservative Party’s Economic Competitiveness Policy Review. He has also worked as a Public Affairs Consultant for the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

 

Carl was a Conservative Party parliamentary candidate at the 2005 General Election and has co-authored a paper on public spending for a leading think-tank.

 

He has a Master of Arts in Modern History and Political Science from the University of Dundee and a Master of Philosophy in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Glasgow. As part of his Masters degree he lived in Russia and Estonia. He holds the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment’s professional qualification for administration and operations staff in the financial services industry.

 

Chris RogersChris Rogers

Communications Manager

 

Chris is the Whitehouse lead in PR and strategic media engagement, advising clients on how best to convey their key messages through the media and support their political engagement with the column inches and broadcast airtime that attracts the attention of decision makers and gains public support... MORE

 

Working across a broad portfolio of clients, Chris maintains extensive networks of contacts in the defence, education, political and health desks of the national and trade press – developing pro-active media strategies and news stories to meet the individual needs of clients.

 

Prior to joining Whitehouse, Chris worked for a leading City PR agency across a portfolio of financial services, charity, leisure and consumer clients.

 

Ideally placed to secure positive coverage across print, broadcast and new media, Chris also advises on event management having gained formidable experience working on large scale events and political party conferences.

 

A graduate of the University of Exeter, Chris holds a Bachelors and a Masters degree in History.

 

Gary JonesGary Jones

Consultant

 

At Whitehouse Gary provides strategic advice to a range of clients including voluntary sector, private businesses and trade associations. He has a thorough knowledge and experience of parliamentary processes and procedures and specialises in health and education... MORE

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Gary worked in the office of the Conservative Shadow Minister for Business and Enterprise, Mark Prisk MP, handling correspondence, arranging events for the shadow trade and industry team and carrying out detailed research and intelligence work across the portfolio.

 

He also worked at the National Skills Forum researching and producing articles on the skills agenda. Gary has a strong interest in health and is a member of the health policy committee for a leading think-tank.

 

Gary has a Bachelors degree in Contemporary History and Politics from the University of Salford, specialising in UK politics. He also spent time at the Anglo-American College in Prague where he studied European history.

 

Natasha KennedyNatasha Kennedy

Consultant

 

Natasha provides analysis to a broad range of clients from the health, ICT and financial services sectors on relevant policy and political developments. She has an in-depth knowledge and understanding of health policy and stakeholder management... MORE

 

Natasha has an excellent understanding of the issues which affect the third sector and how to influence policy and deliver change through high profile campaigns. Previously she worked at the well-known disabled children’s charity Whizz-Kidz lobbying the government and driving campaigns on children's health, education and disability. She also worked as a legal researcher for Disability Rights Promotion International. Natasha has experience of analysing international and European legislation and has written articles and papers on international and European human rights policy. She has an in-depth knowledge of international affairs.

 

Natasha has a Bachelors of Law and a Master of Laws in International and European Human Rights Law from the University of Leeds.

 

Alexandra GoodyAlexandra Goody

Consultant

 

Alexandra delivers parliamentary and political monitoring services, with particular focus on the environmental and health sectors. She also undertakes a range of research tasks, identifying key opportunities and stakeholders for clients as well as drafting communications documents... MORE

 

Before joining Whitehouse Alexandra worked as a research assistant for foreign policy thinktank the Henry Jackson Society, where she produced written research and analysis on a wide range of international affairs, focusing particularly on European security. She also led on arranging a number of parliamentary events and policy seminars.

 

Alexandra has a Masters in International Relations from King's College, London specialising in the Politics of Nationalism in Europe, and a Bachelors degree in Modern and Medieval Languages from the University of Cambridge.

 

Katarzyna WilkKatarzyna Wilk

Consultant

 

Katarzyna provides strategic advice and analysis to a range of clients in the food and nutrition industry. She focuses on helping companies and organisations to influence the development and implementation of EU food and nutrition policy – supporting client needs through research; drafting communication materials, position papers and target lists; attending relevant events; and organising meeting programmes... MORE

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Katarzyna worked in various law firms advising clients on competition law issues, EU legislation, contract disputes and WTO law, prior to which she was a trainee in the European Parliament, firstly as a Parliamentary assistant to a Polish MEP and then in the Legal Service.

 

Katarzyna has a Masters in Law from University Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) and a Masters in European Interdisciplinary Studies from the College of Europe. Having lived, studied and/or worked in several European states (Poland, France, Belgium and the UK), she is fluent in Polish, French and English.

