[6] Godson is the younger of the two sons of Joseph ("Joe") Godson (1913–1986), a Polish-born Jewish-American diplomat who gained a law degree at New York University in 1940, and had been a Marxist in his early years later joining the Lovestoneites (adherents of Jay Lovestone[7]) "that brave group of Americans who continued to search for a workable, democratic form of Marxism until the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 made them dissolve their organization in despair".

Joe was also a friend of the prominent Labour Party and trade union figures Harold Wilson, George Brown, Arthur Deakin and Frank Chapple.

Dean's elder half-brother is Roy Godson[13] (born 1942), professor emeritus at Georgetown University and a specialist in international politics and national security, who married Christine Watson,[citation needed] daughter of Sam Watson, General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (Durham Area) in 1947 and Chairman of the Labour Party in 1949–50, the principal union ally of Hugh Gaitskell, Joe Godson's close friend.

In his political career, Godson stood as candidate in Great Grimsby in the 1997 general election and served as first Deputy Chairman of Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Association from 1995–98.

The study, which featured contributions from Colin Cramphorn, Simon Jenkins, Andrew Gilligan and many others, was the first major critique of Ken Livingstone's policy of scrapping the Routemaster bus.

This included, in 2009, "Choosing Our Friends Wisely: Criteria for Engagement with Muslim Groups"[29] by the ex Hizb ut-Tahrir radical Shiraz Maher and Dr Martyn Frampton of Peterhouse, Cambridge.

Subsequently, the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, following a clarification but no apology from Policy Exchange, withdrew its threatened legal complaint.

Godson's work on combating extremism was praised in a speech in 2014 by the then UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, calling it “incredibly important” and stating it "has had a huge influence".

[35] In April 2017, Godson published a lengthy article on the ConservativeHome website, setting out Policy Exchange's call for evidence on the contingency plans needed in the event that the UK is unable to secure a deal with the EU when it leaves the bloc.

The softly-spoken Godson is often thought of as an ideological right winger, yet his pragmatism has enabled Policy Exchange to reach new heights of influence, with dozens of its alumni now sitting on the Conservative benches in Parliament.