The first LEAP conference 'Beyond the Market Economy' was held last Saturday (24th May) at Birkbeck College, University of London. Just over 80 people came along to discuss both the overarching economic dogma that drives New Labour, and the underlying economics of specific policy areas.
As John McDonnell MP, LEAP Chair, said "if we'd organised an event like this two or three years ago, we would have had a room with half a dozen people", but today economic issues are right at the top of the political agenda.
Over the coming weeks, this blog will be continuing the debate from each of the four sub-plenaries from the conference:
- Securing housing for all
- Ending corporate power: 21st century models of social ownership
- Drowning in debt: transforming the financial system
- Defending pay, pensions and job in a global market economy
In addition we'll be raising other economic issues as they come up, and promoting and opening up a debate on LEAP publications.
We've already uploaded the first batch of video from the conference - with excerpts from John McDonnell MP and Tony Benn.
Give us your feedback on the conference by emailing leap@l-r-c.org.uk.
I thought the conference was really good - the left needs to be organising exactly this sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteMy one criticism is that perhaps it was a bit too open, too unfocused (spel?) but maybe that was necessary for the first conference