Neal Lawson

Neal Lawson is Chair of the pressure group Compass and has written many pamphlets for the organisation on the themes of democracy and equality. He was author in 2009 of All Consuming (Penguin) and was co-editor in 2001 of the Progressive Century.

‘Build Back Better’ is not a secret left-wing plot – it’s simply common sense

Our campaign is an attempt to create alliances for change. Nothing more, nothing less.

By Neal Lawson

/ 9 Jul 2020

‘Build Back Better’ is not a secret left-wing plot – it’s simply common sense

Corbyn wasn't all bad

Labour has to learn from the successes as well as the failures of the past.

By Neal Lawson

/ 11 Apr 2020

Labour’s new leader must be a capacity builder

Britain’s Labour party has five potential futures...

By Neal Lawson

/ 3 Apr 2020

Labour’s new leader must be a capacity builder

Does Labour have to triangulate between power and principle, or is there another way?

Competence is not enough. Labour's new leader must be able to listen, trust, share power, and have fun.

By Neal Lawson

/ 24 Feb 2020

Does Labour have to triangulate between power and principle, or is there another way?

The Right does solidarity whilst Labour remains stubbornly ‘anti-social’

Labour could this week stand aside in a Green target seat or two, as the Greens have in two key Labour targets already. But instead the Party seems remains wedded to "monopoly socialism".

By Neal Lawson

/ 12 Nov 2019

The Right does solidarity whilst Labour remains stubbornly ‘anti-social’

Portugal's power-sharing success story has vital lessons for Labour

Portugal shows that both pluralism and proportional representation don’t have to hold socialists back – indeed quite the reverse.

By Neal Lawson

/ 7 Oct 2019

Portugal's power-sharing success story has vital lessons for Labour

When will progressive politics get serious?

The choice currently seems to be either Corbynism that can’t get us out of this mess, or the vapid centrism that helped get us into it.

By Neal Lawson

/ 21 Aug 2019

When will progressive politics get serious?

How to respond to Boris Johnson – and how not to

We keep losing – because we keep reacting in the same way. No more!

By Neal Lawson

/ 24 Jul 2019

How to respond to Boris Johnson – and how not to

Why the new Lib Dem leader needs to offer more than just the ‘sugar rush’ of Brexit opposition

Both Jo Swinson and Ed Davey have approached the leadership election offering restoration, not transformation. But the need for transformation and social liberalism has never been greater.

By Neal Lawson

/ 22 Jul 2019

Why the new Lib Dem leader needs to offer more than just the ‘sugar rush’ of Brexit opposition

Brexit, complexity and compromise – a progressive future will be negotiated, not imposed

Only when we recognise the vulnerability of all progressive positions, and reject simple binaries, can we start to build trust, dialogue and the long-term solutions the moment demands.

By Neal Lawson

/ 25 Jun 2019

Brexit, complexity and compromise – a progressive future will be negotiated, not imposed

Britain's two party system: will Peterborough confirm it’s dead again?

Fidelity to party machines won’t save us from a new authoritarianism. Only a new, pluralist political system can do that.

By Neal Lawson

/ 4 Jun 2019

Britain's two party system: will Peterborough confirm it’s dead again?

Labour's expulsion of Alastair Campbell shows it's tied to old ideas

Disciplinarian, command and control parties are a remnant of the past. We might not like Campbell's politics, but expelling him from Labour for voting Lib Dem is a mistake.

By Neal Lawson

/ 28 May 2019

Labour's expulsion of Alastair Campbell shows it's tied to old ideas