On Saturday 14th January, the Institute of Education in central London played host to the 2012 Fabian Society New Year Conference.

Hundreds of Fabians attended the all-day event, which featured some of the leading lights of the British Left and a selection of some of Labour’s most prominent frontbenchers.

This year’s theme was ‘The Economic Alternative’. Unsurprisingly, I left the conference with a sense that the Left is not offering just one alternative to the Coalition’s programme of unchecked austerity, but several, each occupying a different space on the political spectrum.

The alternative offered by Labour was set out by Ed Balls in his keynote speech. To the acclaim of some, and the horror of others, he made it clear that Labour would not reverse the cuts imposed on the country by the Tory-led government. However, in contrast to the Coalition, he did promise that the party’s focus would be fixed firmly on job creation rather than blind deficit reduction.

The overall impression received from those representing the Labour party on Saturday – which included Rachel Reeves and Chuka Ummanu – was that they were firmly sticking to their leader’s view. As Ed Miliband explained earlier last week, regardless of the Coalition’s performance over the coming three years, the next government will still inherit a deficit and in consequence have few spending options available to them. A future Labour government, therefore, would be a government of austerity too.

The need for Labour to allay suspicions that the party is, in Ed Balls’ words, “out of tune with the public mood” on the deficit is obvious from the view of narrow, immediate political interest. But as Sunny Hundal explains, by shifting the debate onto Tory territory, Labour instantly puts itself at a disadvantage. Labour will never look comfortable using the language of ‘fiscal conservatism’, or be able to dislodge the country’s preference for Conservative stewardship of the economy by promising “tough decisions on tax and spending”.

Historically, Labour has a poor record on economic management. From the historic debts of 1945 to the strikes and public sector strife of the 1970s, Labour has either inherited or created dire economic circumstances. Even New Labour, which was unique among Labour governments in presiding over eleven years of GDP growth, failed the economic test in the end when the financial storm broke. The Conservatives will always be able to claim that they are the party to be trusted with the economy when times turn hard. A Labour party promising to ‘out-macho’ the Tories will always struggle to make headway.

Other Left thinkers offered alternative visions of a future progressive approach to the economy. Caroline Lucas MP, leader of the Green Party, argued against our current economic model and stated her support for the introduction of alternate measures of national prosperity based on citizens’ perception of their own well-being and consideration for the environment. She also impressed on the audience the need to redistribute the existing wealth in society through a programme of progressive taxation and capital investment in Green infrastructure projects. The applause she received from the conference rivalled anything Ed Balls mustered, suggesting that the Left is not ready to pull on the hair-shirt of austerity just yet.

What I discovered throughout the conference is that Fabians responded better to policies and positions that promoted positive messages. Chuka Ummuna MP struck a chord by arguing that the British economy needs to be geared towards ‘pre-distribution’, and shaped in such a way that the proceeds work to lessen inequality rather than exacerbate it. The conference warmly acclaimed Will Straw’s pitch on the need for a National Investment Bank to fund SMEs, embracing the positive message that even a little investment could go a long way to transforming the fortunes of those trying to make their way through the economic turmoil.

Effective intervention, equality and redistribution were the buzzwords of the day, and if any consensus emerged from the conference it was that the economic alternative would have to reflect these three values. Let us hope that Labour’s more positive messages on jobs, ‘pre-distribution’ and ‘a responsible capitalism’ can shift the debate onto the Left’s territory, and force David Cameron to fight on our ground and on our terms.

If you were at the 2012 Fabians Conference and want to share your thoughts on the blog, please contact the team at: blog@youngfabians.org.uk

Louie Woodall is Assistant Editor of the Young Fabians Blog

The issue arose when a British-American couple sought divorce in the country in which they were wed as they were unable to do so at home. In the Toronto court case Canada’s Conservative government argued that the lack of recognition in their countries of origin meant that they were never married in the first place, setting a very concerning legal precedent.

While the Netherlands, Spain and others recognise the legality of marriages between foreigners on their soil Canada’s actions have shocked LGBT communities across the globe – not least from those who married there and wake up today unsure of their status.

Given that the Canadian government was happy licensing such marriages at the time this retrospective move seems as hypocritical as it does discriminatory. Can one imagine Canadian law refusing to recognise an interacial marriage because the applicants’ countries of origin wouldn’t?

