From Stage to State: Former Clean Bandit Star Becomes Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Top Economic Adviser

In a move that has raised eyebrows across Whitehall, newly installed Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Neil Amin-Smith, the 36-year-old former violinist of Grammy-winning pop group Clean Bandit, as his top economic adviser in No. 10.

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The appointment, reported on 31 July 2026, comes just days after Burnham took office on 20 July, succeeding Keir Starmer. It forms part of a sweeping reshuffle in which Burnham removed several senior figures, including former Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Amin-Smith, previously one of Reeves’ closest aides, has now shifted to a senior role advising the Prime Minister directly on economic policy.

Amin-Smith’s path to Downing Street is anything but conventional. Born Milan Neil Amin-Smith on 1 November 1989 and raised in North London, he studied history at the University of Cambridge before completing an MPhil in economics in 2013. While still a student he co-founded Clean Bandit in 2008 with Grace Chatto and brothers Jack and Luke Patterson. The electronic-classical group scored major hits including “Rather Be” (which topped the UK charts for four weeks and sold more than 1.1 million copies), “Rockabye” and “Symphony,” collaborating with artists such as Jess Glynne, Zara Larsson and Demi Lovato. The band collected a Grammy and built a global following before Amin-Smith left in 2016.

At the time he turned down offers from the Foreign Office and MI6, later telling the Daily Telegraph: “Both very tempting, but no real regrets.” After quitting music he joined the Institute for Fiscal Studies as a research economist. In 2019 he moved to HM Treasury as a senior policy adviser. By 2022 he had become a key political adviser to Rachel Reeves on City of London policy and later served on her economic advisory council after Labour’s 2024 election victory, working on initiatives such as the national wealth fund and pensions reform.

Colleagues have long noted that Amin-Smith’s background sets him apart. A Treasury official once described him to Politico as “unusually gorgeous, and quite stylish… a bit of a popstar, but he doesn’t rub it in your face. It’s a kind of quiet, confident coolness.” In 2025 he topped the Evening Standard’s list of London’s 100 sexiest people. He is openly gay and was previously in a relationship with Years & Years singer Olly Alexander around a decade ago.

Burnham’s decision to elevate the former musician reflects the new Prime Minister’s stated ambition to deliver “the biggest change to British politics in 40 years,” with a focus on cost-of-living relief, ending rough sleeping and reindustrialising the economy. Amin-Smith’s combination of rigorous economic training and unconventional profile appears to fit the bill for a government keen to signal fresh thinking.

Whether the appointment will deliver substantive policy influence or remain a talking point for its novelty remains to be seen. What is clear is that the man who once played violin on Glastonbury stages is now walking the corridors of power at the highest level of British government.