Where next? The challenge for centre-left politics

Article

Professor of Government and Public Policy at UCL and former Labour MP Tony Wright reviews the post-Coalition landscape for centre-left politics in Britain, covering the spectrum of policy issues from the local to the global.

'The principal test facing British centre-left politics today is whether it is still fit-for-purpose. Does its intellectual framework (with its corresponding policy instruments) offer an adequate response to the challenges facing the country today? Does it have a foundation in wider social movements on which to build its politics? Will it embrace a pluralist and reformist agenda rather than take a narrow oppositional stance? And can it once again generate genuine momentum for progressive change?'

Foreword by Nick Pearce, Lisa Harker and Carey Oppenheim

This essay provides the conclusion to IPPR's 2010 seminar series 'Where next for progressive politics?'.

Related items

  1. View of Bank of England, Royal Exchange, and Duke of Wellington equestrian statue (1844) with skyscrapers and construction in background.

    Navigating in the fog: Why the OBR should hold its nerve on the productivity forecast

    The fiscal watchdog is under pressure to downgrade its forecast, costing the chancellor billions – but this would be premature.
  2. A busy bus full of people of all ages. An older couple smile at a younger woman with a baby in a pushchair

    Everyday concerns: What people want from transport

    Transport has a key role to play in achieving the UK government's missions and improving lives. 
  3. An unrecognisable woman playing a slot machine in a social club

    Reforming gambling taxation: How to lift half a million children out of poverty

    A key priority for the government’s upcoming child poverty strategy should be to remove the two-child limit and scrap the household benefit cap.