Ed Miliband is wrong: it’s time for a referendum on Europe. While we’re at it, I’ve never been consulted about the abandonment of the gold standard, so let’s throw that one in there, too. Ed Balls is a controversial figure: let’s have a referendum on whether or he should be chancellor of the exchequer. In …

What we can learn from the era of the ‘Geddes Axe’ At the 1922 general election the Labour party more than doubled its representation, rising from 57 to 142 seats. This election was fought soon after the ‘Geddes Axe’ was wielded, which slashed public expenditure in an effort to restore the pre-first world war parity …

Given the recent controversy over the European selections, it was not surprising that this session of the Progress conference led to a stimulating discussion. An eclectic panel of Michael Meacher MP, Oona King, Kirsty McNeill, Steve Hart and Sadie Smith started the debate. Michael Meacher said that, while Tory MPs are representative of their core …

I was spurred to action when a licensing application was submitted in my ward for what would be the 25th betting shop in Manchester city centre. No longer are betting shops a place to go to put a flutter on the horses or the football. The primary use of these betting shops has fast become …

The Progress business breakout session, entitled Osborne’s Not Working: How do we get Britain back to work?, was an example of real progress and commitment that Labour has to becoming the natural party of business. Chaired by Seema Malhotra, the chair of the Labour backbench committee on business, and a panel featuring our shadow business …

The dividing lines the Tories are drawing are false but powerful Those glued to BBC Parliament over the Easter bank holiday watched the 1983 election played out in real time. The longest suicide note in history. Arthur Scargill and the Militants. Hapless media performances. Labour politicians blaming the Social Democratic party, the media and, by …

In a major new publication, Peter Kellner assesses Labour’s prospects of winning an outright majority in 2015. With two years to go until the general election, he argues Labour must defy history, overcome some awkward numbers, and overcome persistent weaknesses in the reputation of the party. And he outlines new polling for Progress about Labour’s …

Ed Miliband has accomplished much over the past two years. The battle to win a majority in 2015 will open a new phase in his leadership, writes Steve Van Riel For the last two years, wherever Ed Miliband has chosen to focus his political energy he has had a great deal of success. Nick Clegg’s …

Shadow home affairs minister Gloria de Piero kicked off the Progress annual conference breakout debate, Doorstep challenge: Can we win on crime and immigration?, focusing on antisocial behaviour. She said that the government was turning the clock back. In the most recent crime survey for England and Wales, eight out of 10 respondents thought levels …

This week I began Business of the House Questions by raising equal marriage, which will be debated in the Commons on Monday and Tuesday.  This debate and the subsequent passage of the third reading will ensure that the historic progress on LGBT equality accomplished by the previous government is consolidated. I continued by raising the …