Canada does not inflict the death penalty on those from countries that use capital punishment, nor does it prevent Saudi women from driving along the roads of Ontario – yet the same correct standard is not applied to gay marriage that, even if not legally recognised in a home nation, should be fully respected by the country that wed them.

There are certainly valid arguments against foreigners relying on Canadian law to adjudicate divorce but deciding that after the marriage is surely too late?

Legal issues aside, the case argued by the Canadian Conservatives must be seen in the context of an administration that has been perceived as increasingly socially conservative. While native Canadians are not affected many activists in Canada fear that this action may be indicitive of their government’s future direction. Little wonder there is outrage from sea to sea.

In the UK the Labour Party achieved a real change in legislation and public attitudes to LGBT rights, a change that the British Conservative frontbench have eventually had to accept. With this on their watch now is the time to ask them to act, to prove that their gay rights credentials aren’t just soundbites for the ‘pink vote’. The British government cannot remain silent on this.

It has been commendable that the coalition has sought to promote gay rights in the ‘developing world’ but it is now imperative that it seeks to defend them in the West.

To that end I am waiting on confirmation of an e-petition that if accepted I implore you to sign; asking the government to condemn this action and seek to affirm the rights of gay British citizens and others to be legally wed in Canada. Update to follow.

The case for LGBT rights in Africa and beyond would be severely undermined if Britain cannot stand up for gay rights in the ‘developed world’.

The hackneyed charge of ‘imperialism’ and ‘interference’ would be dealt a blow by our being seen to challenge any country that infringes the rights of the gay community. This is a message to Canada as much as it is to the world at large. It’s an opportunity that the British government should not miss.

When the shock subsides one realises how important it is to avoid complacency. If this can happen in Canada it can happen anywhere. While I am confident Britain would never go down this route it is a reminder that we must never take our hard won rights for granted.

Labour enshrined LGBT rights into our laws and society, a lesson our Conservatives have had to learn – perhaps if we ask them strongly and often enough they can remind their brethren in Canada of that same important lesson.

James Hallwood is the Young Fabian Equalities Officer.

Of course, we’re often told – after Bercow has hush hushed MPs – that the public actually rather enjoy the Yo’ Mama aspect of the spectacle. But in actual fact, about half say they enjoy it and half say they’d rather see something a little more… constructive. For the Westminster Village it’s the highlight of the week, so that leaves the rest of the viewers outside of the bubble scratching their heads week in, week out. But for politicos a certain degree of over importance is attached to it. Commentators often use it as a barometer for how the leader is performing overall; bloggers score the contestants based on whether they’ve “won” or “lost” over the six rounds of questions, and MPs pack themselves into the House for a bit of live theatre.

But the level of interest it generates has nothing to do with how valuable it is to our democracy. It’s the one time a week we know that David Cameron and Ed Miliband will come up against eachother, so the hype surrounding it has more to do with the people than the format.

Does the format even allow for effective scrutiny of the executive? Half of the questions come from the prime minister’s own side, and can any opposition leader effectively hold the prime minister to account when they’re so limited by time? The quick exchanges incentivise point scoring and render any depth to questioning pointless. As a consequence, the public are presented with a hotch-potch of messaging, lines and planted questions that do more harm than good if the desire is to instill trust in politicians and engage with voters.

Contrast the format of PMQs with the incredibly popular Question Time. It’s far less confrontational, but there are still lively debates, and without the shackles of parliamentary protocol the discussion feels a lot more natural. Instead of PMQs, why not have the main party leaders answering questions from the public for an hour in a television studio? Like the leaders debates, but every week.

The interest those debates generated superceded even Sky’s imagination, and they set the ball rolling. They showed that people are interested in politics, as long as it’s presented in the right way. So instead of being flies on the wall why can’t we be active participants in the scrutiny of the executive? We might even do a better job than MPs.

Matt Zarb-Cousin is the editor of the Young Fabians blog, and the Secretary and Press Officer for the Young Fabians.

It’s not surprising that young people in our country find themselves politically prominent just now.

Rocketing youth unemployment: the tuition fees rise; a reduction in the funding of higher and further education; the removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance; rising living costs combined with wage stagnation; and the inability of many to get on the property ladder, meaning that an unassisted buyer is likely to be in their late thirties before owning their first home; have disproportionally affected young people.

Youth unemployment will be the key issue of this Parliament – both in Scotland and the UK – and my growing fear is that it may be the issue of the next Parliament. Young people are now looking to their future and instead of deciding what line of work they want to pursue, they are trying to find any line of work they can pursue.

