Vidhya Alakeson
Vidhya Alakeson | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister's Office | |
| Assumed office 6 October 2024 Serving with Jill Cuthbertson | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Personal details | |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford London School of Economics |
Vidhya Alakeson OBE (born 1976 or 1977)[1] is a British political aide. She has served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Starmer ministry since 2024.[2]
Biography
Vidhya Alakeson is of British Indian background.[3] She holds a degree in modern languages from the University of Oxford and an MSc from the London School of Economics.[4] Alakeson joined the Resolution Foundation in January 2011 and left in January 2014 to become Chief Executive of Power to Change.[5] When Keir Starmer was Leader of the Opposition, she was political director.[6] In this role she worked as a special adviser.[7]
In the 2021 Birthday Honours, was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to social equality.[8] Until the 2024 United Kingdom general election, she was director of external relations for the Labour Party.[9][10] In October 2024, with the resignation of Sue Gray, she was promoted to deputy chief of staff by Morgan McSweeney.[11] She serves alongside Jill Cuthbertson.[12]
References
- ^ "Vidhya Alakeson | EasternEye". easterneye. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ "Keir Starmer shuffles top team after Sue Gray quits as chief of staff". ITV News. 7 October 2024.
- ^ "A PM committed to South Asian Communities - Asian News from UK". 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ "Vidhya Alakeson". The Young Foundation. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ "Vidhya Alakeson • Resolution Foundation". 2015-03-09. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ Steerpike (2024-08-29). "Starmer's special advisers: a complete guide". The Spectator. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ Steerpike (2024-08-29). "Starmer's special advisers: a complete guide". The Spectator. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours 2021 — The UK list in full". The Herald. 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ "Starmer's top team: key figures with influence in cabinet". www.ft.com. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ "Sue Gray will take pay cut to £170k salary in new role". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ PA; Britton, Paul (2024-10-06). "Sue Gray resigns as Downing Street chief of staff, PM announces". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
- ^ "Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff Sue Gray quits". BBC News. 2024-10-06. Retrieved 2025-10-26.