Fabian Policy Roundtables at Labour Party Conference 2010, Sunday 26th September to Tuesday 28th September

Manchester Town Hall

The Fabians have a strong record of substantive policy discussions at party conference, supported by a number of different partners and across a broad spectrum of public policy areas. During each roundtable expert participants debated emerging trends and ideas and interrogate key players in an invited forum of their peers.

Skills and social mobility: next steps for access to professions

With David Lammy MP, Shadow Minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, Michael Izza, ICAEW, Patrick Diamond, Policy Network, Tessa Stone,  BrightsideUNIAID and Martin Bright, New Deal of the Mind.

The recent economic crisis has further exacerbated inequality, and reversed many of the gains made to social mobility over the last 13 years. Given this tighter fiscal environment, how far can we support pathways to professions and secure the jobs of the future? And what role can employers, communities and the Government play in harnessing aspirations and breaking down barriers to reaching professions?
 

Kindly supported by ICAEW

With Malcolm Wicks MP, Alan Whitehead MP, Janine Freeman, National Grid and David Norman, WWF

Perhaps the biggest challenge for all policymakers and energy suppliers will be translating the 2050 low carbon agenda into policy action given a tighter fiscal context.  What would a realistic level of success in the development of low carbon energy sources look like by the end of this parliament and the next? What are the political and public barriers to achieving this and how can we overcome them? 

Kindly supported by National Grid

With John Denham MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Dr Alfred Gusenbauer, Former Chancellor of Austria, Catherine Fieschi, Counterpoint and Sunder Katwala, Fabian Society

Issues of immigration, crime and welfare dependency have provided very difficult electoral challenges for centre-left parties across Europe, so why have modern social democrats struggled to develop a sufficient response to economic insecurity?  This seminar will aim to connect the British Labour Party’s inquest into its election defeat of May 2010 and political debates about its future, with pan-European debates about the ideological and political challenges for social democracy and democratic socialist parties.

Kindly supported by Foundation of European Progressive Studies

Do we need a state education system?

With David Blunkett MP, Geoff Whitty, Institute of Education, Christine Blower, NUT and Lucy Heller, ARK Schools.

Public education reform remains an area of contention between policymakers and practioners, and in light of new Government interventions there are growing concerns around the future configuration of education services. The following seminar will seek to identify these areas and to draw some consensus on balancing standards and expectations, the role of the state in the public education system and ownership of the quality of services provided in schools.  

Kindly supported by the Institute of Education

With Emily Thornberry, Shadow Minister of State for DECC, Tim Horton, Fabian Society, Tony Hawkhead, Groundwork UK and Michael Jacobs, Former Special Advisor at No.10.

With UK unemployment now at 2.5 million, this seminar will assess how we can jump start green jobs given the backdrop of deep cuts and limited public spending. What defines a green job and what sectors can benefit from low-skilled green employment? What role should Government, the private and third sector play in delivering green skills and what are the pathways to green employment at a local level?

Kindly supported by Groundwork UK, Respublica and CentreForum (This seminar will also be held at Conservative and Liberal Democrat Conference) 

Who are skills for? Can we meet the fairness test in an age of austerity?

With Pat McFadden MP, Shadow Secretary of State for BIS, Andrew Sich, City and Guilds, Frances O'Grady, TUC, Alessandra Buonfino, Tesco Plc and David Coats

This seminar will explore how the broad political consensus on the need for fairness and social equity in public policy can and should inform decisions about the provision of skills and training, particularly when it comes to prioritising resources given the focus on deficit reduction.  What kind of indicators would demonstrate these policy choices have been designed to credibly meet this “fairness test”? How will the new Coalition Government marry a high skills future and a political economy based on economically liberal scepticism?

Kindly supported by City and Guilds and Trades Union Congress

Road to recovery: the role of UK manufacturing and competiveness 

With Adrian Bailey MP, Chair, Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, Adam Lent, TUC, Juergen Maier, Siemens UK Industry Sector and Sam Fleming, The Times.

Perhaps the key long-term public policy challenge facing the UK is where its future jobs and prosperity will come from.  This seminar will assess how far the noticeable shift in public and political discourse towards ‘bringing manufacturing back in’ as part of a sustainable future UK economy led to any consensus about the future role of developing and protecting British owned manufacturing. And ask the question - does size matter?  

Kindly supported by EEF and Food and Drink Federation