Published 2nd July 2025

It’s almost exactly one year since Labour won the general election with a huge majority.

Today, a sense of drift is undeniable – U-turns, inaction and missteps on key issues have all contributed to this. 

A course correction is needed fast. If Labour doesn’t clarify what kind of society it aims to bring about and fails to seriously develop a programme that lights the way to it, the populist right’s version of change will prevail – change that divides and weakens rather than unites and empowers.

Compass will play its part in that course correction. Our recent conference – CHANGE: HOW? A Decade of Radical Renewal – which brought together over 450 activists, politicians, thinkers and strategists, was a starting point.

This paper is neither a statement of demands nor a laundry list of policies. To get this right and set ourselves on the path to a much more social and democratic future, we have to go back to first principles.

Compass believes that Labour must reckon with the fundamental questions and challenges contained within the paper if it is to craft an expansive, alliance-based programme capable of securing meaningful change and radical renewal. And in the process, defeat Reform by taking them on, not by mimicking them. 

Give the paper a read, and share your thoughts. If your CLP, branch, trade union, campaign or organisation would like help to host a conversation or debate around the ideas in this paper, please get in touch.

If you have trouble downloading the report or receive a message saying ‘spam detected’, click here.