Welcome to the review of our year on ProgressOnline.
It has been a busy time once more with the launch of three pamphlets, of the Campaign for a Labour Majority and of the Tackle Tax Avoidance campaign, the release of the monthly Progress magazine, and the ProgressOnline website itself updated daily with views and comment on Labour and UK politics.
Please see below our selection of some of the highlights from Progress magazine and ProgressOnline this year. If you are not yet a member of Progress then sign up here to be the first to receive Progress magazine and receive discounted entry to our events. If you are interested in writing for ProgressOnline then please get in touch with us here
THE CAMPAIGN FOR A LABOUR MAJORITY
Majority Rules
In a substantial new report in May YouGov president Peter Kellner reviewed the polls and released exclusive polling conducted for Progress, warning that, to win the next general election, Labour must defy history, address some awkward numbers and overcome persistent weaknesses in the reputation of the party and its leader. Read the pamphlet’s contents here. The following month, in the June edition of Progress, political analyst and Progress contributing editor Lewis Baston profiled the ‘Frontline 40′ constituencies – the seats that Labour must win in order to gain a majority in the House of Commons Read>
Meet the swing voters
The launch in the Houses of Parliament of our special report on research conducted by BritainThinks was very well attended and received significant media coverage. You can read the report by Deborah Mattinson and Zoe Tyndall here, Hopi Sen’s response on the need for Labour to ‘think small’ here, and Lewis Baston’s profiles of the four Frontline 40 seats the research took place in here.
Writing monthly are the Campaign for a Labour Majority columnists – David Talbot analyses Labour’s month-on-month progress (Read>); NEC member Bex Bailey discusses the organisational challenge to win in 2015 (Read>); Lewis Baston reviews changes in the party’s poll position (Read>); while Paul Richards writes his ‘Memo on …’ column, memos to incoming Labour ministers on their portfolio area Read>
Meanwhile, candidates in the Frontline 40 seats have been writing from the frontline and saying what they would seek to achieve in parliament Read>
Find out more about the Campaign for a Labour Majority and how you can help candidates on Labour’s crucial frontline here
LABOUR PARTY REFORM
March’s Progress magazine Editorial called on the Labour party to seek to strengthen the link with the unions – mending it, not ending it, should be our goal. To improve the relationship: union members should be given the choice of whether their dues end up in an affiliated political fund which supports the Labour party; Labour leadership candidates should be free to canvass union members directly; and unions should publish the decision-making process by which they decide which candidates to nominate and support Read >
In the Labour party conference edition of the magazine the Progress Editorial argued that, as with the reform of Clause IV, Ed Miliband’s supporters from across the party must come together and launch a similar effort for the new package of reforms Read>
Progress submitted its response to the Collins review, approved by the Progress strategy board Read>. Our main proposals include:
Labour’s National Executive Committee should increase its number of constituency reps so that every region has a say on Labour’s governing body;
Labour’s NEC should double the number of its councillor members;
Labour should follow Unison’s affiliated fund model;
Labour should proceed with holding a primary for its London mayoral candidate;
Primaries should be triggered in Labour-held seats where membership falls below 200.
Also this year, Progress deputy director Richard Angell wrote that new rules extending the parliamentary selection procedure to up to 11 weeks risked harming the chances of working-class candidates Read>. Subsequently the NEC agreed to reduce selections’ length of time.
Writing in Progress magazine, Fabian Society general secretary Marcus Roberts outlined how a primary for Labour’s London mayoral nomination might actually work Read>
Let the people of Falkirk decide – hold a primary for Labour’s candidate, argued John Mann MP Read>. Part of the Falkirk controversy played out on the pages of ProgressOnline as Peter Mandelson wrote that trade unions must be more transparent in the role they play in parliamentary selections (Read>), while Unite the union political secretary Jennie Formby argued that the union should know what it is charged with by the Labour party Read>
Earlier in the year, Jon Worth asked ‘What is happening with the Euro selections?’ (Read>), as strong candidates, including former frontrunners in 2009, were not interviewed or included
THE ‘BORGEN ISSUE’
Progress magazine’s ‘Borgen special’ kicked off with Katrine Kielos of the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet explaining what the ‘Nordic model’ today actually means following deep reform in the 1990s (Read>), while Ed Miliband outlined what he learned on his trip this year to Scandinavia Read>
CARTOONS ON PROGRESS
Our cartoonist Adrian Teal captured some of the moments of the year, from Mary Creagh MP’s deft handling of the
horsemeat scandal accompanying The Insider column with his cartoon of Creagh leaving a horse’s head in Owen Paterson’s bed (View>), to voters’ images of Mr Conservative and Mr Labour at a party which accompanied BritainThinks’ research into swing voters.
