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. Analysis of industry claims about the effects of higher gambling taxes

    Our response to the backlash from the gambling industry on calls for higher taxes.
  2. A group of teenage students wearing maroon t-shirts smiling and responding to a teacher during a rehearsal

    Rethinking child poverty through enrichment accounts

    Every child should have access to activities that build confidence, skills, and opportunity, regardless of income.
  3. The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, River Thames and Westminster Bridge

    Taxing choices: Taking the public’s temperature ahead of the budget

    The stakes for a government are rarely higher than at a budget. Every chancellor has dealt with this differently. Ken Clarke would draft his budget speech with cigars and whisky, Gordon Brown pored over every word in what officials called…