In the 10 years that I’ve been involved in organising elections for the Labour Party I can count on one hand the number of campaigns where the feeling and data were in perfect harmony. Far too often I’ve felt a canvassing session is going well just to check the data
The Labour election broadcast in election week has a simple message: if you voted for Boris in 2019, it’s safe to come over to Labour. This was supported by the beautifully stage-managed defection of Dr Dan Poulter, a former Conservative health minister, to Labour last weekend. It was greeted by
Sarah Atkinson will be joining us at Progressive Britain Conference 2024 on May 11th, at our panel ‘Is Labour serious about class?’. Get your tickets to hear more from her there! The UK is in a productivity slump. Getting out of it means motivating people to realise every ounce
I find myself in a place I never imagined, but it’s not a bad place – it’s just different. Five years ago, after a fulfilling 30-year career in Children and Young People’s Services, I shed the constraints of a politically restricted role, took the leap to stand as a Labour
For some time now, the macro pre-electoral strategy of Labour has been straightforwardly Napoleonic; never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake. A rich buffet of mistakes. A carnival float parade of blunders, incompetence, crookedness and circular firing squads. Labour’s plan has been a masterclass in patience. The
Rishi Sunak has pledge to hike defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, raising the MOD’s budget to £87bn over the next six years. The move came on a trip to Poland, and was announced via a press release from the Prime Minister’s office – not the Treasury or
David Brindle will be joining us at Progressive Britain Conference 2024, at our panel ‘Fair Care: Can Labour deliver high quality and accessible care for all?’. Get your tickets to hear more from him there! How much does Labour need to say about its plans for social care and
Like many of his Shadow Cabinet colleagues John Healy, the Shadow Defence Secretary has been setting out some low or zero-cost reforms to improve the effectiveness of the Ministry of Defence. In a speech in February, he called for: the MoD to reset its relationships with Whitehall, especially the FCDO
Last month, the CPS published the final findings of its research on how to improve its responses to cases of rape. This came as part of Operation Soteria, a national Home Office-funded research programme to transform the way police investigate rape and serious sexual violence. Operation Soteria included the development
Words, they say, matter in politics. In our social-media hyper-scrutinised age, they matter more than ever. Aha, proclaim the AI-enabled, bot-powered, algo-assembled armies, you said “sustainable” and now you say “lasting”. Gotcha, they cry, you said “nationalisation” then but “public” now. These semantic split hairs are supercharged to the tectonic
