of our party, councils and our parliament. Divorce won’t work for Labour and the unions – a modern partnership can Unions will be an important part of Labour’s renewal and return to government, but there are steps that need to be taken now to make better partnership possible. First, both sides need to recognise the …

I am committed to tackling inequalities and promoting ‘good’ economic growth – growth that supports wider social and environmental objectives. That means having a fairer and more equal UK economy, one that gives everyone the opportunity to access education, employment and essential services. Newcastle, nearly 300 miles north of London, is often seen as peripheral …

It is now 12 years since the fighting in Kosovo stopped. It started briefly again this week as Serbs killed a Kosovo police officer in a dispute over illegal Serb imports into the country. Now US and French soldiers have turned up to turn off the Serb aggression. Serbs are tough when it comes to …

Progress deputy director Richard Angell addressed the International Union of Socialist Youth in Austria yesterday on the legacy of New Labour and next steps for social democracy in an era of no money, and Ed Miliband and Liam Byrne’s work on the ‘new centre ground’. New Labour as a political project was born out of …

From changing the culture of the financial sector to supporting the Arab Spring and watching out for Tory EU-turns, Labour in the European parliament has had a busy year. Its recess time for Westminster and the European parliament. We’ll be back to Brussels in August. Looking back to January, here’s a review of the things …

When I launched the new website ProgLoc (Progressive Localism) – the online forum for the left in local government just after the local elections in May – I had hoped that the site would be the flag-bearer for a wave of Labour town hall victories around the country. As it was, success was more solid …

Britain faces a huge economic challenge to be competitive and pay our way in the world,; and to build an economy which delivers fairly for the squeezed middle. Both depend on the successful spread of the ‘good company’ – profitable businesses and corporations which add value both to the economy and to society by being …

One form of unintended consequences is: ‘A perverse effect contrary to what was originally intended’ and this is precisely the issue Labour will face when back in government. Labour introduced academies in order to bring much needed funding into our crumbling state schools – and look at the buildings our children learn in now. Labour …

Nothing best demonstrates the failure of George Osborne’s economic medicine for the UK than the fact that this morning’s data on the UK economy showing 0.2 per cent growth was the best he could have hoped for. Since many economists feared statistics showing negative growth of-0.1 per cent or -0.2 per cent the chancellor will …

On the island of Utoeya, the Arbeidernes Ungdomsfylking (AUF), or youth league of the Norwegian Labour Party, held its annual summer camp. For decades, young minds have gathered to share intellectual dialogue and camaraderie, learning how they might better themselves and our planet. Amongst the alumni of the AUF camp are the Norweigan prime minister …