A former Department for Education adviser and an academy trust founder have been announced as peers in the House of Lords. Downing Street announced yesterday that Tim Leunig, director of economics at Public First and former government adviser and David Ross, founder of the David Ross Education Trust would become peers. Economist Tim Leunig served as a chief analyst and policy advisor to the Department for Education between 2012 and 2018. He also briefly served as senior policy adviser to the Conservative education secretary Gillian Keegan. Leunig has taught at the London School of Economics, University College London and the University of Oxford, also worked for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the Treasury. He is currently chief economist at Nesta, director of economics at Public First, and a senior visiting fellow and the Institute for Government. Leunig is also a trustee of charity Turn2Us and the Education Policy Institute, and was nominated by leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey. ‘Pledge to abolish myself’ Posting on Linkedin, Leunig said: “For the record, I wish our second chamber was elected, and I pledge to vote to abolish myself and my colleagues at all opportunities. Who knows how long my position will last? “In the meantime, however, I will be working closely and faithfully for Ed Davey, my party leader and for Jeremy Purvis, our leader in the House of Lords.” Leunig added that he will consider what the peerage means for his existing roles in research. Ross, who co-founded mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse in 1991, also founded the David Ross Education Trust in 2007. It has 36 primary and secondary schools across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and London. Ross, reportedly worth around £700 million, also chairs the New Schools Network. He was nominated by the leader of the Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch.