17th January 2009

At the Fabian Society New Year Conference this panel debate explored what was happening to social solidarity in the early 21st Century and how we can foster the solidarity necessary for the radical welfare measures that will be needed to end poverty. In particular, the discussion looked at the role welfare institutions themselves can play in generating solidarity and how welfare policies should be designed in order to be both progressive and politically sustainable.

The key speakers were James Purnell MP (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions), Shamit Saggar from the project advisory panel (University of Sussex), and Trevor Phillips (Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission).

Some highlights from the event were reported on the Fabian Society’s blog, Next Left.