Power and Prosperity: How a radical Labour government can transform Britain

The scale of the task facing the new government is substantial. Labour inherits an underperforming and unbalanced economy, with low levels of productivity and investment, and public institutions in survival mode suffering from underfunding and in need of reform. Scandals, many long term, have been growing.

Against this backdrop, Stephen Beer and Patrick Diamond argue that what Labour needs most is a clear normative framework, allowing it to make the case for change and reform not simply on the basis of efficiency, but in terms of values.

The authors propose the liberal, ethical socialist thinking of RH Tawney and others. This powerful tradition holds together the importance of the individual, enjoying freedom, with the benefits of flourishing in the community. It is passionate about equality. It stands against collective action which denies the individual, and against individualism which ignores family and community. Taken together with a drive to reform, they term it ‘radical ethical socialism’.

With Labour now taking decisions that will affect the trajectory of the nation for decades to come, Power and Prosperity is a timely intervention. This is a task for the whole of the labour movement, and there is not a moment to lose.