Press Story

Harry Quilter-Pinner named by trustees as permanent executive director of influential think tank following lengthy recruitment process

Appointment follows six months as interim director, since predecessor was hired by Downing Street

IPPR will play a key role in policymaking at this ‘crucial time’ for democracy, pledges Quilter-Pinner

The UK’s leading progressive policy think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), has appointed Harry Quilter-Pinner as permanent executive director after six months acting in the role.

Trustees of IPPR, an independent research charity, concluded that Quilter-Pinner, an economist listed by The Sunday Times among the key thinkers influencing Labour’s economic policy, was the best candidate for the job, after a competitive recruitment process that attracted many high-level candidates.

He was previously IPPR’s director of policy and politics, heading up the organisation’s policy and influencing work in Westminster, after a period as director of research. He has a research background in public spending and public services, and is a non-executive director at West London NHS Trust. He takes up his new role immediately.

The job became vacant after IPPR’s previous executive director, Carys Roberts, was recruited by the Downing Street Policy Unit in July as special adviser leading on climate, energy and the environment – part of a network of IPPR alumni currently in government or holding other key positions in politics, the media and civil society.

Lord Victor Adebowale, chair of IPPR’s trustees, said:

"I am delighted to announce that Harry Quilter-Pinner has been appointed permanently as IPPR executive director, after a rigorous process in which the board met many excellent candidates for the role. Under his interim leadership since the election, IPPR has achieved extraordinary policy impact, showing why the Financial Times described it as ‘one of the most powerful policy factories in Westminster’.

“Now, supported by IPPR’s talented researchers and communicators, Harry will be able to lead the organisation to the next level. That will mean persuading those in power to adopt and deliver the ambitious policies our country needs.

“This is a crucial moment for politics. Too many feel that our political system no longer works for them. IPPR must be right at the heart of developing the progressive ideas we need for the years ahead.”

Harry Quilter-Pinner, newly appointed executive director, said:

“I am hugely proud and excited to become IPPR’s executive director at this crucial time for progressive politics and the future of liberal democracy. Across the world mainstream politics has struggled to deliver real change for working people. As a result, citizens are turning in growing numbers to populist and authoritarian alternatives.

“We urgently need a new era of progressive ideas capable of meeting the scale of this challenge head on. IPPR has always been the ideas factory behind progressive politics in the UK. In the coming years this role will be more important than ever."

ENDS

Harry Quilter-Pinner is available for interview

CONTACT

David Wastell, Director of News and Communications: 07921 403651 d.wastell@ippr.org

Liam Evans, Senior Digital and Media Officer: 07419 365334 l.evans@ippr.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

Harry Quilter-Pinner joined IPPR as a researcher in 2014 and worked extensively on the organisation’s health policy before becoming associate director for work and the welfare state. He co-founded and headed up IPPR’s flagship Better Health and Care programme and was lead author on the independent cross-party Lord Darzi review, which shaped previous government’s NHS Long-Term Plan. He has also led work on austerity and public spending, and contributed to research on education, welfare and environmental policy. More recently, while director of research and policy, he led IPPR’s work on public service reform.
He has written regularly for the Guardian, Times, Independent, Telegraph, i paper, and New Statesman, and appears frequently on radio and television, including the BBC’s Today programme, Sky News and BBC News.
He was previously director of strategy at SCT, a homelessness and addictions charity, and has worked at Global Counsel, a consultancy firm, and at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). He has a degree in economics from the University of York.
A Financial Times profile of IPPR, written after several of its staff and alumni were appointed to posts within the government, was published on August 21: https://www.ft.com/content/61a2e336-7dc5-405e-96a8-9626140fb803.
IPPR (the Institute for Public Policy Research) is an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society. We are researchers, communicators, and policy experts creating tangible progressive change, and turning bold ideas into common sense realities. Working across the UK, IPPR, IPPR North, and IPPR Scotland are deeply connected to the people of our nations and regions, and the issues our communities face. We have helped shape national conversations and progressive policy change for more than 30 years. From making the early case for the minimum wage and tackling regional inequality, to proposing a windfall tax on energy companies, IPPR’s research and policy work has put forward practical solutions for the crises facing society. www.ippr.org