NEW POLLING: 'Reindustrialisation' is one of the Prime Minister’s favourite slogans. Some economists dismiss it as nostalgic and naive. But what do voters think? The verdict is clear: voters love the term, with net approval of +61 points, rising to +67 among Labour’s 2024 voters

The result is an endorsement of a positive strategy which avoided directly attacking the Greens, as @thinklabour.bsky.social recommended in our recent report on the Green threat. We found that Green considerers saw attacks on the Greens as like "kicking a puppy". thinklabour.co.uk/thinking/pai...

Painting The City Red • ThinkLabour

ThinkLabour is a think tank working at the heart of British politics to support the Labour movement with research, strategy, and policy development.

thinklabour.co.uk

Thoughts on Holborn & St P: Not ideal Green territory. May's locals were a Labour-Green toss-up here, so with Labour's position improving under Burnham, a fairly comfortable hold was to be expected. But it means that in the places where the Greens actually beat Labour in May, they remain a threat.

NEW REPORT: Spanish Practises How can we give mayors the powers they need to deliver growth? Our new joint report with @britishprogress.org sets out how mayors could unlock housing, infrastructure and regeneration by giving them greater control over planning, regulation and funding.

Spanish Practices • ThinkLabour

ThinkLabour is a think tank working at the heart of British politics to support the Labour movement with research, strategy, and policy development.

thinklabour.co.uk

Very interesting thread from our Economics Adviser, Dan Mead, on how economic growth in Luxembourg helped revitalise nearby post-industrial towns in France and reduce support for the far right. A powerful lesson for Labour on growth, connectivity and regional renewal.

Dan Mead@danmead.bsky.social · 7d ago

How can we revitalise post-industrial towns and fight the far right? A new academic paper from UC Berkley shows how the development of Luxembourg as a financial centre also boosted the economy and reduced the vote share for the National Rally in nearby ex-manufacturing towns in France.

NEW RESEARCH ON MUSLIM VOTERS Ahead of the Holborn & St Pancras election (1 in 5 residents are Muslim) @thinklabour.bsky.social our.bsky.social ran focus groups to explore what, if anything, has changed. We found a mood of cautious optimism about the new PM thinklabour.substack.com/p/labours-se...

Labour’s Second Chance with Muslim Voters

Christabel Cooper, Interim Director of Political Strategy

thinklabour.substack.com

Labour’s Second Chance with Muslim Voters? Our latest focus groups found cautious optimism about Andy Burnham. In our new Substack by @christabelcoops.bsky.social, we explore what it will take to win back voters who have moved to the Greens, and what it means for Labour in Holborn and St Pancras.

Labour’s Second Chance with Muslim Voters

Christabel Cooper, Interim Director of Political Strategy

thinklabour.substack.com

Tory Conference is underway. So what does the party’s current strategy look like? We asked Lord Andrew Cooper, David Cameron’s former Director of Strategy, to take a look at Kemi Badenoch’s approach - drawing on ThinkLabour focus groups to examine how voters see the Conservatives today.

The Tories Still Don’t Know Why They Lost

Lord Andrew Cooper, Former Conservative Director of Strategy

thinklabour.substack.com

What a conference that was. Our @christabelcoops.bsky.social joined Channel 4 News to discuss Andy Burnham’s speech and ThinkLabour polling showing the public can support a National Care Service and triple lock reform - if the case is communicated clearly.

We also said that the party should make more of its policies to help the economically insecure, such as the Employment Rights Bill and the Renters Rights Bill. They have taken our advice to heart, and the better results are clear to see. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Labour must reunite progressive voters to win the next election, says Lucy Powell

The deputy leader wants the party to take advantage of a split on the right and not be embarrassed to show its values

theguardian.com

"Who is Andy Burnham For?" looks at which voters the new PM is winning back based on the groups @thinklabour.bsky.social identified in May: values-driven left-liberals, the economically insecure motivated by material concerns and transactional voters focused on delivery. substack.com/inbox/post/2...

Who is Andy Burnham For?

Christabel Cooper, Interim Director of Political Strategy

substack.com

Who is Andy Burnham for? Earlier this year, ThinkLabour argued that Labour could no longer rely on a single group of swing voters. In a fragmented political landscape, Labour needs to hold together a broad coalition of left-liberal, economically insecure and transactional voters.

Who is Andy Burnham For?

Christabel Cooper, Interim Director of Political Strategy

thinklabour.substack.com

NEW REPORT: A New Civil Partnership With the British Foreign Policy Group and foreword from Al Carns MP, we make the case for a National Resilience Corps - strengthening our resilience while rebuilding civic participation and giving people a practical role in protecting their communities.

Report calls for a National Resilience Corps formed of thousands of volunteers

Volunteers would complete 10 days of training, followed by regular volunteering and training, before being available to support responses to emergencies.

news.sky.com

Can the government really stop consulting on microchipping cats? The Government has made good progress with its recent announcements on tackling “consultation culture”. But what does it actually take to end it?

