Tracey Paul, chief communications officer at Pool Re, the UK’s government-backed terrorism reinsurer, is among those recommended for a life peerage on the latest political honours list released by Downing Street.
The lifelong Labour supporter is one of 25 Labour peers appointed by Keir Starmer in the political peerages list published on 10 December.
She has worked at Pool Re since 2018 and sits on its executive leadership team. Paul was previously head of stakeholders and communication for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Building Safety Programme.
Other past roles have included chief of staff for Dame Louise Casey on the review of community cohesion and extremism; policy and campaigns manager, National Citizen Service; and advocacy and policy manager, British Heart Foundation.
Earlier in her career she spent almost 20 years working for the Labour Party and held senior roles including head of strategic communications and marketing, and head of elections.
Paul made a failed bid to become Labour's candidate for Stockton North at the last general election, and stated during her campaign: “Labour has been my life’s passion.”
Commenting on her peerage, she told In.Comms: "I'm truly honoured to have been appointed to the House of Lords. What excites me most is having a platform to champion causes that matter deeply to me and to our country.”
Paul added: “My years working in public policy and communications have allowed me to develop relationships and skills that will serve me well in this new role, with my time at Pool Re deepening my understanding and appreciation of national security and resilience. I'm looking forward to embracing the challenges ahead and making a meaningful difference."
While she is the only in-house comms professional to have made it onto the latest list of political peerages, several people with comms backgrounds are set to join her in the House of Lords.
Life peerages have also been awarded to Matthew Doyle, Starmer’s ex-director of communications at Downing Street; and Katie Martin, ex-director of external affairs at Citizens Advice.
Catherine MacLeod, an ex-senior adviser at strategic communications consultancy Charlotte Street Partners, and Neena Gill, former vice president, corporate affairs (Europe and Asia Pacific), SAS Software, have also been made life peers.