Research Centre

Welcome to my online Research Centre. Here you can find new research and thinking about how we can create fair chances, fair shares and a more United Kingdom in a ‘world without walls’. A world that requires Government, politics and parties that are different to the 20th century to end the divisions of the past. These ideas are, I think, key to winning the next election. My Fabian pamphlet, Why Labour won, studies this based on an analysis of the 2005 General Election.

You can read my Guardian articles here.

A world without walls

The forces at loose in the world today are creating what President Clinton called ‘a world without walls’. Here are two studies about what those forces look like – and the world they may produce;

A More United Kingdom

We can build a world without walls. But it needs to still feel like home. Here are a few pieces that make the argument about how global forces risk deepening and isolation and what we need to do to change it. As you will see much of the work has been inspired by Robert Putnam, here at the Treasury recently

My July 2009 RSA lecture, ‘Do People Need Community Any More’ with Prof Amatai Etzioni.
My St George’s Day speech to Quillam, From Common Challenge to Common Purpose
My March 2009 talk to Young Foundation, Remarks on Civility
My Demos pamphlet, published Dec 2008; A More United Kingdom
Putting our values centre, speech to Demos
My Fabian pamphlet written with Ruth Kelly, A Common Place
‘Rise Up, Englishman’, article for Spectator

Fair chances

In this new world, our job is to end old divisions. That includes giving everyone a fair chance to succeed and get on. One way to think about this, is to equip everyone with a minimum series of ‘capabilities’ or power. I’ve been heavily influenced in my thinking by Amartya Sen. A couple of bits of writing develop this;

My September 2009, essay for Demos ‘Powerful People’ was an attempt to bring together a philosophical argument
This work draws heavily on my research with Amartya Sen. My interview with Prof Sen is here.

I’ve tried to test these ideas in practice in Hodge Hill, where we have analysed what the challenge looks like, and undertaken two big projects to test how we encourage aspiration in low income schools, and get people off benefits and back to work. Both centre of equipping people with certain powers to succeed in 21st century Britain.

Fair shares

If people are to embrace the world that is coming, they will need to see a return – outside their front door. Our economy could do well in the future. But part of the pay-off must be the renewal of our inner cities, the old power houses of economic progress.

My September 2009, Smith Institute Annual Finance Lecture, The New Opportunity Economy, sets out how new growth can be shared growth
My October 2009, Progress lecture, No Place Left Behind, sets out how new growth can lift all, not just some, communities.
My 2001 SMF pamphlet Delivering full employment in our inner cities, sets out some early views on inner cit regeneration

Government and Politics that are different

Delivering these changes is a tall order. That’s why government and politics need to change. Public services must put people and communities in charge of change. Political parties need to harness ‘passion power’ connecting people not only with the ‘hard power’ of elections; but the chance to personally deliver change in their community.

This means a stronger civic society – an argument I’ve set out in two speeches; in particular I’ve focused on what the state needs to do differently to strengthen civic life, and civic organisations;

My May 2009 speech to the Fabians; Communitarian Politics for Britain’s Poorest Places; and
My February 2009 speech to Voice 2009

Government that is different

The state obviously needs to change to deliver on this vision. This is something I’ve spoken about a lot, and at the Cabinet Office, I created the new public service reform group to lead policy work. I’ve underlined the way centres of local services need to become centres of local society. The Young Foundation report, I commissioned on the question is here. Two recent speeches set out the argument for the way I think we need to drive public service standards up, and the deficit down;

First, my speech to the Institute of Government last month. It has a simple message; we should optimistic about the prospects for public services in the years to come. Yes spending growth will be slower; but we have built a store-house of strength in the last decade; a country of stronger citizens; a stronger frontline and a stronger civic society. Drawing on these strengths we can radically change the shape of state for the years to come.
Second, my speech on local public services and civic society, delivered in Birmingham on November 19th. It sets outs an argument for how our public services and community action must come together in a new coalition to change our country for the better in the century ahead.

This work builds an argument I’ve tried to set out over the course of this year.

The basic argument that the new State has to focus on putting power in peoples’ hands is set out in my March 2009 RSA Speech, New Challenges and Old Traditions. At the heart of this argument is an idea that the state does not have to be big to be strong – an argument I first made to the Guardian Public Services Conference, in Feb 2009.

In turn, this builds on some work stretching back over the last few years

Politics that is different

Liam’s Speeches

Speeches as Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2009-Present)