Tom Arnold

Tom joined the Heseltine Institute in 2020 after completing his PhD at the Department for Planning and Environmental Management at the University of Manchester. His research focuses on central-local relations and sub-national governance, with a particular focus on the scalar politics of infrastructure planning and development. He has published on regional policy and the ‘levelling up’ agenda and led research projects on topics such as social infrastructure and place-based policy. Alongside his research Tom is also the editor of the Heseltine Institute’s policy briefings. Tom was part of the research team in the UK2070 Commission inquiry into regional inequalities and, before entering academia, spent almost a decade in public affairs and policy roles across Northern England.