Leah Millthorne

Leah is Chief Economist at CLES, leading the organisation’s economic modelling and quantitative research. She shapes CLES’s analytical approach to understanding how local economies function and how progressive interventions create social and economic value. Her work focuses on developing modelling that helps places assess the impact of policy choices — from strengthening employment standards and improving public service outcomes to addressing gender inequality and reforming local care economies.

She has extensive experience working with local authorities, anchor institutions and community partners to interrogate the drivers of local economic inequality and design strategies that support more resilient, inclusive and sustainable economies. Her approach combines applied economic analysis with a commitment to grounding evidence in the lived experience of people and places.

At CLES, Leah has led major programmes of work including analysis of the economic contribution of local public services, the impact of extractive business models in the UK care system, the relationship between good employment and business performance, and the economic cost of gender inequality in local economies. Her expertise spans economic modelling, local economic development, inclusive and circular economies, strategy, action planning, evaluation and economic impact assessment.