Youth priorities are often the same priorities as everyone else in our movement. Employment, access to services, security and equality of opportunity are things that we all want. However, although young people in our movement invariably have the same principles and ideals, they often have a different and fresher approach.

I recently chaired a policy commission for the Young Fabians entitled Building Stronger Communities which held sessions in London, Manchester and Glasgow taking contributions from a mainly youthful audience. The assembled audience were asked to pitch us potential policies to appear in a fictional manifesto: but what struck me about the commission was how willing and engaged the young audience were and how progressive their policies were.

That is why one of my key messages during my Deputy Leadership campaign has been the need to cultivate the talents. We need to recognise, cultivate and promote the young and old talented individuals within our party and the wider movement.

The SNP may currently be ahead in financial resources but in terms of potential, ideas and energy, we can beat them if we use the collective talent of the wider movement.

Young members should never be seen as only being there to make the phone calls, stuff the envelopes and  knock the doors, but as our resource pool and the advocates of Labour values whether in their workplaces, college or university campuses and in their local communities.

We have to harness the ideas, the skills and the enthusiasm of our younger members and use it to help drive our party forward. Social media and using the internet to effectively campaign is two of the many examples where the input of our youth movement has already made an impact, but where it also has a huge amount to offer.

If elected as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party I will take it upon myself to lead meaningful engagement with the younger members of our movement. During my campaign I have met with almost every student group, right across the country and if elected I will seek to make this a formal part of our party structure, harnessing this energy and ideas and feeding them directly into our parties decision making process.

This contest is about the future of our Party and our country. Our young people are just that.

Editor’s note: The Young Fabians welcome posts from other candidates in the Scottish Labour deputy leadership election. Email mzarb@youngfabians.org.uk if you would like to contribute.

What does politics mean to you?
Politics is an obsession to me, probably to an unhealthy extent. But that’s because nothing is more important than a debate that leads to one party or another gaining control of government and being able to affect people’s lives, I hope for the better.

Why Labour?
The Labour Party drives me nuts much of the time, but there’s no doubt in my mind that its instincts and history define it as the best vehicle for progressive reform in our country.

Why not the Tories?
Seriously?

Why not the Lib Dems?
Oh, where to start, where to start…? I acknowledge that many LibDems have their hearts in the right place. But why does that place always have to be on their sleeves? Pious self-righteousness leaves me cold, especially when I know that that sanctimony, as expressed by the likes of Clegg, has no moral foundation. We all know that politics is occasionally and necessarily cynical. So just accept that and get on with the job, don’t wring your hands about it and bemoan others for not being as perfect as you.

What was the best thing Labour achieved in Government?
The Scottish Parliament.

And what was the greatest missed opportunity?
That we kept putting off real welfare reform, allowing the Tories to step in and do it the wrong way for the wrong reasons.

What’s the best political advice you’ve received?
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

How would you define your politics?
Progressive with a tinge of common sense. Or maybe the other way round.

How would others define your politics?
Unjustifiably right wing. Probably.

What are you most passionate about?
Children. I am never angrier than when I read of the latest case where the authorities have allowed useless, selfish parents a third, fourth or fifth chance to look after their own kids and it’s ended tragically.

What’s been your biggest achievement?
I was the railway minister who saved the Blackpool tram.

What’s been your biggest disappointment?
Being sacked by Gordon Brown as a transport minister.

What is your favourite political moment?
Being appointed by Tony Blair as a transport minister.

What is your favourite political quote?
Mario Cuomo: “We campaign in poetry but we govern in prose.” True and perfectly put.

Who is your political hero?
David Cairns. A perfect combination of wisdom, humour and compassion. And he had the irritating habit of always being right.

Who is your political villain?
Alex Salmond.

If you weren’t a politician what would you be?
A writer.

How would you like to be remembered?
As a good dad, a good husband and a good man.

What do you most dislike about British politics?
Virtually nothing. It’s wonderful.

What do you most like about British politics?
Probably the House of Commons: a much misunderstood and unjustifiably denigrated institution.

How can Labour win the next election?
By appealing to every voter who supported us in 97 and by giving them a reason to support us again. You could do worse than ask Tony . . .

Editor’s note: The Young Fabians welcome posts from other candidates in the Scottish Labour leadership election. Email mzarb@youngfabians.org.uk if you would like to contribute.

