Baroness Anne Longfield is a passionate champion for children, and she has spent the last four decades at the forefront of influencing and shaping the national debate and policy agenda to boost the life chances of children, particularly the most vulnerable.
Anne was appointed as a life peer in December 2024 and formally introduced to the House of Lords in February 2025.
In February 2024, Anne founded and became Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives, a dynamic, innovative, independent think tank and delivery unit dedicated exclusively to improving the lives of children, young people, and families in the UK.
Prior to this Anne established and chaired the Commission on Young Lives, an independent commission to develop a new national plan to protect vulnerable teenagers from harm and exploitation, and to support them to succeed. The Commission put forward ambitious and innovative proposals, several of which have been adopted by the Government, including a “Sure Start for Teenagers”, Young Futures.
From March 2015 to February 2021, Anne was Children’s Commissioner for England championing the rights and interests of children and young people by acting as children’s ‘eyes and ears’ in the corridors of power in Whitehall and Westminster. As Children’s Commissioner, she was a prominent and passionate advocate for children during the Covid pandemic.
Anne previously led a national children’s charity delivering a nationwide network of children’s centres, and she also worked on the development of the Sure Start programme in the No 10 Strategy Unit under Prime Minister Tony Blair. She spent many years campaigning for better childcare at a time when many saw these issues as obscure or niche.
Anne regularly authors articles and appears on broadcast media. Her book, “Young Lives, Big Ambitions” was published in April 2024. Anne has received honorary doctorates from Newcastle Upon Tyne and Sheffield Hallam Universities.