For our new report, Painting the City Red, we went to Bristol to ask voters what they thought about Labour and their values. One answer came through clearly: Labour’s values no longer feel clear enough.

Our @thinklabour.bsky.social report on the Greens challenge to Labour is in the Guardian today. Our diagnosis of why Labour's vote fell in cities is high housing costs for young people, plus progressives worried that Labour doesn't reflects their values. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Greens just four points behind Labour in urban areas, poll reveals

Exclusive: UK’s Green parties could take 40 seats if result replicated at next election, according to Labour-linked thinktank

theguardian.com

NEW REPORT: Painting The City Red by Christabel Cooper and Dan Mead. Labour has a problem in our cities. Once dominant across metropolitan Britain, Labour’s support has fallen sharply - while the Greens have made significant gains in many of the places that should be among Labour’s strongest.

Greens just four points behind Labour in urban areas, poll reveals

Exclusive: UK’s Green parties could take 40 seats if result replicated at next election, according to Labour-linked thinktank

theguardian.com

Last month, in our paper The Lame Leviathan, we argued that Britain needed to end its culture of endless consultation and start putting decisions into action. Today, the Chancellor, First Secretary of State and Attorney General are setting out a plan to do just that.

Britain once had a thriving municipal bond market. In 1899, English municipal debt was equal to half the national debt, helping cities like Birmingham fund ambitious public investment. Could bringing it back help Labour build the infrastructure we need?

Gas, water and bonds - the Labour case for a municipal bond market

James Howat, Director of Policy

thinklabour.substack.com

What happens when protecting rights starts to make government slower and less effective? In today's substack, former Home Secretary Jack Straw reflects on his experience of watching public law and legal processes develop over five decades - and the impact this has had on government decision-making.

The Lame Leviathan

Jack Straw, Former Home Secretary

thinklabour.substack.com

If the state is lame, voters have no good reason to support social democracy. Government has become too good at process - and too bad at delivery. Our new report, The Lame Leviathan, argues that decades of rules, consultations and legal checks have made it harder for governments to get things done

The Lame Leviathan • ThinkLabour

ThinkLabour is a think tank working at the heart of British politics to support the Labour movement with research, strategy, and policy development.

thinklabour.co.uk

We are happy to see our recent substack in Stephen Bush's (@stephenkb.bsky.social) Inside Politics this morning. The driving test back log is a simple example where headlines are prioritised rather than results. You can read the full substack here: thinklabour.substack.com/p/why-josh-w...

Labour members are more likely to think that welfare spending is too high than the general public. In today's substack @christabelcoops.bsky.social examines our latest Labour members polling. Read more here: thinklabour.substack.com/p/labour-mem...

Labour members ‘have tougher view on welfare than you might think’, poll suggests

Labour members ‘have tougher view on welfare than you might think’, poll suggests

Survey finds party members see health, the economy, cost of living and climate crisis among biggest challenges Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling. The survey of 788 members between the end of June and the end of July shows them ranking health (43%), the economy (42%), cost of living (39%) and climate change (29%) as Britain’s most important issues, ahead of welfare benefits (7%) and immigration (6%). Continue reading...

theguardian.com

People often assume they know what Labour members think. We decided to ask them. The results might surprise you. Labour members back higher defence spending in an increasingly uncertain world and support reducing welfare spending.

Labour members ‘have tougher view on welfare than you might think’, poll suggests

Survey finds party members see health, the economy, cost of living and climate crisis among biggest challenges

theguardian.com

Why is it still harder to book a driving test than get Glastonbury tickets? Our latest substack looks at why the driving test backlog still hasn't been fixed six years after the pandemic - and argues the real obstacle isn't logistics, it's politics.

Why Josh Widdecombe’s wife is a victim of the cost of living

Amelia Wood, Policy Advisor

thinklabour.substack.com

Fiscal devolution is one of the most important reforms this government can deliver to drive growth, strengthen local leadership and improve public services.

The National Care Service has been promised before. Why could this time be different? Our latest substack by Policy Director, @abbyabhaya.bsky.social, explores the politics of care reform, intergenerational fairness, and whether Labour can finally deliver a National Care Service.

The debt of dignity - reviving the National Care Service

Abby Jitendra

thinklabour.substack.com

In the days before Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, we welcomed Deputy Leader Lucy Powell to discuss one of our latest reports, Who is Labour for?

Today Britain has a new Prime Minister. So we brought together a focus group with Labour considerers to ask a simple question: what do they actually think of Andy Burnham? Read about the challenges he faces in public opinion in our latest substack, by @cwp-weir.bsky.social

Turn and Face the Strange.

Calum Weir, Research Manager

thinklabour.substack.com