Publication

INTRODUCTION

For many people, the economic and political turbulence of these past few years have made it a whole lot harder to achieve their hopes and dreams.

Every time inflation rises or mortgage costs escalate, the choices available get much more limited. Whether it’s buying a new home, retraining for a job you really want, or booking the holiday you’ve worked so hard for. The deal whereby if you work hard and do the right thing, you can achieve what you set out to, seems broken through a combination of failing markets, creaking public services, and politics unable to rise to the challenges of our times. This sense of insecurity – not knowing what the future holds – now seems semi-permanent.

This deeper-rooted belief that our governments don’t work in the interests of ordinary people has fuelled the rise of right-wing populism in many of our nations, which despite some recent success of centre-left parties, continues to gain ground. Even where right-wing populists remain at the margins, their effect on mainstream politics and society is being felt. And where the centre-left has won power, it is proving difficult to achieve more durable electoral majorities amongst a fragmented electorate, under siege from the scare tactics of the right.

The only way out of this is for the political centre-left to present and deliver a more unifying, compelling, and credible alternative to the extremities and their mainstream copyists, rooted in the hopes and dreams of ordinary people.

In January 2023, the Progressive Policy Institute launched a new project on the political renewal of the global centre-left. This report shares comparative analysis of centre-left voters, and how electoral strategies can build more sustainable coalitions.

The politics of a winning centre-left isn’t the triumph of reassurance over hope; it is reassurance so that people can realise their hopes and dreams again. The centre-left needs to reclaim hope and aspiration as well as offering security and reassurance, and in so doing, bring hope back to the many millions who deserve to have their faith restored.

Voters in the UK and beyond are looking again at what centre-left parties have to offer. But progress will only turn into lasting success if once in government, our parties are judged by voters to have met their economic, social and cultural needs and interests. This report, and PPI’s work, is in service of that goal.

Read the full report.