This weekend the Fabian Society will relocate from its home of over eighty years to new premises. From Monday 17th June 2013 our new mailing address will be: Fabian Society, 61 Petty France, London, SW1H 9EU Please note: during the relocation there may be problems reaching us via telephone or email. If you can’t contact…
Politics can be overflowing with gurus at times. And it’s sometimes hard to tell who might be a flash in the pan rather than the next Beatrice Webb. So it’s worth reflecting on those who have genuinely changed the political landscape, both its narrative and the practical politics that flows from the story they are…
Ed Miliband may have just pulled off the most unexpected trick of all: delivering a populist Labour stance on welfare. New research by the Fabian Society and the charity Crisis published today showed that there is overwhelming public support for a programme to tackle the root causes of housing benefit spending. Not only is this…
David Cameron came to power promising to protect the NHS and also badged his coalition as ‘the greenest government ever’. Both promises have, to a large extent, become a source of ridicule for the coalition. But on both the NHS and on the environment, targets are currently a source of real concern for the prime…
Introduction This short paper, based on data, examines how the marginal constituencies which will decide the next General Election voted in the 2013 local elections. The 2013 elections took place for the most part in the least Labour-inclined parts of England. They were disproportionately southern and rural, and as well as being areas of traditional…
They say that when you know you’re going to die, you don’t remember the deadlines or the car you had, you don’t wish you’d worked harder or saved more or eaten more fibre – you remember the kisses, the long sprawling days in the park with your friends, the people you loved and who loved…
The successes of Nigel Farage and UKIP in the recent local elections have already provoked much analysis. In particular, the three main parties are now engaging in an intensive period of soul searching as they think hard about how best to counter the numbers of voters opting for the anti-establishment, anti-EU party. A central component…
Ed Miliband’s response to David Cameron’s pledge to hold an ‘in-out’ referendum after the next election has been criticised by some on the left for its perceived lack of clarity. What is crystal clear is that, should a referendum be held post-2015, the Labour party would campaign wholeheartedly for Britain to retain its EU membership….
I recently had a discussion with a group of politics students about proportional representation and whether it could be one obvious way to restore political engagement and political trust. When one student pointed out that the 1950s saw way higher turnout than we have today, I noted, in response, that there were really only two…
For the past four years the Fabian Society has held a conference on the subject of the European Union. Subjects like climate change, social policy and Britain’s place in Europe have usually dominated the discussion but, with Fabian members being overwhelmingly pro-European, debate has always been consensual and, dare I say it, maybe a little…
Despite the title of this particular conference, I don’t actually believe that Britain’s continued membership of the EU is just a Right/Left issue. For me it’s also a Right/Wrong issue. I say this because I believe that those opposed to our membership of the EU are not just on the wrong side of the political…
Labour’s economic challenge can be viewed in two ways. In the short term restoring the credibility swept away between 2008 and 2010 is an urgent priority. But in the long term the task for Labour is to lay the foundations of a political economy which offers an alternative to the model of capitalism predominant over…
Many on the left would say that the greatest threat facing Britain’s welfare state is the present government’s reckless upheavals and swingeing spending cuts. Not Patrick Diamond and Guy Lodge, the authors of Policy Network’s new report European welfare states after the crisis. They argue that inertia not radicalism is the problem: ‘the biggest threat to…
50 years ago Harold Wilson became the leader of the Labour party. He went on to lead Labour to a narrow victory in 1964, a landslide in 1966 and two further wins in the 70s – unequalled four victories. A much underestimated politician he cunningly combined a message to the traditional families of Britain (with…
Everyone knows that we are not building enough homes. This is not just bad for all those people in need of a home, but it is equally bad for the economy. Homebuilding is a significant contributor to employment and growth, and as most of the materials that go into a new home are sourced within…
RT @sophie_kside: Looking forward to joining @youngfabians in Portcullis House later to discuss solutions to the #CareCrisis RT @steve_race: Thanks to @denmarkinuk and Ambassador Steffenson for hosting the @youngfabians reception with @DMiliband last night - a fantastic event.
RT @v_butler: Great @youngfabians policy commission event on the UK's care crisis tonight https://t.co/dmS4S6fiha @FelicitySlater RT @jhallwood: Should the UK intervene in Syria? If so directly or indirectly? Maybe not at all? Answer @youngfabians poll here: http://t.co/sHe6bWkuDJ RT @tessreidy: @DMiliband great speech last night, good to meet you again @youngfabians @denmarkinuk RT @FelicitySlater: Tonight, @PatrickDiamond1 joins @youngfabians for 'care crisis' policy discussion. Come along! https://t.co/ckPui6jRtH