Torsten Bell | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions | |
| Assumed office 14 January 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Emma Reynolds |
| Parliamentary Secretary for the Treasury | |
| Assumed office 14 January 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Emma Reynolds |
| Member of Parliament forSwansea West | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Geraint Davies |
| Majority | 8,515 (23.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Torsten Henricson Bell[1] September 1982 (age 43) |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 2[3] |
| Alma mater | Mansfield College, Oxford |
| Known for | Chief Executive of theResolution Foundation (2015–2024) |
Torsten Henricson Bell (born September 1982) is aLabour politician,economist, author, and newspaper columnist, serving asMember of Parliament (MP) forSwansea West since 2024.[4] He was appointed asParliamentary Secretary for the Treasury andParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions in January 2025.[5]
Previously he was the chief executive of theResolution Foundation, an economicthinktank, from 2015 to 2024.[6]
He was appointed to the Resolution Foundation in 2015 after having served asEd Miliband's Director of policy, and as a Treasury civil servant who became special adviser toAlistair Darling during the2008 financial crisis.[6]
Bell was born in Greenwich, London and moved to Kent as a young child. HisSwedish mother works as an author and policy analyst specialising in family policy, and hisScottish father works as a charity executive.[7]
Bell was educated atThe Judd School in Tonbridge going on to graduate inphilosophy, politics and economics atMansfield College, Oxford.[8][9] At Oxford, Bell was editor of the student newspaperCherwell.[10]
Since 2017, he has written a column inThe Observer namedHidden Gems from the World of Research.[11]
Bell writes regularly about poverty and inequality in the United Kingdom,[12] about theNorth–South divide in England and thelevelling-up policy of the British government.[13] He described theSeptember 2022 United Kingdom mini-budget as "the biggest unforced economic policy error of my lifetime."[14]
Bell has been associated with the coordination of policy developments for theLabour Party.[15] He has received recognition across various factions within the party for his attention to detail.[16]
In November 2022, Bell was appointed Honorary Professor at theUCL Policy Lab.[17]
In September 2023, Bell was named as the tenth most powerful left-wing figure in the UK by theNew Statesman.[18]
In May 2024, Bell was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the seat ofSwansea West in the2024 general election, which raised some criticism from local members for his having "no connection" to the area and "no Welsh connection".[19] Despite this, in July 2024, Bell was elected as theMember of Parliament for theSwansea West constituency, with 41.4% share of the vote, and a majority of 8,515.[4]
From July 2024 to January 2025, Bell wasParliamentary Private Secretary to the Cabinet Office.[20] Thereafter he was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions, replacingEmma Reynolds, who was promoted following the resignation ofTulip Siddiq.[21][22]
Bell's twin brother, Olaf, is a civil servant.[23]
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