Fast forward

We face a choice about the direction of public service reform

Philip Collins
Progress magazine
27 November 2007

Progress

14 November 2007 18:00 to 19:30

With Rt Hon James Purnell MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; Jane Ashworth, Chief Executive, Street Games; Nic Coward, Chief Executive, British Horseracing; Simon Morgan, Head of Community, Premier League; and Barry Gardiner MP (chair).

Kindly supported by CareersInRacing.com.

Venue ***CHANGED TO COMMITTEE ROOM 16, HOUSE OF COMMONS***

Contact: Mark Harrison
Tel: 0203 008 8180
e-mail: mark@progressives.org.uk

Thanks very much for asking me to speak today. I often wonder what people think I'm going to say when they invite me to things like this, but in my experience, you invite a drummer to a party when you want someone to throw the TV out of the window.

So...

The title of the session is “can we make the Labour Party relevant again”. Well I think it's part of a much wider problem. People don't think political parties are relevant because they don't think politics in general is relevant. Politics got stuck somewhere around 1850, while the country has moved on.

The lunchtime debate at Progress Annual Conference on Saturday, November 3 will be entitled 'Should business promote social justice?'

Yesterday, Stephen Alambritis of the Federation of Small Businesses gave his take on the question on the Progress site. Today, you can read another of the speakers, Polly Toynbee, responds to the question.

You can these and many other great speakers at Progress conference on November 3. Click here for the full line-up and to book online.

PROGRESS ANNUAL CONFERENCE - 'Countdown to the general election: how can Labour win?'

Saturday 3 November 2007

The East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf

The Labour government `contributed almost nothing new or imaginative to the pool of ideas with which men seek to illuminate human nature and its environment.' Have a guess which Labour government this refers to?

To find out click here.

What's the highlight? Is it the introduction of the minimum wage? The ban on fox-hunting? The repeal of section 28? Devolution for Scotland and Wales? Peace in Northern Ireland?

Progress have invited several MPs and Progress supporters to list their favourites - what are yours?

I don't often read Progress but every now and again they have a really interesting interview.  Jennifer Gerber and Mark Day's interview of Jon Cruddas is one of them. In it Cruddas calls for:

1. A systematic overhaul of the party
   
2. More effort in identifying and addressing issues over for the next ten years not the last  
   
3. Replacing the unelected party chair position with the elected Deputy Leader's post
   
4. Recognition of the integrity of people working at Number 10
   
5. Tackling insecurities and the rise of the BNP
   
6. Re-building a deep and wide coalition that goes beyond key marginal seats
   
7. Brown to outline what he would do as leader

The article is available from here and copied below.

http://www.progressives.org.uk/Magazine/article.asp?a=1686

2007 will see a new Labour prime minister entering Number 10. What policies or initiatives would you like to see them introducing in their first 100 days in office? Have your say on our new interactive website: http://www.progressonline.org.uk/100/

Progress has today launched its new website.