Barry Sheerman was the Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Huddersfield. Barry co-funded Policy Connect, alongside his Conservative parliamentary colleague John Butcher, in 1995. 

Formerly Chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 and the Education and Skills Committee from 2001-2007, he was a co-chair or member of several of the groups within the Policy Connect network, including the APSRG, APMG, APGSCE, and Skills Commission, until his retirement from Parliament at the general election in 2024.

An energetic social and political entrepreneur having initiated over 30 different social enterprises over the past 4 decades, including the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Transport Safety, Urban Mines (an environmental charity), The John Clare Trust and The Dominic Rogers Trust, all of which he helped to establish.

Barry served as the chair of Policy Connect's board of directors until the end of June 2025 when he became the organisation's honorary president in recognition of his founding vision, cross-party leadership, and decades-long commitment to advancing evidence-based public policy.