Chris Thomas

Head of the Commission on Health and Prosperity

Chris was a principal research fellow in the work and welfare state team, and headed IPPR's flagship Commission on Health and Prosperity.

Chris is interested in progressive solutions to the challenges faced by our health and care system. He regularly comments on health policy in the media, and has by-lines in The Independent, Health Service Journal, the Times and Tribune, amongst others - his articles can be found here. He has also appeared on range of broadcast, including primetime shows on the BBC, Times TV, LBC and TalkRadio. Chris was also an editor of IPPR's journal of politics and ideas: Progressive Review.

Prior to joining IPPR, Chris led Macmillan Cancer Support's inequality policy team, and prevention research at Cancer Research UK. He has a Masters in International Policy from UCL. Chris writes widely on public health and its interaction with the economy. He is author of the Five Health Frontiers (Pluto Press, 2021), has advised and written for the World Economic Forum, and has published in a range of peer reviewed journals.

He has expertise in:

  • healthcare funding, workforce and reform
  • health inequality and public health
  • the impact of Covid-19
  • the interaction of health and economy.

More from this author:

  1. Our greatest asset: The final report of the IPPR Commission on Health and Prosperity

    The nation’s health challenges have reached historic proportions, and change is needed.
  2. A man works from home on a standup desk whilst walking on a treadmill

    Healthy industry, prosperous economy

    If we want both health and prosperity, then public health and economic strategy need to work in lockstep – but this is not the case today.
  3. A person stands on a weighing scale, overlooked by a doctor holding a tablet computer

    Scale of the challenge: Obesity and the labour market

    Obesity has a well-known and profound impact on people’s health. Yet, less research has looked at the impact of obesity on prosperity.