Publications

Michael Doherty (April 2022): Our annual report on the general trade union situation in Ireland, here in the original English.

Michael Doherty (April 2022): Our annual report on the general trade union situation in Ireland, here in German.

Juliane Itta & Michèle Auga (April 2022): Our annual report on the general trade union situation in the UK, here in the original German.

Frances Foley (March 2022): Labour and the Liberal Democrats are discussing a non-aggression pact to defeat the Conservatives. But Labour needs to win 124 seats for a majority of one. Britain’s political parties should be preparing now for potential minority government. This paper sets out how a Labour-led government could and should actually work. It goes behind the scenes of the 2010–15 coalition, the 1977–78 Lib-Lab Pact and the recent formation of a centre-left coalition government in Germany.

Frances Foley (January 2022): Citizens’ assemblies (CAs) and other deliberative processes have witnessed a renaissance – a ›deliberative turn‹ – in recent years in the UK and Ireland. Likely a response to the recent political turmoil of Brexit, the progressive surge of 2017 and generational divides, CAs are increasingly called upon to fill a democratic gap. The problem with their implementation remains the interaction with existing representative systems. Using first hand perspectives, this paper examines the advantages of initiatives in the UK and Ireland, as well as the challenges they face.

Josh Emden, Luke Murphy, Mark Kelleher (December 2021): This briefing summarises the findings of two workshops held at a fringe event in Glasgow City Council Chambers at COP26. The workshops involved hearing from nine speakers detailing international case studies where projects or governments implemented a just transition in their nation or community. Five of the case studies are focused on national just transition examples from around the world and four are focused on community examples of just transition around the world that emphasise community engagement and participation.

Gareth Forest (Lewis), Anna Markova (November 2021): The UK government has enshrined targets that align with official scientific advice on climate change. While it has publicly announced very ambitious goals it has only hesitantly taken up steps to support the decarbonisation of domestic industries. A comprehensive, socially and ecologically sustainable industrial strategy that is co-designed by and with workers is still lacking. Social justice, gender justice, decent work and collective bargaining are essential components of this historical structural change, achievable only through worker participation, and without them a just transition will be impossible to realise.

Patrick Briône (September 2021): The road to net zero carbon emissions poses risks for the workforce if not handled carefully. The concept of a just transition – where jobs and livelihoods are protected and workers are reskilled to find new green jobs – is gaining in importance across the UK and the world. To succeed, a just transition requires partnership between the workforce and employers, including a strong worker voice. Government also has a vital role to play, facilitating this dialogue at regional and sectoral level and providing strategic leadership, though this engagement is still lacking.

Parties of the Left need to invest time, energy and money in digital campaigning. It is no longer a ›nice to have‹, but is an essential tool for effective political campaigning in the modern era. What the Left needs to learn on digital campaigns is outlined in this paper by Mike Buckley and Nolan MacGregor on the example of the UK General Election 2019.

Tarik Abou-Chadi; Reto Mitteregger; Cas Mudde (July 2021): Social democratic parties in Western Europe have been experiencing an electoral decline of historic proportions in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. At the same time, radical right parties have been experiencing unprecedented electoral success. This has paved the way for a common narrative that claims that social democratic parties have lost their working-class voters to radical right parties either because of their shift to the right on the economic dimension (“Third Way”) or because of their shift to the left on the cultural dimension (“identity politics”). This narrative is wrong in both its assumptions and its assertions.