Editing David Laws (section)

==Career==
Laws went into [[investment banking]], becoming a Vice President at [[JPMorgan Chase|JP Morgan]] from 1987 to 1992 and then a Managing Director, being the Head of US Dollar and Sterling Treasuries at [[Barclays de Zoete Wedd]].

He left in 1994, to take up the role of economic adviser to the Liberal Democrats, on a salary of £15,000 ({{Inflation|GBP|15000|1994|r=-2|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/178048/David-Laws-Rise-and-fall-of-self-made-man/|title=DAVID LAWS: RISE AND FALL OF SELF-MADE MAN|work=Daily Express |date=30 May 2010 |access-date=1 June 2010}}</ref> He unsuccessfully contested [[Folkestone and Hythe (UK Parliament constituency)|Folkestone and Hythe]] in 1997 against [[Home Secretary]] [[Michael Howard]] ([[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]). From 1997 to 1999 he was the Liberal Democrats' Director of Policy and Research.

Following the [[1999 Scottish Parliament election]], Laws played a leading advisory role in the negotiation of the [[Government of the 1st Scottish Parliament|Scottish Parliament coalition]] agreement with Labour, being the party's Policy Director.<ref>Mark Pack, [http://www.markpack.org.uk/hung-parliaments/ A Delicate Balance: the history of Liberals and hung Parliaments], Markpack.org.uk, 30 September 2009</ref>