Who’s the man behind the manifesto? Meet Labour’s policy

Quiet, unshowy Ravinder Athwal joined Labour in 2020 from the Treasury, where he worked under Rishi Sunak

For one softly spoken, little-known member of Keir Starmer’s team, it was their chance to shine. Since February the former Treasury economist Ravinder Athwal has been diligently putting together the 136-page Labour manifesto – a lengthy and occasionally fraught process that has put him at the centre of the party’s competing factions.

Athwal, a Cambridge economics graduate, joined Labour in 2020 from his previous job as head of growth strategy at the Treasury, where he worked under the then chancellor, Rishi Sunak. Though he was brought in to head up Labour’s economic policy formation, he impressed so quickly that he was soon promoted to being director of policy and in charge of writing the document that could propel his party to power.