Fabian review of the year

It’s been a very busy 2012 at the Fabian Society and, looking back, it feels like the political landscape has transformed. This year we set about arming the Labour party with the raw material for its political renewal, including the publication of The Shape of Things to Come setting out key themes for the next Labour government.

We published 15 reports across our four programmes – Next Economy, Next State, Environment and Citizenship and Labour’s Next Majority; convened four major conferences on the economy, climate change, Europe and electoral strategy; and relaunched the Fabian Review magazine with a smart new look and extended online coverage.

2013 will see even more, including in January our new pamphlet on economic reform The Great Rebalancing and our largest New Year Conference ever. Our flagship project for the year, the Commission on Future Spending Choices, will report in the autumn on spending options after 2015.

Over the course of the year I have been busy too, writing articles on a wide range of policy and electoral issues. I thought you might like to see a small selection:

1. Introducing Ed’s converts revealed that new converts to Labour share the same politics as 2010 voters
2. Home affairs: too hot to handle? on Labour’s approach to immigration and crime was my contribution to The Shape of Things to Come: Labour’s New Thinking
3. The next welfare settlement  the opening chapter of our new Fabian policy report, Beveridge at 70
4. The many layers of one nation Labour drew out the implications as ‘one nation’ as a frame for Labour’s renweal
5. Look left, Ed, and the 2015 election is yours on the emerging coalition of potential Labour voters
6. Ageing and long-term public finances debunked the myth of the demographic time-bomb, as an early contribution to the Commission on Future Spending Choices
7. The language of priorities profiled new research on which public services the public want more money spent on – and which they don’t
8. The Economic Alternative – my introduction to our February essay collection argued for fiscal realism and radical economic reform
9. Lib Dem and Labour voters have more in common than you think suggested that Nick Clegg’s shift to the centre risked alientating his mainly left-leaning supporters
10. The public want a better state, not a smaller one drew on new research on attitudes to public services

We are always keen to hear from members and supporters with feedback and ideas, so please do contact the Fabian team.

With warm wishes,
Andrew