Christians Against Poverty fringe events at 2022 political Party Conferences
Since the onset of the pandemic, the 14 million people in the UK living in poverty have been in a constant state of crisis with issues outside their control leaving them feeling desperate, hopeless, and stripped of their dignity, options, and agency. This is deepening inequality of all kinds — wealth, regional, racial, gender, health, cultural, and more — and in the current climate of stagnant wages, rapidly rising inflation and energy prices, and the overall increasing cost of living, it is only going to get worse.
There are short-term, urgent measures which must be taken to help low-income households in debt, just as we saw during the pandemic, but we must also look to address the longer-term impact on the growing population who are ‘on the edge’.
With conference season already upon us, we are very much looking forward to hosting fringe events at the upcoming Labour and Conservative Party Conferences to discuss these crucial issues.
Below are the full details of our events, with more speakers to be announced soon.
Labour Party Conference, Liverpool 25–28 September
Monday 26 September
Hope in a time of crisis: Addressing the long-term impact of debt-induced poverty
Institute Room, Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BT
2–3.30pm with drinks and light refreshments served from 1.30pm and networking until 4.15pm
Chaired by experienced advocate for economic and social justice, Mick McAteer, the session will bring together experts from across the debt, politics, policy, poverty, economy, faith, and wider landscape to explore what needs to be done by the next Government to address this huge problem facing society and bring hope for the future. It will look at the role of community organisations in offering ‘on the ground’ support and what policy interventions are required to help alleviate the increasing demand for their services. And it will ask the big questions about how to accelerate lasting change that will bring an end to inevitable debt-induced poverty and enable people living in the UK to thrive.
It will look at the role of community organisations in offering ‘on the ground’ support and what policy interventions are required to help alleviate the increasing demand for their services. And it will ask the big questions about how to accelerate lasting change that will bring an end to inevitable debt-induced poverty and enable people living in the UK to thrive.
Confirmed on the panel are:
● Paula Stringer, CAP CEO
● Sir Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work & Pensions Committee
● Muna Yassin, Fair Money Advice CEO
● Reverend Hayley Young, Baptist Together and Northern Baptist Association
● Isabelle Parasram, CEO of Social Value UK
● Richard Partington, Economics Correspondent at the Guardian
Conservative Party Conference, Birmingham 2–5 October
Sunday 2 October
Inter-faith reception with the Conservative Christian Fellowship and Conservative Muslim Forum
Jury’s Inn Birmingham, 2–4pm — please register to attend here.
As the co-sponsor of this year’s inter-faith reception, we invite you to join us for an informal drinks reception recognising the valuable contributions made by faith communities to society on a local, national, and international level. CAP’s Chief People Officer will be speaking alongside other keynote speakers.
Tuesday 4 October
Winter is coming? How to tackle poverty in tough times
Suite 116, Jury’s Inn Birmingham — 12–1:15pm (and available to watch online), refreshments will be served
In association with Bright Blue, our fringe at the Conservative Party Conference will examine the impact historically high levels of inflation and household debt will have on the nature and scale of poverty in the UK. Questioning whether current public policy is helping or hindering those trying to climb out of poverty and whether the economic vision of the new Prime Minister will benefit low-income households.
Confirmed on the panel:
● Anvar Sarygulov, Bright Blue Head of Research (Chair)
● Gareth McNab, CAP Director of External Affairs
● Richard Partington, Economics Correspondent at the Guardian
● Jane Millar OBE, Professor of Social Policy and former Pro-Vice Chancellor Research at the University of Bath
● Emma Revie, CEO of Trussell Trust
● Syma Cullasy-Aldridge, Chief Campaigns Director at the CBI
There is no need to register to attend either of these events, they will be filled on a first come, first served basis on the day. All events are public events outside the secure zone and a conference pass is not required to attend.
For more information please contact externalaffairs@capuk.org.
Chair and speaker biographies
Labour Party Conference fringe event Chair: Mick McAteer
Mick is an experienced advocate for economic and social justice. His work focuses on three areas: economic and social justice and rights; financial system reform; and the role of technology and data in society.
He is currently founder and Co-Director of The Financial Inclusion Centre, Chair of the anti-poverty charity Z2K, Chair of Registry Trust (the not-for-profit organisation which maintains the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines), Deputy Chair of the Consumer Council of Northern Ireland, a member of the CARITAS (Westminster) Advisory Board, Council member of the Irish Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, and a member of the UK Regulators Network (UKRN) Expert Panel.
Labour Party Conference fringe event Panelists:
Paula Stringer, CEO, Christians Against Poverty (CAP)
Before joining CAP, Paula held a senior role as Head of Production and Operations for BBC Sport where she was involved in delivering the Olympics, Match of the Day, Wimbledon, the World Cup and, well, everything ‘sport’ that goes on at the BBC.