All of which means it’s time for me to move on and hand over editorship of this blog.

Matt Zarb-Cousin, who has blogged for the likes of Political Scrapbook and the Huffington Post, will be taking over. Like me last year, he holds the position of Secretary of the Young Fabians.

When I first joined the Young Fabian Executive in 2006/7, our new media offer was relatively light. This blog didn’t exist.  Sam Strudwick, then Web Officer, set one up when he redesigned the Young Fabian website a year or so later. But it wasn’t until I took on Editorship of the blog that we started getting the quality and frequency of content that you need to make any blog viable.

The editorial direction of the blog has grown organically. Originally, just executive committee members and the odd guest author would post. Now it has broadened into a space for Young Fabian members to share their ideas and develop their writing, alongside contributions from guest authors.

Colleagues on previous Young Fabian executive committees will know how much I’ve nagged to get blog content built into their other work. Not only is it a timely way of sharing ideas and thoughts, but it also provides content for members and supporters wherever they’re located and at whatever time is convenient for them. It is also a great way for members to get involved in Young Fabian work.

All the effort put into the blog since it launched two years ago has yielded encouraging results. Our readership continues to grow and we’ve been recognised in the Total Politics blog awards in several different blog categories this year. Our content is also being read by key opinion formers – our Middle East Programme travellog generated significant amounts of interest in the blogosphere earlier this year, resulting in our highest ever daily readership since the blog began.

But we shouldn’t rest on our laurels. I remember a little over a year ago having a conversation with a Young Fabian member who was criticising the way the blog was managed. He felt it wasn’t open enough and wanted more opportunities for members to be able to write. It was heartening that even then the blog was considered a central part of our published output. But, while I took on board the criticism, I remember thinking how irritating progressives can be – always focusing on improvements yet to make, rather than recognising what has already been achieved (at the time of our conversation, the blog had only been in existence for a year).

It is difficult for any one individual to meet that desire for constant progress and improvement indefinitely. Continued progress relies on continued renewal of ideas and of people.

In terms of published output, I’ve had two key roles with the Young Fabians – Editor of Anticipations, and Editor of the its blog. With both, I felt two years was more than enough time to make changes and improve their standing and content before allowing others to develop them further. I’d like to think I’ve made a difference to the way the Young Fabians think about publications and to the way its executive serves the membership.

Matt is well placed to pick up the baton. And I wish him well. I look forward to seeing the blog evolve further and writing for it again in future.

I’d like to thank the many people who have contributed to this blog over the last two years and to my executive committee colleagues whose ears I’ve bent repeatedly. I’m also particularly grateful to Louie Woodall who has ably assisted me with the editing of this blog over the last six months or so.

And to you for reading the blog, thus making all the effort worthwhile.

Alex Baker was a member of the Young Fabian executive between 2006-7 and 2010-11. He is a former Editor of the Young Fabians Blog and Anticipations, the journal of the Young Fabians.

For those of you who have always meant to get more involved in the Young Fabians or are curious about what we’re like, it will also be a perfect opportunity to find out about the sort of activities available and the various ways to get involved.

We’ll be doing this in informal surroundings over dinner next Friday 28 October. It’s a relaxed event that we hold each year to celebrate Young Fabian achievements of the past 12 months and help new people get to know fellow members. You can find out more about the Young Fabian Annual Dinner by clicking here.

This year the dinner is taking place in Tas near Waterloo in London. The ticket price covers three courses of Turkish mezze – on top of that, I’m thinking of doing a picture quiz, we’ll definitely hold a prize raffle, plus we will be announcing our guest speaker shortly.

I’m certain you will enjoy the evening and you are encouraged to come with friends who you’d like to introduce to the Young Fabians.

Go to the Young Fabian website to buy your ticket via PayPal. This is the only way to guarantee your place. There is limited space and because of the popularity of this event, we recommend you get your ticket as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with Kathi or Richard.

We hope to see you there.

Adrian Prandle is Chair of the Young Fabians

This week, Young Fabian Women launches its first pamphlet, Women’s Issues - a selection of essays covering a wide range of policy issues, from the impact of the economic downturn on young people to Labour Party reform, youth violence to European cooperation.