View them all here
THE POLITICS OF SOLUTIONS
‘Ideology and political belief have their place in underpinning all we do, but it is solutions that people want’ – this year Progress vice-chair Alison McGovern MP and member of the Progress strategy board Phil Wilson MP released their pamphlet The Politics of Solutions Read>
TACKLE TAX AVOIDANCE
This year we launched our Tackle Tax Avoidance campaign, calling on the chancellor George Osborne to take steps now to stamp the practice out. Progress’ Tackling Tax Avoidance Charter is an important first step wrote Margaret Hodge MP Read>, while calling time on tax havens could have a real impact in developing countries, argued Melanie Ward Read>
WINNING WITH WOMEN
In September we held our Winnning With Women conference, addressed by Labour party deputy leader Harriet Harman among many others. Many speakers and attendees at the conference wrote for ProgressOnline ahead of and following the event, including Sarah Hayward, Fiona Mactaggart MP, Johanna Baxter, Bex Bailey, Lucy Rigby, Lib Peck, Florence Nosegbe, Amina Ali, Claire McCarthy, Kirsty McNeill, Kate Talbot and Mems Ayinla. Check out all their pieces here.
Meanwhile, Stephen Bush wrote that the issues discussed at Winning with Women are absolutely essential to Labour’s mission Read>. And also this year Cherie Blair explained how technology is helping mentor women entrepreneurs across the world (Read>) and Seema Malhotra MP argued that closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship is good for women and good for the economy Read>
EUROPE
Anthony Giddens explained why the future is European, and wondered what Labour’s stance towards Europe was Read>
What lies at the centre of the US, Japanese and Australian governments’ message is the notion of a confident Britain, a gateway at the heart of a strong European Union, free of isolationist tendencies and xenophobic insecurities, argued chair of the European Movement Petros Fassoulas Read>
Peter Kellner imagined the case Ed Miliband could put for deciding against holding a referendum on membership of the EU Read>
Jonathan Todd outlined how pro-Europeans can win a referendum on membership of the EU Read>
The EU remains vital to the protection of employment rights in the UK argued Joe Dromey Read>
Sarah Mulley of IPPR examined the challenge of immigration and welfare in Europe Read>
Meanwhile, former leader of Labour in Europe Alan Donnelly began his monthly Road to Brussels column which will run until the European elections in May Read>
IMMIGRATION
Former minister Barbara Roche, now of the Migration Matters Trust, warned of the ‘inconvenient truth about migration’: without it, Britain will be condemned to the best part of a century of austerity that is far harsher than anything we have experienced so far, she argued Read>
Kevin Peel examined what the facts actually are around immigration, benefits, health and housing Read>
Diane Abbott MP did not take to David Goodhart’s new book, The British Dream Read>, which David Goodhart in turn responded to Read>
Charlie Mansell considered how Labour could reach deeply disaffected voters who hold cultural traditionalist values, where scepticism over immigration is a ‘badge of identity’ Read>
INTERNATIONAL
Kirsty McNeill and Andrew Small kicked off a 12-part series which identifies the sharpest foreign policy dilemmas an incoming Labour government will face in 2015 Read>
Parliament did not vote against military action in Syria, wrote Ben Bradshaw MP Read>
James Bloodworth lamented that the most depressing thing about August’s vote on intervention in Syria was the speed at which the issue slipped off the political agenda Read>. In his column he was early in speaking out against gender segregation in universities (Read>), and warned that it is only a matter of time before western liberals turn on Malala Yousafzai Read>
Ten years on from the military intervention, Gary Kent assessed the war’s legacy for Iraq and its people Read>
PROGRESSONLINE GUEST-EDITS
Europe
The year opened with a guest-edit by member of the European parliament Claude Moraes MEP, which saw contributions from Glenis Willmott MEP, Roger Liddle, David Gow, Roland Rudd, Paul Adamson, Kevin Doran, Kevin Peel, Anne Fairweather, Jeremy Miles, Greg Falconer and Jon Worth Read>
Wales
St David’s Day this year saw Progress vice-chair Stephen Doughty MP guest-edit a day dedicated to politics in Wales, coinciding with the March edition of Progress magazine which also focused on Labour in the principality. Read our interview with first minister Carwyn Jones AM and contributions from Progress strategy board member Nick Smith MP, Rebecca Evans AM, Vaughan Gething AM, Ann Jones AM, Ken Skates AM, David Taylor, Victoria Winckler, David Green and Pearleen Sangha here