She brings considerable experience in leading teams as both an entrepreneur and as part of charitable and commercial organisations, and life experience of debt counselling saving her marriage, to the role
Stephen Timms MP, Chair of Work & Pensions Select Committee and Leader of Backbench Labour Poverty Group
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms has been Labour MP for East Ham since 1994, and Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee since March 2020. He was a Minister in the Labour Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from 1998 to 2010, including serving in the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and as the Minister at DWP responsible for the Health and Safety Executive. Before his election to Parliament, he worked in the telecommunications industry and was the Leader of the Council in London Borough of Newham.
Reverend Hayley Young, President of Baptist Together and Transitional Strategic Regional Minister in the Northern Baptist Association
Hayley has been in local pastoral ministry for 15 years serving in churches around the country.
She believes that the pandemic brought to light divided communities: divide by their race, gender, religion, economic circumstances and that these divisions are not just words but a dark reality for many people who are excluded, discriminated against and more. But she believes there is hope by demonstrating God’s Justice at the heart of communities.
Muna Yassin MBE, CEO, Fair Money Advice
Muna has over 20 years’ experience in financial inclusion services. She is the CEO of Fair Money Advice (FMA), a London-based specialist debt advice Charity. In March 2021 she was appointed to the VCSE Advisory Panel, which advises the government on how to help more organisations from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sectors compete effectively in public sector contracts. In March 2022, Muna joined the board of Toynbee Hall of Toynbee Hall. Previously she was on the board of Women Advancing Microfinance UK (WAMUK).
In June 2021, Muna was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List and was awarded an MBE for charitable Financial Services to Disadvantaged People during Covid-19. She has a particular interest in reducing financial inequalities and increasing economic empowerment of disadvantaged communities — with a focus on minoritised communities and women.
Isabelle Parasram OBE. CEO, Social Value UK
Through her work as CEO of Social Value UK (SVUK), Isabelle advocates for a world where organisations make more decisions that account for their social impacts. She also serves as a trustee of a think tank that produces new thinking on domestic, European, and international issues.
Prior to taking up her role with SVUK, Isabelle was a practising barrister and Head of Chambers. She is the former Vice President of a political party and patron of a political donor network. Her public, private and charitable sector experience includes roles as an in-house lawyer, political candidate, civil servant, governor and educator. In 2021, she was awarded the OBE for political and public service.
Born in East London to Indo-Caribbean ‘Windrush’ parents, Isabelle and her husband have four children.
Richard Partington, Economics Correspondent, Guardian
Richard is responsible for covering the UK and global economy for the Guardian, with a focus on the social and political impact of the latest developments. He is particularly interested in regional economic development, inequality and the world of work. He has covered the coronavirus pandemic, Brexit, and aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Richard joined the Guardian in 2017 from Bloomberg News, where he was previously a finance reporter based in London. Prior to that he worked for Financial News, a publication of the Wall Street Journal, and City AM. He holds degrees from the University of Liverpool and City, University of London.
Gareth McNab, CAP Director of External Affairs
Gareth became Director of External Affairs for CAP in January 2021 following over 15 years experience in leadership roles in financial services and debt advice. Known as a generous collaborator and thoughtful influencer within the debt advice and debt collection sectors, he has led on and contributed to a number of initiatives that have sought to improve outcomes for people in problem debt and poverty, including Open Banking for Good and the Enforcement Oversight Working Group.
Jane Millar OBE, Professor of Social Policy
Jane is Professor of Social Policy and former Pro-Vice Chancellor Research at the University of Bath. Her research focuses on policy, families and social security. She is also a member of the Council of the Academy of Social Security and was awarded an OBE for her services to social policy research and teaching in 2001.
Anvar Sarygulov, Bright Blue Head of Research
Anvar is the Head of Research at Bright Blue. Currently, Anvar oversees Bright Blue’s work on social security, and leads in-house quantitative research, which has been featured in The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, Daily Mirror, ConservativeHome. Anvar holds a MSc from LSE in Comparative Politics and a BA from University of Oxford in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Emma Revie, CEO of The Trussell Trust
Emma Revie is the Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust, a charity that supports a network of over 1,200 food bank centres to provide emergency food to people in crisis, offer additional support and campaign for change. Since joining in February 2018, she has been instrumental in the Trust’s work to commission the largest ever piece of research into hunger in the UK while also creating a five-year strategy to end the need for food banks, which is to be launched in 2020.
Previously she was Chief Executive at youth charities Ambition and Landmark, and Head of Donor Services at international aid charity Tearfund. She has also run her own freelance consultancy and training business, and is treasurer of The Centre for Youth Impact, a community of organisations working together to progress thinking in youth work.
Syma Cullasy-Aldridge, Chief Campaigns Director at the CBI
Syma sits on the executive team as the Chief Campaign Director. Previously, Syma was Director of External Affairs at leading govtech consultancy, PUBLIC. Before then, Syma held policy and communications roles across central government, including in the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. She also set up and ran the external engagement team in the Department for Exiting the European Union. She has worked in aerospace, defence, security and space as director of policy and communications in the industry’s trade association and is a trustee of the Taylor Bennett Foundation.
