Settlers, Prospectors and Pioneers

Last week, together with a number of other colleagues I met with the Campaign Company to learn more about some of the very interesting work they have been doing with outer London boroughs on community cohesion issues. They take a ‘values modes’ (VM) based approach, making use of cultural dynamics. VM is mapping system that [...]

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Anne Frank

Anne Frank was born 80 years ago today.  She began her diary on her thirteenth birthday and in her second entry, eight days later she sketched out her life to date.  She describes how she and her family lived in Frankfurt until 1933 when they emigrated to Holland and the arrival of the Germans after [...]

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The Spirit Level

Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, the authors of The Spirit Level – Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better – argue that almost every social problem common in developed societies – reduced life expectancy, child mortality, drugs, crime, homicide rates, mental illness and obesity – has a single root cause: inequality. The authors’ view is [...]

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Nick Clegg on being a Liberal at Demos

I attended a lunchtime seminar today at Demos where Nick Clegg was speaking on why he is a Liberal.  The purpose of the session was for the Liberal Democrat leader to set out his party’s political ideology.  In a way it was a simliiar opportunity to that which Demos provided George Osborne in August, when [...]

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Looking back on 2008 with MORI

Last night I attended MORI’s annual ‘End of Year Review’.  The event which was very well attended provided an opportunity to look back at the events of 2008 in the company of Ben Page, Polly Toynbee (The Guardian) and Adrian Boulton (Political Editor, Sky News). You can watch the presentations and discussion on line at [...]

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