Following Ed Davey's speech at the Liberal Democrats' conference, IPPR welcomed key Liberal Democrat policy announcements on health and social care.
Harry Quilter-Pinner IPPR's director of research and engagement, welcomed the party's commitment to free personal care, saying:
"Social care has been neglected for too long. It is vitally important to helping people live long, flourishing lives; to free up families to stay in work; and to reduce pressure on the NHS. We welcome the Liberal Democrats' commitment to free personal care - which makes them the major UK party with the most ambitious social care policy. We encourage the Conservatives and the Labour Party to match it."
Chris Thomas, who heads IPPR's cross-party Commission on Health and Prosperity, endorsed the focus on how health relates to the UK economy, saying:
"The Liberal Democrats have genuinely understood the fundamental relationship between health and prosperity. They're right: with record numbers out of work we need investment and reform in our NHS, a plan to fix social care and a cross-government mission for public health with the ambition of making the UK one of the healthiest countries in the world. This should put prevention of avoidable ill health at the core of all government policy.”
Harry Quilter-Pinner and Chris Thomas are available for interview
NOTES TO EDITORS
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IPPR's Commission on Health and Prosperity is a landmark initiative, exploring the case that a fairer country is a healthier country, and that a healthier country is a more prosperous country.
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IPPR is the UK's pre-eminent progressive think tank. With more than 40 staff in offices in London, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh, IPPR is Britain's only national think tank with a truly national presence. www.ippr.org