Progressive Britain, formerly known as Progress, is a political organisation associated with the British Labour Party, founded in 1996 to support the New Labour leadership of Tony Blair. It is seen as being on the right of the party.[1]
Progress merged with Policy Network in May 2021[2] to form Progressive Britain. Progressive Britain publishes research on politics, social issues, and the economy, as well as organising conferences and other events.
Aims
Until 2014 Progress stated it was "the New Labour pressure group which aims to promote a radical and progressive politics for the 21st century."[3] From late 2014 Progress stopped using the "New Labour" label and rebranded itself as "Labour's new mainstream, aim[ing] to promote a radical and progressive politics".[4][5]
Its aims were:
Progress is an organisation of Labour party members which aims to promote a radical and progressive politics for the 21st century.
We seek to discuss, develop and advance the means to create a more free, equal and democratic Britain, which plays an active role in Europe and the wider world.
Diverse and inclusive, we work to improve the level and quality of debate both within the Labour party, and between the party and the wider progressive community.[6][7]
After the merger with Policy Network and reforming as Progressive Britain the stated aims are:
Progressive Britain is the new platform for policymaking, political education, and imaginative thinking to rebuild Labour and the Nation. Rooted in the Labour Party, we are dedicated to national renewal through the intellectual revitalisation of the UK centre-left.
Key to this is our re-dedication as a think-tank – and our ongoing work bringing politicians, policymakers, experts, and activists together to shape Labour’s next winning policy platform
Progress was founded in 1996[8] by Paul Richards, Liam Byrne and Derek Draper, the former aide to Peter Mandelson, as an organisation to maintain a dialogue with Labour's new leadership under Tony Blair. It has organised many events and conferences, and hosted several important speeches by senior party figures. Its annual conference has become a staple of the political calendar with many cabinet ministers and other leading politicians attending.
In May 2014 Progress dropped using the "New Labour" label, introduced by Tony Blair, for the Labour party.[5]
In February 2019, a group of MPs left the Labour Party and founded The Independent Group. All seven founding members of this group were members of Progress and regularly contributed to the work of the organisation.
On 16 May 2021, Progress announced that it was merging with thinktank Policy Network to form an organisation named Progressive Britain which would be "dedicated to the intellectual revitalisation of the centre-left" and "championing the revival of progressive social democracy".[9][10]
Publications
Progress published a monthly magazine and a large number of political pamphlets.[11]
Under the Progressive Britain name the organization has published research on Labour's electoral strategy,[13][14] business regulation,[15][16] and the future of work.[17] It publishes a regular current affairs and Labour Party centred blog.
Links with Labour First
Historically, Progress had little connection with Labour First, an older Labour party factional organisation on the right of the Labour party.[18] The rise of Jeremy Corbyn and Momentum in the Labour Party saw Progress and Labour First, while remaining distinct organisations with different traditions, carry out more joint activities, including joint endorsement of candidates in internal party elections.[19][20]
In April 2020, immediately on the election of Keir Starmer as party leader, Labour First and Progress launched jointly a new umbrella organisation called ‘Labour to Win’, with goals including 'to bring about fundamental change in the party's culture and organisation'.[22]
Labour to Win endorsed candidates in the 2020 Labour National Executive Committee elections, however owing to the newly adopted Single Transferable Vote nature of the elections, and in the spirit of electing a pluralisitic NEC, the organisation chose only to endorse six of its own candidates and also to endorse three candidates politically more to the left than Labour To Win but who had a commitment to broad church Labour politics.[23]
Funding
Data from the Electoral Commission shows that between 2001 and August 2019, Progress received almost £4.7 million in donations.[24] Of this £3.5 million came from Lord Sainsbury, who stopped funding Progress in 2017.[25] Another source reported that Lord Sainsbury had contributed £2 million of the £3 million of donations and sponsorship to Progress from 2001 to 2011.[26] In 2014 Progress was fined £6,000 by the Electoral Commission for accepting donations of £390,000 from Lord Sainsbury while he was not on a UK electoral register, between December 2011 and April 2013.[27][28] During 2016 he had donated £260,000. After the 2017 general election Lord Sainsbury announced he will no longer provide financial backing to Progress.[29]
The second largest donor to Progress during this period is listed by the Electoral Commission as a "Permissible Donor Exempt Trust" set up in the name of Lord Michael Montague, which made donations to Progress for two years following his death.[30]
It was reported in 2012 that Progress had received more money than both the Green Party and Plaid Cymru, and that it had received more than 122 times more funding than any other members' association within the Labour Party. This level of funding has led to accusations that Progress is operating as a "party within a party".[30]
Criticism
In 2012, Progress was at the centre of the debate over the direction of the Labour Party under Ed Miliband, after a widely circulated anonymous report called for Labour's national executive to "determine the organisational nature of Progress, and whether or not this form of organisation is acceptable inside the Labour Party."[31] Criticism of Progress had concentrated on the generous funding that Progress had secured from external donors, and on its positioning, regarded as being on the right of the Labour Party. Following circulation of the report, the GMB General Secretary Paul Kenny led calls at the 2012 Labour conference for Progress to be "effectively… (outlawed)…as part of the Labour Party."[1] In response, a Labour Party statement said, "We are a party that is reaching out to people, gaining new supporters and offering real change for the country in these tough times. The Labour Party is a broad church and we are not in the business of excluding people."[1] Labour leader Ed Miliband was also clearly in support, telling The Independent that "I believe in an open and inclusive party, reaching out to people, not for pushing people away. That certainly does not mean excluding or proscribing organisations like Progress which contribute to the debate."[32]
In 2013, Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite the Union, claimed Progress was manipulating the selection procedures for Labour parliamentary candidates to get its candidates selected. Progress responded: "Progress helps to train and mentor candidates going for selection, to whom we do not give money. The details are open, plainly explained on our website and approved by a strategy board elected by our members."[33]
Prior to 2015 Progress was chaired by MP John Woodcock,[34] and prior to 2014 by former Minister Lord Adonis.[37] Prior to 2012 Progress was chaired by MP and former Minister Stephen Twigg, and the honorary president was Alan Milburn, the former Secretary of State for Health. Jonathan Mendelsohn was treasurer of Progress.[38]
Strategy Board
Progress announced the creation of the first strategy board in July 2012, to enable the organisation's 'growing membership to feel a true sense of engagement'.[39] The first elections were held in August 2012. The most final elections were held in 2016 and after this, under the Progressive Britain name, the strategy board was discontinued.
The final members of the Progress strategy board were:[40]
