Past Events
- Pre-Election Public Summit
- The Battle for Politics
- Venue: Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square, London WC1N 2AB
- Date: March 20, 2010
- Time: 09:30 - 18:00
- Tickets: Available on the door from 9:30am
- Booking:
The Battle for Politics is a one-day public summit to debate the significance of the UK general election and to set an alternative political agenda. Sessions will examine the wider political context of this election, bring some historical perspective to the debate, and consider the prospects for the future, as well as taking a critical approach to particular policy areas.
The 2010 general election campaign may not be the most inspiring even in recent memory, but that is no reason to leave it to the politicians and party machines to set the agenda for our political future. The experience of the young and dynamic ‘Obama movement’, which elected America’s first ever black president in 2008, suggests it’s still possible to win enthusiasm for political causes, though the subsequent dampening of that movement once President Obama took office indicates that sheer enthusiasm is not enough to transform politics.
We don’t have to wait for a Messiah, or to abandon hope of political change. The election is an opportunity for us as the public to discuss and debate our own interests and priorities, and to begin to formulate a meaningful agenda for ourselves. By challenging prospective candidates to state their positions on the questions that matter to us, we can at least ensure that the election is not monopolised by issues dreamt up in focus groups with a view to tipping the electoral balance one way or the other in a few key marginal constituencies. Instead, we can gatecrash the party and insist on a serious public debate about the questions that are sidelined or obscured by the mainstream parties.
Sessions include:
- Vote for what?
- The welfare state: grasping the nettle
- Immigration: the elephant in the room
- They know what we're thinking? Evidence-based policy
- The new class war?
- A new agenda
The full programme on the Battle of Ideas website contains more detail on these sessions, speakers, and recommended readings.