Amidst the panel discussions and speeches, the Young Fabians were keen to hear what our members thought on a central plank of Labour’s message, One Nation. Chaired by James Hallwood and led by Lord Stewart Wood, a key architect of the One Nation message, the Anatomy-style workshop sought to explore key questions that surrounded this new ideological strand.

After a brief introduction from Lord Wood, our members broke into four groups to explore topics relating to One Nationism:

What is conservative about One Nation?

What is radical about One Nation?

How could we sell One Nation on the doorstep?

What are the weaknesses in One Nation?

Our members came back with some excellent points, from looking at what it means to be a ‘small c’ conservative socialist, to how a radical intervention into the market can be achieved – from how the energy price freeze sums up a key element of One Nationism to concerns about its messaging on immigration.

It was refreshing to have a session so led by members and an antidote to too many panel events. The Young Fabians will be keen to replicate this format so major voices in the Labour movement are not just heard by our members, but also hear what our members have to say. 

The session marked the launch of our One Nationism series where members will have the chance to lead workstreams looking at different aspects of One Nation – for more information on this, and to apply, click here.