Sunday 27 September 2009

Next Labour

Jon Cruddas and James Purnell kick off the Fabian fringe at 3pm, in conversation with Mary Riddell.

I have a commentary on LabourList previewing the Next Labour fringe event - suggesting that the Cruddas-Purnell dialogues have been important both in the tonality and their content in framing the longer-term debate that Labour needs to have.

Establishing that equality and the distribution of substantive freedom are core to Labour's mission demonstrates has narrowed the difference between different wings of the party. And showing that Labour can debate big questions, and sometimes disagree amongst ourselves, in an atmosphere of mutual respect is important to the type of pluralist coalition which we need across the centre-left if we are to govern.

And congratulations to the new look LabourList on its first ever conference. Can it really only be twelve months since a rather sweary Derek Draper was being warned on the Fabian fringe of the dangers of the politics of 'command and control' to the political blogosphere with his not yet launched website.

* Fabian public fringes take place at the Royal Albion Hotel.

No comments: