Press Story

Reciprocism says the state should do more for people, while expecting them to do more for each other in return
Think tank sets out four foundations for a new progressive politics: power, place, participation, protection
High-profile politicians to deliver keynote speeches at launch of bold new political project

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has today launched a major new progressive political project designed to replace the Third Way, take on the populist right and rebuild trust in politics.

Reciprocism is based on a simple idea: the state should do more for people, while asking more of them in return. Instead of treating people as individual consumers, progressives should treat them as citizens, with a new generation of rights and responsibilities and a clearer understanding of what people can expect from the state and what they owe one another.

IPPR argues in ‘What is the left for?’ that the old centre-left model is no longer capable of meeting the challenges of today. It warns that the populist right has filled the political vacuum with a powerful but dangerous politics of belonging, offering people identity, pride and a sense of “us”, but one built on exclusion, nostalgia and division.

The left must now offer a stronger alternative: a civic and democratic collectivism that gives people greater power and a genuine stake in society, while recognising the obligations that bind citizens together.

IPPR, whose alumni include cabinet ministers, special advisers and commentators such as David Miliband, Liz Kendall, James Purnell, Graeme Cooke, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Matthew McGregor and Lewis Goodall, argues that the left’s greatest achievements, from the creation of the NHS to the minimum wage, were secured by broad coalitions working towards a common purpose. But in recent decades, progressives have chosen individualism over collectivism: embracing elements of neoliberalism, accepting the privatisation of public assets and services, and too often focusing on divisions between groups rather than building solidarity between them.

The report calls for a new progressive project that brings people together around what they share. It describes reciprocism as distinctly more Attlee than Blair and argues that parts of the modern centre left, including the Tony Blair Institute, have become too comfortable engaging with oligarchic wealth, weakening the left’s historic opposition to monopolies and concentrated power.

Reciprocism has four policy foundations:

Power: expanding the rights and responsibilities of citizens in public life through stronger citizenship education, a national citizens’ service and compulsory voting.
Place: rebuilding the spaces and institutions that bring people together, from local infrastructure and stronger local government to the regulation of social media.
Participation: giving people a real stake in the economy through institutions such as community energy cooperatives, mutual care providers and a citizens’ wealth fund.
Protection: confronting concentrated wealth and influence through strict political donation caps, action to break up monopolies and a radical rewriting of the tax system.

The pamphlet will be launched at a major IPPR event in London, where high-profile politicians, many drawn from the newest generation of MPs, will deliver keynote speeches on the future of progressive politics.

Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director at IPPR, said:

“The left must offer voters a cause, not just a policy programme. Reciprocism is a political project capable of beating the new right, reforming the old status quo, and giving people a genuine stake in society.

“People do not just want politics to deliver things to them. They want power over the forces shaping their lives. They want a stake in the wealth they help create. They want places where common life is possible. They want to belong to a country that asks something of them and gives something back.

“For too long, the left has treated citizens like consumers. Now, we must make them citizens again. Reciprocism is how Andy Burnham can take Manchesterism national.”

Dr Sofia Ropek-Hewson, senior research fellow at IPPR, said:

“The populist right understands that people are hungry for a sense of belonging. But its answer is a politics of enemies: migrants, minorities, institutions, experts, judges, civil servants, neighbours. It offers belonging through exclusion.

“Progressives need a better answer: belonging through contribution, democracy and shared institutions. Not nationalism based on blood or heritage, but reciprocism based on the simple idea that everyone who lives here, contributes here and builds here should have a stake in our common future.

“Delivering the basics matters. But without a bigger project, delivery becomes directionless. The left needs to rediscover its greatest strength: reciprocity and collective power.”

ENDS

Harry Quilter-Pinner and Dr Sofia Ropek-Hewson are available for interview

CONTACT

Liam Evans, head of news and media: 07419 365 334 l.evans@ippr.org

David Wastell, director of news and communications: 07921 403651 d.wastell@ippr.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

The IPPR paper, What is the left for? The case for a politics of reciprocism will be published at 0001 on Tuesday July 28. It will be available for download at http://www.ippr.org/articles/what-is-the-left-for
Advance copies of the report are available under embargo on request.
IPPR (the Institute for Public Policy Research) is the UK’s most influential think tank, with alumni in Downing Street, the cabinet and parliament. We are the practical ideas factory behind many of the government’s flagship policies, including changes to fiscal rules, the creation of a National Wealth Fund, GB Energy, devolution, and reforms to the NHS. As an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society, we have spent almost 40 years creating tangible progressive change - turning bold ideas into common sense realities. www.ippr.org