Unfortunately, Professor David Firth has withdrawn as President Elect of the Royal Statistical Society for health reasons.
David was due to start his presidency of the RSS at the start of 2023. He was recommended as a candidate by our President Nominating Committee after suggestions were received by the membership, and officially endorsed by RSS Council in early 2021. Later that year, he was elected unopposed and has been our President Elect until now.
A long-serving member of the RSS, David is Emeritus Professor of Statistics at the University of Warwick and was previously Professor of Social Statistics at Oxford. His research in statistical theory and methods earned him RSS Guy Medals in Bronze and Silver and he is also known for his novel method for exit polling, used on election-night forecasting for the BBC, as well as new methods to create an Index of Multiple Deprivation that is used across the UK. He has served as an editor of JRSS (Series B), and two stints as chair of the RSS Research Section.
RSS Chief Executive, Stian Westlake, said: ‘On behalf of RSS staff and members, I’d like to thank David for all of the work he has done for the RSS over the years. While we are sad to lose the opportunity to work with him as President over the next two years, David is a very valued and prominent RSS member who we hope to continue working with. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.’
Council has now agreed a timetable to re-elect a new President for 2023-2024. If you would like to contribute a suggestion, please visit our dedicated page for details.