"Bright Blue and its contributors have been tireless in bringing forward new ideas and fresh thinking to the conservative cause."
The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP
Centre Write
Wednesday, 24 April 2013 16:38
Funding for Lending: Risks ahead?
George Buckley is Chief UK Economist at Deutsche Bank. Follow George on Twitter: @georgebuckley In his Budget speech last month Chancellor George Osborne said that "We are now actively considering with the Bank of England whether there are potential extensions to the successful Funding for Lending Scheme". That extension was set out in Wednesday morning’s announcement from HM Treasury and the BoE. The original scheme allows banks and building societies to borrow 9-month T-Bills from the BoE over a period…
Friday, 19 April 2013 14:57
Evidence not anecdote
Rupert George is the Head of Communications at Release. Follow Rupert on Twitter. In the 1980s the UK faced the twin challenge of a huge upsurge in the number of intravenous drug users (primarily heroin) and the spread of HIV. Sharing a needle is an extremely efficient mechanism for the spread of blood borne viruses. The awareness that the rate of HIV infection presented a dire problem for public health led to Baroness Thatcher's government doing something markedly progressive. Her…
Friday, 22 March 2013 08:02
Is a ‘property-owning democracy’ enough?
Caroline Julian is a Senior Researcher and Project Manager at the independent think tank, ResPublica, and editor of 'Making it Mutual: The ownership revolution that Britain needs'. Follow Caroline on Twitter. Amongst the critique, commentators have given a cautious welcome to the Chancellor’s plans to support a ‘property-owning democracy’. With home ownership for the 25-34 age group down by a third in the last ten years, measures set to encourage construction and attainable mortgages for first time buyers have been…
Friday, 22 March 2013 04:35
Iraq: 10 years since the war
By Paul Abbott. Follow Paul on Twitter. Last week, I flew in to Erbil in northern Iraq, on a trip with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Kurdistan. Erbil is a small city, of 1.3 million people, near to the Iranian, Turkish, and Syrian borders. It is moderate, with women in positions of power; tolerance of Christians and Jews; alcohol on sale; and respect for property rights. It is also the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth. Before I travelled, I…
Wednesday, 13 March 2013 03:57
Transatlantic lessons for middle Britain
Sophia Parker in an Associate at the Resolution Foundation, having previously been the Director of Policy and Research. She is the Editor of 'The Squeezed Middle', the product of a 2010/11 fellowship at Harvard's Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy. Follow Sophia on Twitter. Today sees the launch of 'The Squeezed Middle: the pressure on ordinary workers in America and Britain' - a collection of essays from America’s leading thinkers in the field of living standards to understand what lessons,…
Friday, 08 March 2013 10:34
European Mainstream
Laura Sandys is the Member of Parliament for South Thanet and PPS to the Minister for Climate Change. Follow Laura on Twitter. Europe is an issue that seems to reverse all stereotypes within the Conservative Party. It turns the tough into the defeated, while making the most robust of patriots appear terribly uncertain and nervous in the face of competing nations. Contrary to Tory myths the Euro-realists are actually the toughies, not intimidated by different languages and negotiating techniques, but…
Monday, 04 March 2013 11:39
Doing more with less
Max Wind-Cowie runs the Progressive Conservatism Project at Demos, which identifies conservative values and policies that have progressive ends. Follow Max on Twitter: @MaxWindCowie We must be sceptical of claims that Eastleigh was fought and won solely on local issues. Of course the LibDems focused on the micro - their macro narrative leaves plenty to be desired at the moment and Rennard’s street-fighter playbook serves them well at by-elections. But that relentlessly local focus doesn’t adequately explain our loss to…
Sunday, 03 March 2013 03:32
Maria and modernity
Kate Maltby is a doctoral student researching the philosophy of Elizabeth I, and was from 2010 – 12 the theatre critic for The Spectator’s Arts Blog. She has also written on politics and culture for The Spectator’s Coffee House, Standpoint, The Times, The Times Literary Supplement, The Financial Times and The Huffington Post. Follow Kate on Twitter: @KateMaltby A few days before the Eastleigh by-election, I ran into a prominent Tory backbencher. What did he think of Maria Hutchings?, I…
Friday, 08 February 2013 21:51
UK Parliament Welcomes the Enough Food IF Campaign
Phil Bloomer is the Director of the Campaigns and Policy Division for Oxfam GB. Follow Phil on Twitter: @pbloomer It was great to attend the Parliamentary Launch of the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign at Speaker’s House a couple of weeks ago on 23 January. We saw a real cross-party commitment to tackle issues around hunger, with a video message from the Prime Minister David Cameron joining high profile political speakers such as the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg,…
Friday, 25 January 2013 19:47
Britain's EU Future: A Dangerous Period of Uncertainty
Dr. Robin Niblett is the Director of Chatham House. Follow Robin on Twitter. It was a lengthy and complete speech when it came. David Cameron sought to encapsulate for continental Europeans Britain's psychology (or neurosis) about Europe as well as his principles for a reformed EU which, if met, would serve British interests and be deserving of continued UK membership. But he has also opened a period of unprecedented uncertainty about Britain's future relationship with the European Union. The negative…
