The constitution, public finances and a new statecraft
How we view the state defines our politics and gives rise to different policy approaches.
Throughout its 129 year history the Fabian Society has been associated with the creation and evolution of the British state: from the birth of social security and modern public services to constitutional reform and our place in Europe. The Next State is a major programme, bringing coherence to the contested territory of left and right thinking on the state. The work reaches across party politics, seeking to inform the thinking of all the main parties as they prepare for the next General Election.
The flagship project of the programme is the Fabian Commission on Future Spending Choices which is due to report in Autumn 2013.
Our recent Next State reports include:
- Next Generation Europe
- Remaking the State: How should Labour govern?
- Beveridge at 70
- Letting Go: How Labour can learn to stop worrying and trust the people?
- No Right Turn: Britain’s enduring support for public services
- For the Public Good: how people want their public services to change
- ‘A New State of Mind’, Fabian Review, Summer 2012
- The Coalition and Universalism: Cuts, targeting and the future of welfare
Five key questions this research programme will answer:
- How are public attitudes to government, public provision and our constitutional settlement changing?
- How should we choose priorities for public spending from 2015 to 2020? And what is the future shape of a strong welfare state that is fiscally sustainable and inter-generationally fair?
- How should the left articulate a new ‘statecraft’ of public services which overcomes the tensions between centralism and localism, and between the public realm, markets and community?
- What is the roadmap and toolkit of the modern state for steering a strong and fair economy and society?
- Can the left define a positive agenda for democratic reform, Britain’s place in Europe and a stronger union of our nations?
If you’d like to know more about our Labour’s Next State programme or are interested in partnering with the Fabian Society, please contact General Secretary Andrew Harrop by emailing him on andrew.harrop@fabian-society.org.uk.