Young Fabian Women provides opportunities for young women on the British left to get involved in politics and policy. We hope this pamphlet, no doubt the first of many, will encourage others to make their voices heard. As Oona King points out in her foreword, a century after the Suffragettes, the fight for equal representation and equal rights is far from won. As young, progressive women we have a responsibility to keep fighting to break through the glass ceilings that still characterise every area of public life.

A key vehicle for achieving greater equality, whether in the political or social realm, is the Labour Party and the wider progressive movement. And now is the ideal time to prove that Labour is the party of gender equality. As Sunday’s papers made clear, the Coalition Government is losing its electoral appeal to British women.

The problem is twofold: first, the Prime Minister’s attitude appears patronising, out of touch, and at times sexist, and second, his programme of swinging cuts – the defining feature of the Coalition to date – disproportionately affects women. No surprise then that a new study shows female approval for the coalition has plummeted to just 25%, with only 13% of women believing the Conservatives are the party “closest to women”.

Labour should take the initiative and make real equality for women, in terms of representation in the Commons, seats in the boardroom, fair access to pensions and support for carers, at the heart of its opposition to the Coalition. And we must play our part, by engaging in policy debates and standing for election.

After all, every issue is a woman’s issue.

Debbie Moss is a member of the Young Fabians and a contributor to Women’s Issues, a pamphlet by Young Fabian Women.

• Women’s Issues can be downloaded here. To find out more about Young Fabian Women click here or contact Claire Leigh on cleigh@youngfabians.org.uk.

Taking the title of the Young Fabian Policy Commission ‘Securing the future of the next generation’, and looking across a range of short and long term policy areas, the fringe sought to address how Ed Miliband’s Promise of Britain could be realised.

I chaired a panel featuring Joani Reid, Young Fabian member and chair of the aforementioned policy commission, Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Shadow Justice Minister, John Woodcock, MP for Barrow & Furness and Shadow Transport Minister, Rosie Cooper from Catch 22, and Fatima Hassan, from our partners ICAEW.

Amongst the themes that emerged from panel and audience discussion were: the need to replace what is looking like a process of managing decline with a positive agenda characterised by hope; an optimism in young people and for young people; the desire to reduce the gaps between young people and the world of work, particularly be exploiting opportunities for collaboration; utilising models for involving young people in strategic decision-making; acknowledging the importance of local government where many services are accessed; and that more of the same is simply not going to cut it – Labour needs to start early in formulating new policy that it can implement as a government after the general election.

And there was also plenty of opposition to the new Labour position on university fees, with puzzled voices unsure why the leadership had nailed its colours to the mast of £6,000 fees, a sum not inconsiderable to most young people and their families.  I don’t have the answer to that one, it seemed somewhat arbitrary to me – though the problem initiated years ago when Labour in government abandoned the principle of education free to the user. It was inevitable then that the argument just becomes about numbers. A shame.

What the policy has in its favour is its simplicity. And answers that are easy to understand and easy for politicians to explain have the potential to serve the party well. But they are not always right, and not always enough. The Young Fabian fringe demonstrated that the problems themselves that young people face are many and complex – but there is a lot of appetite to resolve them.

I look forward to seeing the final outcomes from Joani’s Young Fabian policy commissions – watch this space over the next few weeks.

Adrian Prandle is Chair of the Young Fabians

I was there for work, on a graduate scheme with a charity and was very much an observer and an outsider. But suddenly all over the place at the fringe event were interesting discussions, people proposing how to achieve a better and more equal society and action plans to make this happen.

That was it. I went home, joined the Labour Party and the Young Fabians and started my political journey.

Four years on I still get that same buzz.

I love the fringe events – so many debates and panel discussions on every topic you can imagine. And of course the receptions and parties mean one day becomes more like two rolled into one.

As I started to understand more about politics, the activity in the main hall also started to make more sense and interest me – this afternoon we will hear about the changes Refounding Labour and the policy review have brought up and it could be an exciting new era for the Labour Party. One thing never ceases to amaze me, even though I should be used to it by now – the way the media report on Conference is always so far removed from what it actually feels like when you’re here. You’ve got to be here to experience it.

So, if you’ve never been to Conference, how about thinking of coming next year? If you’re a Labour Party member you can get a member pass and you apply around June time (tip – the important thing is to book your accomodation early in the year).

For me, Labour Party Conferences have been some of the most formative experiences along my journey learning about politics. And the most fun.

I think you might like them too.

Anna-Joy Rickard is Membership Officer for the Young Fabians.