Neighbourhood renewal and co-operative communities

ANDY HANSFORD looks at the causes of social exclusion, and unpicks the government’s plans for regeneration. A year ago, parts of the left press were highly critical of some measures coming out of the Social Exclusion Unit, which had recently published its ‘national strategy action plan’, called A new commitment to neighbourhood renewal. Neighbourhood...

Mixed greens

For all its good ideas, says Jonathan Timbers, the Green Party needs to do some serious thinking if it is to be a credible and progressive alternative to Labour The Green Party is often seen by some democratic socialists in England as a left-wing alternative to the Labour Party. There are a growing number...

Leaders not into the future

Does Labour’s change of leadership reflect anything more politically profound than a change of personnel? HAZEL HAED asseses the evidence. Gordon Brown’s long and painful wait to assume the top spot in British politics is now coming to an end. After enduring Tony Blair’s farcically long goodbye, Brown was shorn of the need actually...

Beyond the market, below the radar

Barry Winter reports on a Catalyst conference that raised more questions than it answered Billed by Catalyst as a ‘major pre-election conference’ on renewing the public services, this event – ‘Beyond the Market: Public services in the twenty-first century’ – aimed to create ‘a positive agenda and a new progressive alliance’ on the left....