Labour Students
Labour Students also guest-edited the site for a day this year, commissioning pieces on the role students play in the Labour movement, including Stella Creasy MP, NUS president Toni Pearce, John Paul McHugh of Community union, Patrick Diamond, Grace Skelton, Joe Gaytten and Finn McGoldrick Read>
Labour and transport
In September Alex Burrows guest-edited a dedicated transport day, with pieces from then shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle MP, Christian Wolmar, Stephen Joseph, James Lewis, Phil Jones, Mark Rowney and Jonathan Bray Read>
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
Meanwhile, on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty newly appointed shadow international development minister and Progress vice-chair Alison McGovern MP guest-edited a day on the subject, commissioning pieces from former Scottish first minister Jack McConnell, Pamela Nash MP, Claire Leigh, Owen Tudor, Jean-Roger Kaseki and Steve Cockburn Read>
PUBLIC SERVICES
Sonia Sodha warned that we must learn from, not reject wholesale, the experience of Blairite public service reform if we are to make a difference after 2015 Read>
Graeme Cooke argued that Labour should introduce a work and welfare track for young people separate from the adult system Read>
Chair of Labour Teachers John Blake welcomed Tristram Hunt MP’s early interventions on schools but asked Labour to flesh out its plans for school accountability and vocational education Read>
With the sharp increase in the number of academies, do local education authorities still have a role to play, asked Anthony Painter Read>
Will ‘clinician knows best’ become the early 21st century version of ‘Whitehall knows best’, asked Progress vice-chair John Woodcock MP Read>
BOOK REVIEWS AND LABOUR HISTORY
Vice-chair of Progress Tristram Hunt MP reviewed John Rentoul’s revised biography of Tony Blair, finding it a definitive starting point for assessing Blair’s legacy in a balanced manner Read>
Nick Thomas-Symonds wrote his monthly Labour History column, reflecting on subjects as diverse as Labour’s rural legacy and reassessing the parliamentary career of Michael Foot Read>
Peter Mandelson recalled Neil Kinnock’s fight to rescue the Labour party following his election as party leader 30 years ago Read>
Dianne Hayter responded to Peter Mandelson with a reminder of the role the unions played in saving Labour in the 1980s Read>
Greg Rosen reviewed a new history of the first Labour government Read>
Atul Hatwal reviewed new book A History of the Liberal Party since 1900 Read>
Matthew Seward marked 10 years since the sudden loss of Labour’s leader in the House of Lords, Gareth Williams Read>
On the anniversary of Harold Wilson’s ‘white heat of technology’ speech, Theo Blackwell considered its lessons for Labour today Read>
Following the death of Margaret Thatcher, Stephen Bush argued that Labour ended Thatcherism, causing a storm online, as he outlined the clear red water between New Labour and its predecessor-but-one Read>
Mark Rusling argued that Margaret Thatcher’s battle with the establishment was the type of class warfare Labour should believe in Read>
Labour should be as proud of its own recent leaders as the Tories show themselves to be of Margaret Thatcher, especially in the area of education, wrote Sally Prentice Read>
Progress director Robert Philpot wrote that Labour must share some of the responsibility for allowing Thatcherism to occur Read>, while Luke Akehurst argued that ‘some of what Margaret Thatcher did we should have been in power doing’ Read>
On the day her death was announced, Giles Radice’s review of Gillian Shephard’s new book The Real Iron Lady found ‘an authentic portrayal of Britain’s first woman prime minister’ Read>
THE PROGRESS INTERVIEW
In interview with Progress, Diane Abbott MP told us that Labour ‘could do more’ to challenge anti-immigration messages, and did not rule out a run for mayor of London Read>
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna MP argued that it was time to end ‘stitch and fix’ in the Labour party Read>
A combative Alan Johnson MP told Progress the trade unions should have less power in the Labour party Read>
Labour is targeting Tory voters and should not be thinking about a coalition after 2015 argued Michael Dugher MP Read>
Wales is adopting a more pragmatic, gentler approach to austerity than London, first minister of Wales Carwyn Jones AM told Robert Philpot and Adam Harrison Read>
Progress interviewed Stephen Twigg MP following a major speech outlining Labour’s vision for schools Read>
Diarist Chris Mullin argued that Labour should ‘take a leaf out of the Tories’ book’ Read>
ALSO, DON’T MISS …
Andrew Adonis has changed his mind about the virtue of coalitions. Here he explained why Read>
David Sainsbury outlined the argument of his new book, Progressive Capitalism, on why Labour needs a new political economy Read>
In her regular column in September Jacqui Smith voiced concern that Labour’s policy review may resemble a pregnant panda (Read>) while throughout the year she tackled topics from the importance of defending neighbourhood policing to learning from the universal credit shambles Read
Rafael Behr warned that there may be good reason for Lynton Crosby’s return to strike fear into Labour hearts, while Stephen Mills examined Crosby’s role in assisting a string of Liberal party victories in Australia Read>
In the era of the ‘Geddes Axe’, the key section in Labour’s 1922 manifesto was not entitled ‘No austerity’ but ‘How to find the money’, wrote Jonathan Todd Read>. Meanwhile, Nick Pearce and Graeme Cooke of IPPR wrote that Labour should get in its counter-argument to the spending review first Read>
Robert Philpot took on Russell Brand’s contribution to national political discourse, identifying a ‘peculiar mix of Dave Spart and Adrian Mole’ Read>
Stand-up comedian and talkSPORT presenter Matt Forde continued his monthly Progress magazine column with, among other things, a humorous look at the old familiar sights of Labour party conference and the delights of the CLP Christmas fundraiser Read>
New shadow childcare minister and vice-chair of Progress Lucy Powell MP reflected on the gauntlet thrown down to the government on childcare Read>
We should keep East Coast in public hands argued Sheila Gilmore MP as she launched her campaign to achieve just that Read>
Can the Tories really renew? Hopi Sen examined the progress of Renewal, the Conservative group seeking to make the party more appealing to northern, working-class and ethnic minority voters Read>
Stephen Bush visited three Liberal Democrat-held constituencies and found that winning such seats will be no walk in the park for Labour in 2015 Read>
Chair of the social mobility and child poverty commission Alan Milburn outlined an agenda to tackle the plight of the middle class and expand its numbers Read>
Sally Keeble liveblogged this year’s autumn statement (Read>), while Nicola Smith of the TUC critiqued March’s budget Read>
We need to up our game, argued former cabinet minister Peter Hain MP in May, taking aim in particular at the shadow Treasury team Read>. Meanwhile, John Denham MP weighed into the debate on Labour and High Speed Two by warning that this should be the first infrastructure project to follow the Armitt report’s advice of planning for the long term Read>
To receive public services and benefits, you should have to sign up to the electoral register, argued Siobhain McDonagh MP following the launch of her new bill Read>
Ukip’s triumph in the local elections did not just damage the Tories, warned Lewis Baston Read>, while Anthony Painter wrote that Ukip is no aberration but a symptom of British politics’ dangerous malaise Read>
Former energy minister Brian Wilson wrote that the energy companies act as an unofficial cartel Read>
Outgoing Young Labour disability officer and former PPC for Orkney and Shetland Mark Cooper recounted his work to persuade the Labour party to formulate a disability manifesto ahead of the next election (Read>). Meanwhile, Anne McGuire MP reported on her and Labour colleagues’ work to try and re-establish the optimism now lacking in the lives of disabled people over recent years Read>
As part of National Apprenticeship Week, Tom Bewick, chair of the International Skills Standards Organisation, warned that the ‘brutal reality is that our expensive bricks-and-mortar three-year degree universities are no longer in vogue’ and considers whether, like the monasteries and medieval guilds of old, universities will adapt to changing times or die Read>
Mayor of Lewisham Steve Bullock wrote that Labour councillors must say no to ‘no cuts’ budgets (Read>) while Richard Leese, leader of Manchester council, wrote about the work that needs to be done to build a sustainable society on a fairer, not a deficit, model Read>
‘Keep your cool and respect shopworkers’ urged general secretary of Usdaw John Hannett as its Freedom From Fear week kicked off Read>
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We hope you have enjoyed reading Progress magazine and ProgressOnline this year. As mentioned earlier, if you are not yet a member of Progress then sign up here to be the first to receive Progress magazine and receive discounted entry to our events. If you are interested in writing for ProgressOnline then please get in touch with us here. And do continue to join in the debate in 2014!