Pat McFadden warned his Labour colleges the party must look to the future and not retreat to policies of the past in a speech to the Fabian Society.

In the speech he defiantly defended Labour’s economic policies in government and said Labour must not apologise or allow the coalition government to “trash” their economic record.

"We have to rethink the last 13 years. We achieved a great deal, but it was built on a model of economic and social change that can’t be repeated", he tells the forthcoming Fabian Review.

In a wide-ranging interview, the shadow Communities Secretary gives a frank account of what went wrong in the election campaign and the political challenges now faced by Labour in opposition. 

Wednesday 14th July 2010, 10hr00 to 11hr00

Broadway House, Tothill Street, London SW1H 9NQ

Pat McFadden MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Business) gave a speech to the Fabian Society, chaired by Sunder Katwala (General Secretary, Fabian Society), which outlined challenges to both the Coalition Government and the Labour Party. Read the full speech here

The Fabians invite you to join them at the House of Commons for tea, cakes and speeches by prominent Fabian MPs.

Speakers confirmed for the event are:
Sadiq Khan MP, chair of the Fabian Society
Rachel Reeves MP
David Lammy MP
Karen Buck MP

Guests at the Fabian Society's summer reception on 9th June were treated to a galvanising speech by Lord Kinnock. He said that the future success of the party rested on its ability to deliver care, opportunity, security, justice and liberty. Achieving this would bring the Labour party trust and victory in the next General Election.

To listen to the podcast, click here. To read the speech in full, click here.

The Fabian Society held a fringe event at Compass Conference – titled ‘What Not To Spend: Can Cuts Ever Be Fair?’ – on Saturday 12th June 2010. Polly Toynbee was joined by Christopher Cook of the FT and others to ask whether it is possible to make cuts in Government spending without unfairly penalising those who rely on key public services or welfare provision. Are we really now in an ‘age of austerity’ or can we navigate out of the current financial squeeze at the same time as sustaining government spending?

Tuesday 8th June, 18.30 – 20.00, HOUSE OF COMMONS, London

In the 2010 election the Conservatives won a majority of seats in England, with 39.6% of the English vote compared to 24.2% for the Liberal Democrats and 28.1 % for Labour. And Labour won only 10 of the 212 seats in the south, south-east and south-west outside London. What are the lessons for Labour’s post-election inquest about what needs to change for it to win votes and seats across England in the next election? 

]]> tommyhjnorton@yahoo.co.uk (Tommy) Fri, 28 May 2010 16:40:37 GMT http://www.fabians.org.uk/events/events-news/how-does-labour-speak-to-england-with-john-denham-mp http://www.fabians.org.uk/events/events-news/leaders-hustings-2010 The results from the Fabian exit poll conducted as part of our Labour leadership hustings is now available. The Fabians, in partnership with Progress, Labour List, Left Foot Forward, the Young Fabians and Compass, held a hustings at the Insitute of Education on 14 June.

Wednesday 7th July 2010, 19.00 – 22.00, London

The Fabian Society is delighted to announce its first Summer Gala Dinner where we will be joined by Harriet Harman MP (Leader of the Labour Party) who will keynote the event. Special guests will include Lord Alf Dubs, Tristram Hunt MP, Rachel Reeves MP, John Denham MP, Chuka Umunna MP, and many more to be announced nearer the time.

You can read 'After Defeat' in full here. Read coverage of 'After Defeat' in Monday's Independent here.

As we head into one of the most closely fought elections in recent British history, Gordon Brown, in a new Fabian Ideas pamphlet published this week, outlines the intellectual and philosophical case for progressive politics. 'Why the Right is Wrong' argues we must harness the power that comes from people acting together to create a better and fairer society.

The Prime Minister covers the recent collapse of neo-liberalism, globalism, liberty, equality, the economy, public services and constitutional reform. Fabian members received this pamphlet free. You can read more about Why the Right is Wrong here and download a PDF of the pamphlet here.

What Worked? Labour's track record on social exclusion and the challenges for the next government

David Blunkett and Kate Green

After 13 years of political action on social exclusion - much of it coming right from the top of government - what has actually changed?

'What Worked' is a new Freethinking paper by David Blunkett and Kate Green, which looks at what the Labour Government got right and wrong on social exclusion since 1997, and how campaigners can make this issue a top priority for the next government. Download the report as a PDF

In the new Election 2010 Fabian Review our panel of experts sets progressive tests for the next government. Our cross-party panel - Michael Marmot, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, Jonathon Porritt, Martin Narey, Richard Reeves and Phillip Blond - will help you cut through the election rhetoric. Mary Riddell interviewed Alastair Campbell as he threw himself into the election campaign, we list the Top Ten Terrible Tories and much much more... Fabian members received the Review free. 

Read our expert panel's progressive benchmarks
More about this issue of the Fabian Review

For our take on the twists and turns of the campaign trail, follow www.nextleft.org, the Fabian blog recently tipped by the Observer as one of the top ten must-read political blogs of 2010. And join in the discussion with your views, responses and ideas about issues you'd like to see us blogging about.

Next Left: The First Post-Election Conference,

The Fabians were delighted to host the first big political event after the election, which looked at where Labour and the broader progressive movement go from here. Ed Miliband MP used the event to announce his candidacy for leadership of the Labour Party. You can read the full text of his speech here. To see an excerpt of the speech, courtesy of the BBC, click here. ]]> tommyhjnorton@yahoo.co.uk (Tommy) Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:39:19 GMT http://www.fabians.org.uk/events/events-news/next-left-the-post-election-conference http://www.fabians.org.uk/publications/publications-news/tax-fairness Fabian Research Director Tim Horton and Howard Reed have recently published a paper for Left Foot Forward examining the distributional consequences of the Liberal Democrats' plan to lift the income tax threshold to £10,000. Their analysis showed that the change would benefit higher-income households more than those lower down the income scale, with only £1 billion of the £17 billion cost being spent on taking low earners out of taxation. The change would widen the gap between the bottom and the middle and increase relative poverty.

Hardest to Reach? The politics of multiple needs and exclusions

More than two thirds of people say they are personally concerned with the problems of people with multiple needs and exclusions, according to YouGov polling in a new Fabian Policy Report. The pamphlet, which looks at policies to improve the lives of people who experience a combination of issues including homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill health and who are often serving short-term prison sentences, has contributions from across the political spectrum. Fabian members received this pamphlet free.

Voters at the election faced a stark choice, he said, between a party which viewed the state of the public finances as a challenge and a party which saw it as an opportunity to introduce "slash and burn" policies that would take Britain a generation to recover from.

"I'm an optimist and the party has clearly decided we're up for this fight," says the Environment Secretary Hilary Benn in this Fabian Society podcast.

But it must now be said of Haiti,  the poorest country in the western world, the country that in a short span has suffered three devastating hurricanes and now been shattered by one of the world’s worst earthquakes, that its wounded people need not just charity for a day, or sympathy for a week, but all that compassion can offer.

]]> ed.wallis@fabian-society.org.uk (Ed Wallis) Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:28:25 GMT http://www.fabians.org.uk/publications/publications-news/no-apologies-for-redistribution-says-darling http://www.fabians.org.uk/publications/publications-news/what-the-public-think-about-fairness New Fabian research has found both good and bad news for the left in terms of public attitudes towards fairness and equality. There is strong support for progressive tax and benefits, particularly after the financial crisis. However, most intuitively feel that 'deserved' inequalities are fair and hold starkly negative views of those on low incomes.