Gay Grammy winner with famous ex is Andy Burnham’s economic adviser
Neil Amin-Smith moved from music to politics (Getty Images)
Reality stars have turned to politics. Actors have turned to politics. And, as it turns out, pop stars have turned to politics, too.
We’re talking about Neil Amin-Smith, whose name you may not recognise instantly, but you’ll probably know his music. He was a member of pop group Clean Bandit from 2008 until 2016 as violinist and on the keyboard, during which the band won a Grammy for “Rather Be”, featuring Jess Glynne, and also hit the No1 spot in the UK charts.
If you don’t know him for his music, then you may recognise him as one half of a queer pop power couple. He dated Olly Alexander of Years and Years and It’s A Sin stardom for around a year, before they split in 2015.
Amin-Smith left Clean Bandit in 2016, with his final outing with the group being “Tears”, though he returned briefly in April 2025 for the song “Tell Me Where U Go”.
Since then, he’s been working in economics, having joined the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) before leaving there in 2019 to become a senior policy advisor at HM Treasury.
Once there, he was an adviser to then-Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in 2022. Following Labour’s win in the 2024 general election, he became senior Special Advisor to Reeves, who became Chancellor of the Exchequer. The former pop star became a member of her Economic Advisory Council, in charge of policy which dealt with the City of London.
According to Daily Mail, Amin-Smith has now been appointed as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham‘s economic adviser.
“He’s unusually gorgeous”
In 2024, one anonymous Treasury official told Politico: “He’s unusually gorgeous, and quite stylish.”
Meanwhile, a former Labour official said: “He’s a very, very handsome man. He’s a bit of a popstar, but he doesn’t rub it in your face. It’s a kind of quiet, confident coolness.”
In fact, Amin-Smith has the history to back up his move into politics.
He attended the private Westminster School (with eventual Clean Bandit member Grace Chatto) and later went to Cambridge University, studying at Jesus College. He graduated with a BA in History, before achieving an MPhil in Economics in 2013.
It seems he was very in demand at that time too, having turned down offers of jobs at the Foreign Office and MI6. Instead, he chose to pursue music with Clean Bandit, which also included Jack Patterson (Chatto’s then boyfriend), Love Ssega, and Patterson’s brother Luke.
Amin-Smith said in 2015 that the offers had been “very tempting”, but he had “no real regrets”. He added to the Daily Telegraph: “I don’t think I would have wanted to be working in the national interest as such.”
It appears he since had a change of heart.
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