The red-red coalition in Berlin is well and truly vorbei. While the SPD still returned the strongest percentage of the vote – albeit slightly reduced – the left party die Linke had a disappointing result, meaning that they are no longer viable coalition partners in the local government. The CDU – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party …

Perhaps the flightless African bird does not deserve the reputation it has acquired but in terms of symbolism at least the British government’s reaction to the eurozone crisis resembles a lot the ostrich’s alleged tendency to bury its head in the ground when confronted with danger. There is no other way one can describe how …

When ordinary young people in this country are being targeted by government cuts in such an unfair way and facing radical and unnecessary changes to their education, they need a strong voice. Unfortunately in Michael Gove they haven’t got one. However, in Andy Burnham they do have. Whenever I hear Andy Burnham speak, he never …

The open services white paper, launched by David Cameron, promises ‘more freedom, more choice and more local control’. At its heart is the notion that the state, with its ‘one size fits all’ concept of service delivery has failed. The government wants more social enterprise and private sector providers to stimulate innovation and find new …

A new book by Tory MPs elected last year exposes a yearning for a more authentically Conservative agenda It must be hard for new Conservative MPs. After years of loyalty to David Cameron, even with the strong tailwinds of 2010 he could not secure their birthright: victory at a general election. As these new-intake MPs …

I am a confirmed believer in local government. Taking decisions as close as possible to the people involved makes good sense and we are in my view an overly centralised country. But I can’t get enthusiastic about the current anaemic form of local government that we have. I say that having served as a councillor …

This year’s speech was a big moment for Ed Miliband. A defining moment. His first real chance to tell the party and the country who he is and what he stands for. It would have been easier to play it safe. He could have erred on the side of caution. But he chose not to. …

The debate about how Labour should select candidates to fight elections has been raging for years and it’s not new to hear conference delegates bemoaning selection procedures as anarchic, cumbersome, or biased. But since Progress and others began making the case for reform to the way we select our candidates there have been some real …

With the media focus on undergraduate fees we are in danger of forgetting the four in 10 students who study part time, making yesterday’sProgress-Open University fringe – Open to all: is part time learning the best way to deliver Labour’s ambition to widen participation? - chaired by Ann Mroz a timely and important discussion. From the structural …