Progress | News and debate from the progressive community

David Miliband's speech to Demos is a building block in the left's renovation of itself and its ideals

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:57:00 GMT

Adam Harrison

David Miliband's speech today to Demos came hot on the heels of two events that have provoked the British left into examining itself anew this past week, and it answers some of these questions. First, last Friday's progressive governance conference in London, bringing together European centre-left leaders, was marked by a constant refrain: ‘We should have the winning argument because the right want to trust to markets, yet markets have caused this mess. We believe in government, in regulation. So why are the right doing better than us in the downturn?' Why can't we pin down our own narrative? read>

Powerful people: why progressive ends need progressive means

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:54:00 GMT

David Miliband, foreign secretary

The Prime Minister asked on Saturday that voters take a second look at Labour. He set out serious plans for the pursuit of noble causes based on clear values. This speech is about those values, and how a re-elected Labour government would make them real. read>

Ends before means

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Alastair Dick and Geoffrey Filkin, Public Services Trust

At the next general election, much of the battle will focus on spending - who will cut what and how? But this misses a critical issue. It is the outcomes of public action that matter. Levels of expenditure only matter if converted into outcomes that the public value. This relationship of inputs to outcomes matters critically because, despite unprecedented increases in public expenditure, the public are not convinced that increases in inputs have delivered sufficient benefits. read>

Send your manifesto ideas to Ed Miliband

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:15:00 GMT

Ed Miliband, Labour party general election manifesto coordinator

Last month I took part in Progress's manifesto conference. It was a fantastic day, superbly organised and it was great to talk and debate ideas with Progress members. Six suggestions were picked out and I'll be responding to them in due course.

Yesterday I emailed party members asking them to have their say on our manifesto. I also announced through Twitter that I wanted people's ideas in response to a different theme each week. The reaction so far has been brilliant and I genuinely appreciate people taking part. read>

Building power, deepening democracy

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:15:00 GMT

George Gabriel, POWER2010

It was written some weeks ago on LabourList that if the "constitutional reform bill" is to be a "democratic renewal bill" its process must come to reflect its ends. Democratic renewal cannot be achieved behind closed doors, power cannot be given, and to bring people back into politics politics must be prepared to have its agenda set by the people. read>

Ed Balls must explain faith school opt-out

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:25:00 GMT

Andrew Copson, British Humanist Association

In his article Ed Balls says that the bill ‘makes clear that all schools must teach PSHE and do so following [these] three key principles'. It is bizarre, therefore, that he has tabled an amendment to his own bill which would disapply all of these principles. read>

Compulsory PSHE in schools is a huge step forward for progressive education

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:22:00 GMT

Ed Balls, secretary of state for children, schools and families

Look out for how MPs of different political colours vote in parliament tomorrow. That's when we'll be debating the next steps in Labour's transformation of our education system in the children, schools and families bill.

Largely opposed by the Conservatives, our bill sets out progressive and radical reforms which are only possible because of the revolution that's taken place in our schools over the last 12 years. read>

What the nuts and bolts of a fairer future actually look like

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:19:00 GMT

Liz Kendall

Political pundits had a field day when Labour announced its election campaign slogan, ‘A future fair for all', this weekend. The blogosphere tweeted for several hours with criticisms read>

Greece is no Trojan Horse for the euro

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:31:00 GMT

Petros Fassoulas, European Movement

Back in 1999, as the eurozone was coming into existence and Greece's membership was confirmed, some commentators ‘predicted', in Pandora-like tones, that allowing the Greeks in would lead to the demise of the new currency union. Like a Trojan Horse Greece was going to bring the eurozone down from within, the chorus went. The same doomsday scenarios have been repeated recently but the possibility of a Greek tragedy destroying the eurozone is as unlikely now as it was back then. read>

Is the Foreign Office still a great office of state?

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:21:00 GMT

Alex Bigham

Michael Cockerell's documentary series on the great offices of state examined the history of the Foreign Office in its second programme shown last week. In it, the veteran journalist wistfully considered the faded glory of King Charles Street, the failures expressed in the grandeur of rooms like the Locarno suite which celebrate collapsed treaties and concluded it seemed to symbolise more a 'palace of dreams' than a powerhouse of the modern era. read>