 

Liane CresswellLiane Cresswell

Consultant

 

Liane delivers Parliamentary and political monitoring services for clients in the energy and education sectors, utilising her formidable knowledge of parliamentary processes and procedures... MORE

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Liane worked for the National Skills Forum and Associate Parliamentary Skills Group, where she was responsible for stakeholder engagement and managing the Parliamentary events programme – also undertaking policy research on the skills agenda and authoring the report Doing Things Differently: Step Changes in Skills and Inclusion. Previously, Liane worked in the Parliamentary Office of Labour MP Barry Sheerman during his chairmanship of the then Children, Schools and Families Select Committee.

 

Liane has also worked as a policy researcher for a European social enterprise network, supported by the European Commission. A graduate of Durham University, Liane holds a Masters in International Relations (European) and a Bachelors Degree in Social Sciences.

 

Frances PowrieFrances Powrie

Junior Consultant

 

Frances is responsible for Parliamentary monitoring for clients in a number of areas including health, the environment, and defence. This involves keeping up to date with Parliamentary and policy developments and spotting opportunities for clients ahead of time... MORE

 

She also provides general support across this area, undertaking research, producing communications material, drafting target lists, and both organising and attending events and meetings.

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Frances worked in the Brussels office of the leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party, Gary Titley MEP, where she worked on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, and arranged meetings, liaised with constituents, and researched briefing notes. Previously, she worked within the NHS helping improve the commissioning of health services.

 

She has a Bachelors degree in Politics from the University of Nottingham.

 

Samuel BlaineySamuel Blainey

Junior Consultant

 

Sam delivers Parliamentary and political monitoring services for our clients in the food, nutrition and health sectors. In Europe this involves legislation on food supplements, sports food and diet foods, whilst in the UK he focuses on a range of health issues, particularly obesity... MORE

 

He also provides general support across the above areas, undertaking research, identifying key stakeholders, supporting and attending events, and organising meeting programmes.

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Sam served an internship for another public affairs consultancy, where he was responsible for Parliamentary monitoring and producing written research and analysis on a wide range of health topics. Prior to this, Sam worked in the office of Labour Member of Parliament for Hendon, Andrew Dismore, supporting his work as Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and as an active backbencher.

 

Sam has a Masters degree in Global and Comparative Politics from Queen Mary, University of London and a Bachelors degree in History from the University of Sheffield.

 

Simon LucasSimon Lucas

Junior Consultant

 

At Whitehouse Simon is responsible for monitoring the UK political institutions identifying issues of note or opportunities for clients. He works on a number of client accounts, specialising in the health portfolio. For these clients Simon performs a range of intelligence and research focused tasks using his thorough knowledge of parliamentary processes and procedures... MORE

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Simon worked for the National Federation of Builders as a Policy Assistant where he was responsible for producing research reports and coordinating the trade association’s stakeholder engagement. Prior to this he worked as a Parliamentary Researcher for the Liberal Democrat MP for Winchester, Mark Oaten, supporting his role on the Business, Innovation & Skills Select Committee.

 

Simon has a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Sydney and a Bachelors degree in Politics & Philosophy from the University of Essex.

Alessandro FuscoAlessandro Fusco

Monitoring and Research Executive

 

Alessandro is responsible for Parliamentary and political monitoring in the food, nutrition, health and education sectors. He also provides general support across these areas, undertaking research, producing communications material, identifying key stakeholders and organising events and meetings... MORE

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Alessandro worked with Macmillan Cancer Support, where he was responsible for Parliamentary monitoring and coordinating the social media presence of the public affairs team. He has also worked with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and with the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), assisting with the monitoring of democratic elections and helping produce electoral education materials.

 

Alessandro has a Masters degree in Public Affairs and Lobbying from Brunel University, a Masters in European Union Study from the University of Salamanca and a Bachelors degree in Economic Development and International Cooperation from the University of Florence. Having lived, studied and worked in several European states, including Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK, he is fluent in Italian, Spanish and English.

Oliver CardinaliOliver Cardinali

Monitoring and Research Executive

 

Oliver is responsible for Parliamentary and political monitoring across a range of policy areas including health, transport, higher education, renewable energy, defence and public services management to identify and keep clients informed of key issues and developments... MORE

 

Oliver also provides general support including research for clients, the production of communication materials and briefing documents, and the identification of the key stakeholders in clients’ areas of interest.

 

Before joining Whitehouse, Oliver gained extensive experience of local government and the charity sector, including work with Oxfam. He also maintains a formidable knowledge of Welsh politics, having previously worked for a public affairs agency in Cardiff and acting as a campaign co-ordinator during the Welsh Assembly elections.

 

Oliver has a Masters Degree in the History of Political Ideas jointly from University College London and Queen Mary, and a Bachelors degree in History from Royal Holloway, University of London.