[2] Lady Lea entered HM Civil Service, before being recruited by the Institute of Directors, a private-sector employer lobbyist, as well as working for policy research bodies and the media.

In 1988, she joined Mitsubishi Bank in the City rising to Chief Economist and became a regular television and radio commentator on economic matters.

She was UK Economist at Lehman Brothers for one year until 1994, before her appointment as ITN's Economics Editor, and subsequently Head of the Policy Unit at the Institute of Directors, a post she held from 1995 to 2003.

Lea was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours List for "services to the financial and economic sectors".

[24] Lea argues against the ability of individual nation states doing much (other than contributing to inflationary tendencies) to combat climate change without concerted global efforts.