Senior Leader in Consumer Protection & Fair Trading

Leading the trading standards profession

CTSI Vice Presidents come from a broad range of backgrounds, reflecting the wide professional community that supports consumer protection and fair trading in the United Kingdom. They include members of Parliament and the House of Lords, senior figures from academia and policy institutions, leaders from consumer advocacy organisations, and experienced Trading Standards professionals.

These Vice Presidents act as senior ambassadors for CTSI. Through their experience in government, regulation, consumer policy and enforcement, they help strengthen the Institute’s links with Parliament, public bodies, industry and the wider consumer sector.

Their involvement supports CTSI’s work in promoting high standards of consumer protection, tackling fraud and unfair trading, and improving the regulatory environment for both businesses and consumers. By bringing together expertise from across politics, academia and frontline enforcement, the Vice Presidents help ensure the Institute remains closely connected to the issues affecting consumers, businesses and regulators across the United Kingdom.

Lord (Jamie) Lindsay has served as President of CTSI since 2021, following many years as a Vice President of the Institute. He currently serves as Chairman of UKAS, the United Kingdom’s National Accreditation Body, and has held a number of senior roles across the private and voluntary sectors. These include serving as President of several organisations, including the National Trust for Scotland.

Lord Lindsay entered the House of Lords in 1989 and served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland in the government of John Major.

Lord Richard Best is a crossbench peer and recognised housing sector leader. Created a life peer in 2001, he has extensive experience as former Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Lord Best has successfully piloted five Private Members Bills through the House of Lords, including the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. He chairs the APPGon Housing and Care for Older People and is a Fellow of the RIBA, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and Fellow of the Academy of Urbanism.

His work focuses on housing policy, welfare reform, and social mobility.

Baroness Christine Crawley is a Labour Party life peer, created in 1998. A former Member of the European Parliament for Birmingham East, she served as Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality from 1989. Between 2002 and 2008, she served as a Party Whip in the House of Lords. Baroness Crawley was Chair of the Women's National Commission between 1999 and 2001 and has championed maternity leave rights and women's equality throughout her career.

She holds an Honorary Doctorate of Health from Plymouth University.

Baroness Margaret Eaton DBE DL is a Conservative Party life peer. A long-serving Bradford Metropolitan Borough Council member since 1986, she served as Council Leader from 2000 to 2006 and was Chairman of the Local Government Association from 2008 to 2011. As Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire since 2008, Baroness Eaton has extensive experience in local government leadership and regional development.

She is Chairman and Trustee of Near Neighbours, a national registered charity.

Carolyn Harris is the Labour MP for Neath and Swansea East (previously Swansea East since 2015) and Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour since 2018. Born and raised in Swansea, she holds a degree in Social Policy from Swansea University. Harris has served in several shadow ministerial roles including Shadow Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability and was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Labour Leader Keir Starmer from 2020 to 2021.

She has led successful campaigns including lowering stakes on fixed-odd betting terminals and establishing free children's funerals, and is a non-executive director of the Centre for Social Justice.

Baroness Joan Seccombe DBE is a Conservative Party life peer,…