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The Progressive Policy Think Tank

Biography

Clare is an Associate Fellow at IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) and is founder and chair of the London Progression Collaboration, an initiative which is breaking down barriers to good quality work for young, disadvantaged and marginalised people across the UK.

Clare is a former Associate Director at IPPR, where she led the organisation’s work on social policy for six years and was also a senior research fellow for energy and climate change. She wrote influential reports on issues including the UK's working poverty crisis, the future of the welfare state, the care system & our ageing population, fixing our skills system and achieving the transition to a low carbon economy. 

In 2018 she secured £1.3m funding to establish a two-year pilot initiative, the London Progression Collaboration (LPC), to enable low paid Londoners to progress into better work, in partnership with the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority (GLA). She appointed the LPC's director and has steered the development of the initiative, which has created over 1000 apprenticeships and has a network of 70 large employer backers. Clare is a former adviser to the Cabinet Office, where she led reforms to increase levels of diversity and inclusion within the senior civil service.  

Clare is a regular presenter for BBC Radio 4’s Analysis series. She has appeared often on national broadcast media, including BBC Newsnight, BBC news, Sky news and BBC Radio 4, and has written for a range of national newspapers and websites. Before joining IPPR, Clare worked for NGOs including Addaction, the national substance misuse agency, the Young Foundation, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and the British Red Cross.

Clare McNeil on BBC Newsnight

On the eve of the Conservative Party leadership election 2019, Clare McNeil speaks to BBC Newsnight about the candidates' fiscal policy.