[9] Stroud received her secondary education at St Catherine's School, Bramley,[12] going on to complete a Bachelor of Arts, studying French, at the University of Birmingham.

[13] From 1989 to 1996 she pioneered a four-stage residential support project in Bedford enabling homeless people to move off the streets and to become contributing members of the community.

[14][failed verification] At the 2010 general election, Stroud stood as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Sutton and Cheam, a marginal seat, but came second to the Liberal Democrat incumbent, Paul Burstow.

[23] In 2003, alongside Iain Duncan Smith, Tim Montgomerie and Mark Florman, Stroud co-founded the Centre for Social Justice,[24][25][9] which argues its 'vision is to for those living in the poorest and most disadvantaged communities across Britain to be given every opportunity to flourish and reach their full potential'.

[27] This came as billions of pounds were stripped from the social security budget, and so she worked to help create and implement the Government's welfare reforms, including the launch of universal credit.

[citation needed] In 2016, the Centre for Social Justice suggested that "life chance risks", including growing up in a single-parent household or by parents mired in debt, should be taken into account when assessing whether families could be classed as living in poverty.

[37] Stroud called on the Government to use this new measure to focus efforts and attention on creating policies and solutions to alleviate poverty levels in the UK.

She will take up this role from the 1st January 2024, and will serve a three-year term as chairman of the commission, which advises the Government on both the living and minimum wage.