Publications

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.

Recent political turmoil has led to concerns about significant political divisions – between young and old, remainers and leavers, progressives and conservatives, and between the North and the South. Into this breach has stepped the potent idea of the citizens’ assembly – a form of decision making characterised by collective reasoning, consideration of evidence, facilitated discussion and a series of proposals. But if citizens’ assemblies in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland are to fulfil their promise, they must enter into dialogue with our existing institutions and processes.

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.

Jannike Wachowiak (June 2021): There was palpable relief when the EU and UK concluded the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on Christmas Eve 2020, pulling both sides back from the brink of a no-deal cliff edge. But hopes that concluding a Brexit deal would mark the beginning of a more constructive relationship have faded quickly since. However, there is a particularly strong rationale for cooperation regarding climate action. The importance of a joint EU–UK climate leadership is further heightened by the current global context. After the pandemic-induced one-year delay, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) is finally taking place in the first half of November 2021, hosted by the UK in Glasgow. The EU and UK should use this opportunity to strategically – and jointly – push for increased global ambition.

Tim Bale (June 2021): Labour has retained the support of the country’s poorest workers, but has been losing support among working people in general. While the Conservatives have been successful in uniting the Leave vote, Labour’s equivocal stance on Brexit led to the party winning only the support of half of all Remain voters. The Conservatives’ campaign combined impressive message discipline with a highly sophisticated polling, advertising and social media campaign, run by a team of external consultants. All this stood in complete contrast to Labour’s seriously dysfunctional, largely in-house campaign.

Gerry Mitchell (April 2021): This paper looks at the impact of COVID-19 on care workers and the people they care for in England. It explains why the care sector was so vulnerable to and ill-equipped for the pandemic and charts the delayed government response to it and how that was further impeded by a lack of integration between health and social care. It documents trade union campaigning on the health and safety of workers, the lack of or inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), sick pay, accommodation and access to testing as well as their fight for longer-term reform, emphasising how the immediate problems in the sector are connected to its longer-term systemic issues. These campaigns have also focused on shifting public opinion about the status and value of care work and the need to address structural inequalities.