Child poverty and community wealth building in Preston
Since working with CLES to adopt community wealth building in 2013, Preston’s approach has become internationally recognised and has helped…
Tom is deputy chief executive at CLES, providing strategic leadership for the organisation. He plays a central role in shaping CLES’s direction, research and policy development, external partnerships and influence, and in applying community wealth building approaches to major economic reconstruction and health equity challenges.
Tom has worked extensively across local government, academia, the NHS, and the voluntary and community sector. His career has focussed on the intersection of economic development and public health, leading work that addresses poverty, strengthens social inclusion and improves population health and wellbeing.
Drawing on political theory, political economy and implementation research, Tom’s work explores how economic systems shape health outcomes, and how local industrial and economic strategies can be redesigned to create fairer, healthier places. He regularly works with senior leaders across government, public services and civil society to embed these approaches in policy and practice.
Tom is a regular contributor to The Guardian, New Statesman, Municipal Journal and Local Government Chronicle, writing on economic justice, health inequalities and the everyday economy.
He has a PhD in political theory.
