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Open Left Events

Upcoming Events

Open Left Labour Leadership Hustings of Ideas

How Labour Wins Again

When: July 13 2010, 4:00pm

Where: Palace of Westminster

Douglas Alexander MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South and former Secretary of State for International Development

Hazel Blears MP for Salford and Eccles and former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Kelvin Hopkins MP for Luton North

Sadiq Khan MP for Tooting and former Secretary of State for Transport

Kerry McCarthy MP for Bristol East

Chair: Steve Richards, Chief Political Commentator for The Independent

Labour’s leaders are on show at hustings around the country and displaying their debate skills. But what are their big ideas?

Open Left doesn’t want to see Labour’s leadership election become a beauty parade or a contest of personalities. We want Labour’s next leader to be elected on the strength of their ideas, not based on the differences in their character.

So we’ve asked the candidates’ supporters to discuss the policy issues and debate their big ideas at our upcoming Hustings of Ideas.

In a discussion chaired by Steve Richards, Chief Political Commentator of The Independent, Douglas Alexander MP will speak on behalf of David Miliband; Hazel Blears MP for Andy Burnham; Kelvin Hopkins MP for Diane Abbott; Sadiq Khan MP for Ed Miliband; and Kerry McCarthy MP for Ed Balls.

The content of the discussion will be decided by the audience, whom we are asking to submit questions beginning “What are your candidate’s ideas on…?” in advance of the event.

To reserve your place at this event, and to submit your questions to the panel, please contact openleft@demos.co.uk or call 0207 367 6333, informing us of any access needs.

Past Events

‘The Future of Labour and the British centre-Left’

How Labour Wins Again

When: Thursday 27 May 11am – 4pm

Where: TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS.

Following the election results, one thing is abundantly clear: the centre-Left needs a period of rethinking and renewal in order to build a new radical political consensus.

The Demos Open Left Project is delighted to host a seminar of prominent centre-Left figures in what will be the beginning of a vital debate about the kind of politics, values, political economy and policy strategies that will make Labour and the wider centre-Left the great reforming force in British politics of the coming decade.

The programme for the event will be as follows:

‘The Future of Labour and the British centre-Left’

11am-1pm: Lessons from the recent past

Chair James Purnell (Open Left)

Phil Collins (The Times)

Maurice Glasman (London Met)

Marc Stears (Oxford University)

2pm – 4pm: Directions for the future

Chair Sally Davison (Soundings)

Allegra Stratton (The Guardian)

Jonathan Rutherford (Soundings)

Adam Lent (TUC)

This event is by invitation only. If you would like to attend please email openleft@demos.co.uk for further details.

How Labour Wins Again

When: Thursday 20 May 2010, 1.45pm for a 2pm start

Where: Demos, 3rd Floor Magdalen House, 136-148 Tooley Street, SE1 2TU.

Demos’ Open Left project is delighted to host a keynote speech by Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on ‘How Labour Wins Again’. In the aftermath of the general election, Liam Byrne will set out the lessons of the campaign trail and what Labour and its next leader must now do to win again.

The speech will be followed by a half-hour audience Q&A chaired by Demos’ Director Richard Reeves.

To RSVP, email events@demos.co.uk or call 0207 367 6333 to confirm your attendance. Please inform us of any access needs at this time.

Politics of Fairness: Equality in the UK

When: 9th February 2010, 10:45AM

Where: Committee Room 8 of the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

David Willetts MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Universities and Skills

Richard Wilkinson, Director, The Equality Trust

David Laws MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Children, School and Families

Richard Reeves, Director, Demos (Chair)

In light of the current economic climate and the run-up to the general election, the three main UK parties approach to social inequalities has been a pressing matter for all. ‘The Politics of Fairness’ argues for new approaches to inequality from Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem, setting out a series of policy proposals for all three Parties.

David Willetts MP, Richard Wilkinson of The Equality Trust, and David Laws MP will join us to debate these recommendations, in a discussion chaired by Richard Reeves of Demos.

To RSVP, email events@demos.co.uk or call 0207 367 6333 to confirm your attendance. Please inform us of any access needs at this time.

We are grateful to the One Society for its generous support of this event.

Renewing the Left’s ideology: what should be the principles and goals of the centre-Left today?

