Labour does not really care about the plight of the middle class In early 1996 I tried to become Labour’s parliamentary candidate for north Dorset. I was unsuccessful and I have never tried for a seat since; I have absolutely no intention of standing for one again. However, I do remember my speech at the …

A midterm review suggests the government is doing its best to lose the next election, but is Labour doing enough to win it? On 6 May 2010 the people of the United Kingdom went to the polls. 10.7 million people voted Conservative, 8.7 million voted Labour and 6.8 million voted Liberal Democrat. Crucially, despite their …

Barack Obama has put the plight of the ‘squeezed middle’ at the heart of his re-election campaign, finds Robert Philpot Twenty years ago next month the American right’s lock on the White House – which had seen Republican victories in five of the previous six presidential contests – was finally unpicked. One of the key …

Traditional campaigning techniques have run their course.  We need to try something new, argues Peter Watt As a model, voter identification has served Labour well over the years. At its most basic, we aim to find our supporters, and theirs. We can then target resources at those voters who we would like to be ours. …

The reaction to recent attacks on Progress shows Labour has no desire to return to the 1980s You cannot help but to have noticed the recent row over the motion at GMB conference seeking to isolate and expunge Progress. First, the National Executive Committee went into an emergency session lasting three days. Split between left and …

Similarities with the 1970s abound. Labour must respond with boldness and radicalism Approaching the halfway point of the government, a significant political shift is taking place in Labour’s direction. Partly this is midterm coalition blues. But something more fundamental is happening. The Tories promised their economic plan would deliver growth and jobs. Two years on …

The local elections showed voters tiring of party politics but not personalities There were two big winners on 3 May. Not Ed Miliband and Boris Johnson but ‘disenchantment with party politics’ and ‘politics with a personality’. The results were clearly great for Labour, far surpassing expectations. There is no doubt that it is now conceivable …

The president’s first term has been better than critics from right and left claim Back in the November edition of Progress magazine I argued that the likely outcome of the 2012 election was an Obama victory as long as unemployment was heading in the right direction. That looks even more likely today as the music …

Labour should remember who public services are for and champion their cause Labour folk are an understanding lot. Imagine, for instance, if I told a meeting of fellow party members a dark secret about myself. Let’s say that I admitted that I had robbed a post office but had since served my time. No doubt …

Regaining credibility on the economy is key, but just as crucial is how we reform public services It was a piece of choreography almost worthy of Peter Mandelson, lifted straight from the New Labour playbook circa 1994. The attempt by Ed Miliband and Ed Balls last month to inject a welcome dose of reality into …