Lord Nigel Vinson is a member of the Institute for Prosperity's Advisory Board.

After national service in the Army, Lord Vinson started a small plastics company, later named Plastic Coatings. The company grew to over 1000 employees and he floated it at age 37, giving 10% to the workforce.

He later became Chairman of the Industrial Partnership Society, Vice Chairman of the CBI Smaller Firms Council, and a member of the President’s Committee. He Co-Founded the Centre for Policy Studies for Margret Thatcher, where as Chairman of the Personal Capital Formation committee he promoted the introduction of Personal Pensions and the formation of policy for ISAs.

He was Honorary Director at the Queens Silver Jubilee Appeal, raising the largest amount ever raised for a charity in one campaign. As Chairman of the Rural Development Commission between 1980-1990, he was instrumental in changing planning laws that enable thousands of rural enterprises to grow.

In 1985 he was made a life peer for public service. He was Deputy Chairman of Electra Investment Trust, Director of Barclays Bank and Chairman or Director of numerous city companies. He was also Chairman of the IEA for seven years and is a lifetime honorary member.

He was a member of Lords Economic Policy Committee and Chairman of the Better Off Out group. He believes in personal ownership and giving people a stake in the community. He also thinks that many of the UK’s economic and educational priorities have been wrong and that we have an unbalanced economy that needs rectifying.