James-Purnell_1396062c

Ralph Miliband programme public lecture

Speaker: James Purnell MP

Chair: Professor David Held

Date: Monday 15 February 2010

Time: 6.30-8pm

Venue: Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House

The credit crunch was followed by a consensus on the centre-Left that the world was entering a “progressive moment”, and that the financial crisis represented a failure of the ideas of the New Right. Yet, in Europe at least, social democracy has struggled to articulate what the progressive response to the crisis, and has struggled electorally as a consequence. To resolve this paradox, the Left needs to recognise that the financial crisis challenges its received ideology too, and that if it wants to survive electorally, it will need to renew itself intellectually. The lecture will argue that such a renewal can come from re-examining Labour’s traditions, and from having the courage to be bolder about goals and methods.

James currently sits in the House of Commons and is director of the Open Left project at Demos. His interests include the economy, further education, welfare and capabilities. Previously, he was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. For more information, email events@lse.ac.uk| or call 020 7955 6043.

resilience_capability_building_event_image Open Left in partnership with 2020 Public Services Trust will hold a seminar on:

Resilience and capability building – a new model for the welfare state

2nd December 2009, 04:00PM

Committee Room 18, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

James Purnell MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, and Director of the Open Left Project at Demos

Prof Gerry Stoker, Director of the Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, University of Southampton

Ben Lucas, Director of the 2020 Public Services Trust (Chair)

60 years on from Beveridge, we need to re-examine the universal entitlement model if we want to have a social settlement which enables people to lead the lives they choose and reduces the dependency ratio. An increase in coproduction and cooperative models in public services will bring into stark relief the need for engaging citizens and communities in what is provided and how it is provided.

The seminar will look at how Amartya Sen’s capability model could be combined with emerging thinking about resilience to create a more mixed welfare system which unlocks social resource and individual capability and doesn’t just depend on state funding. This will be especially important in an era when public services will face new demand pressures arising from demographic change, climate change and social polarisation just when the public finances are least able to pay for extra spending.

The question of ends and means, of purpose and affordability, are central to the 2020 PST’s mission to stimulate deeper understanding of the challenges facing public services to inform policy making.

This event is by invitation only. Please email events@2020pst.org or call 020 7451 6962 for further information.

On the 19-20 November, Open Left participated in a roundtable discussion on The Pursuit of Justice: Oxford Events with Amartya Sen, hosted by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative.

James Purnell felt that the capability approach outlined by Sen is a good starting point for this new ideological framework and went onto outline the role of the state in maximising capabilities: ‘Governments should empower people and protect them. That is their core mission. At a time of fiscal tightening, everything else is a lower priority. That is where the cuts should fall. But that’s not the end of the story. To have capable individuals, we need a capable society. As Amartya Sen argues in The Theory of Justice, there is nothing inherently atomistic about liberalism.’

For more information about the event and to hear a podcast of the discussion, visit

the OPHI website.

Lessons From Labour's Past

Which Way’s Left? Lessons from Labour’s Past

On 25th November Open Left and the Labour History Group held joint event on where the Left should look for inspiration now. As the Left grapples with economic and political challenges, can Labour’s history offer a guide to weathering the storm? Four experts in Labour history debated what the experiences of RH Tawney, Herbert Morrison, Anthony Crosland and Charlie Turnock might contribute to the political and ideological renewal of the Left today. James Purnell MP, Director of the Open Left project at Demos, chaired the event. Speaking were:

Matt Carter – Former General Secretary of the Labour Party on RH Tawney

Lord Donoughue – Previously Head of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit on Herbert Morrison

Dianne Hayter – Former Chair of the Fabian Society and Labour Party on Charlie Turnock

Lord Lipsey – Former Chair of the Fabian Society and Special Adviser to Anthony Crosland

James Purnell MP for Stalybridge and Hyde and Director of Demos’ Open Left Project (Chair)

Listen to a podcast of the event here.

Party Conference Event

Open Left held a fringe event on Sunday 27th September at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton to debate these issues (and many more) in the spirit of openness and plurality.

The event was chaired by Krishnan Guru-Murthy, and panelists included Tessa Jowell MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Olympics, London and Paymaster General; David Lammy MP, Minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property at BIS; James Purnell MP for Stalybride and Hyde; Rt Hon Roy Hattersley and Steve Richards, Chief Political Commentator, The Independent. They answered questions from the floor and those previously submitted by visitors and contributors to the Open Left website.

Listen to the podcast of the event here

Launch Event

The Open Left Launch event was held at the Commonwealth Club on 20 July 2009. Speakers included James Purnell MP, Jon Cruddas MP, Jess Search from BritDoc and Lewis Iwu from Debate Mate.

Download a podcast of the event here