Fabian Society - the UK’s oldest think-tank

The Fabian Society

11 Dartmouth St

London SW1H 9BN

020 7227 4900

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About Events

The Fabian events programme hosts some of the most prominent public events in British politics. We hold major conferences, lectures and public debates and small invitation only expert policy seminars, including our prestigious Fabian Policy Networks working with a wide range of partner organisations. The events programme can be viewed here , or in our online calendar.

Jemima Olchawski is Events Director, Ed Wallis, Fatima Hassan, Rosie Clayton are Events Managers and Ian Chapman is our Events Assistant. Please contact the Events Team with ideas for future Fabian events and to discuss partnership opportunities.

Events Menu

New Year Conference 2006

Gordon Brown argued that British values demand a new constitutional settlement and symbols to represent a modern patriotism, including a new youth community service scheme and a 'British day' to celebrate in his first keynote speech of the year opening the Fabian New Year Conference 'Who do we want to be? The future of Britishness' on Saturday 14th January 2006.

Fabian New Year Conference 2006

Full programme

Keynote speech

Gordon Brown: The future of Britishness

Morning sessions

1: Ties that bind: What do we need Britishness for?

Speakers: John Denham MP; Deborah Mattinson (Opinion Leader Research); Fuad Nahdi (Editor, Q-News); Tom Nairn ( Professor of Nationalism, RMIT); Michael Wills MP; Chair: Martin Kettle (Guardian)

2: Life chances: Which equalities? Whose integration?

Yvette Cooper MP; Tariq Modood (Bristol University); Nick Pearce (Director, IPPR); Shamit Saggar (Sussex University); Chair: Louise Bamfield (Fabian Society).

3: History lessons: Does sharing a future depend on reimagining our pasts?

Professor Humayun Ansari (Royal Holloway University); Professor Paul Gilroy (LSE); Dr Tristram Hunt (Queen Mary College); Professor Francesca Klug (LSE);Gordon Marsden MP; Chair: Seema Malhotra, Fabian Executive.

4: Whose Europe? Is there a European dream anymore?

Timothy Garton Ash (Guardian and Oxford University); Ed Balls MP; Claude Moraes MEP; Mark Leonard, Centre for European Reform; Chair: Gisela Stuart MP

5: Islam of the West: Will the reformers win?

Sarah Joseph (Editor, Emel Magazine); Sadiq Khan MP; Tariq Ramadan

Ziauddin Sardar (Writer & broadcaster);

Chair: Madeleine Bunting (Guardian).

Lunchtime plenary- "Imagining Britishness"

with Tessa Jowell MP, Billy Bragg and writer Gautam Malkani

Afternoon sessions

A: Culture and difference: How should conflicts over values be resolved?

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (Independent); Leighton Andrews AM; Vince Cable MP; Jude Kelly (South Bank Centre); David Lammy MP (Minister for Culture); Chair: Jonathan Heawood (Director, EnglishPEN).

B: Security matters: Can we be safe and free?

Julian Baggini (Editor, Philisopher's Magazine); Hazel Blears MP (Home Office Minister); Shami Chakrabarti (Director, Liberty); Shahid Malik MP; Chair: Lord Alf Dubs (Fabian Executive).

C: Living together or living apart? How much integration do we need?

Speakers: Richard Brooks (Fabian Society & Tower Hamlets Councillor); Ted Cantle (Associate Director, IDeA); David Edgar (Playwright); Trevor Phillips (Chair, CRE); Sukhvinder Stubbs (Barrow Cadbury Trust); Chair: Ed Miliband MP.

D: Global Britain: Must foreign policy divide?

Speakers: Haleh Afshar (Professor of Middle Eastern Politics, University of York); Nick Cohen (Observer); John Kampfner (Editor, New Statesman); John Lloyd (Contributing Editor, Financial Times); Chair: Stephen Twigg (Fabian Executive & Foreign Policy Centre)

E: Creating Citizens: Are we educating for a shared society?

Gordon Marsden MP

Sir Iqbal Sacranie (Muslim Council of Great Britain); Bishop Roger Sainsbury (National Youth Agency); Ben Summerskill (Stonewall); Chair: Mari Williams (Fabian Executive and secondary school teacher).