Ed Miliband's former head of policy appointed director of living standards think tank

Torsten Bell joins the Resolution Foundation, which campaigns on behalf of low and middle income earners

Torsten Bell worked as Ed Miliband's director of policy (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A former senior aide to Ed Miliband has been appointed director of the Resolution Foundation think tank, which campaigns on behalf of low and middle income earners.

Torsten Bell, Labour’s director of policy, is a former Treasury civil servant who became special adviser to the Chancellor Alistair Darling during the financial crisis.

At the Resolution Foundation, he will work closely with David Willetts, the Conservative former Universities Minister who left Parliament at the May election and now chairs the independent think tank.

The foundation will continue to focus on issues such as low pay, full employment and welfare reform and will also study fairness between the generations and productivity.

Mr Willetts said: “I’m delighted that Torsten is joining us. He has first rate analytical skills and will think creatively about how to make Britain a more prosperous society.”

Mr Bell, who will succeed Gavin Kelly, a former aide to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, said: “It’s a privilege to be joining the Resolution Foundation to build on its outstanding reputation and lead the next phase of its development. Ensuring those on middle and low incomes can prosper in 21st century Britain is the biggest policy challenge facing our country today.”