Steve Lancashire
Generally, I came away feeling energised, having learned new things and briefly talking to people I hadn’t met before. I’d read Gary Stevenson’s book when it first came out and found it accessible and important given his role. I found his presentation equally clear and important, given it’s focus on talking to others rather than ourselves and having a concise message (slogan). For me that’s promoting economic and social justice, and equality. At the event there were lots of great ideas about how to get there (I was particularly struck by presentations by Ann Pettifor, Caroline Lucas at the outset, and Neal Lawson and Zack Polanski at the end – although those presentations did begin to make me feel I was at an evangelical rally, which may not be a bad thing).
I was disappointed from the lack of reference to the importance of the NHS (as an member of the Executive of KONP I reckon I should have brought some literature and pushed it in the ‘What?’ session, which was brilliantly organised – as was the whole day) and the potential and need of older people (I’m 77 and coordinate a group in Southwark) as well as young people. From a rough observation, I though there was a good age spread and also generally a good diversity of participants. I do, however, think this presents an enormous challenge, which I liken to herding cats(!), for Compass, building a strong collaboration and unity around key principles and unpacking what they mean when developing priorities. This relates to the clear, powerful and strong minded speakers and activists as well as the activists. We will have to promote mutuality, respect and trust as we develop the transformative change that is required in our economic and political systems and also learn how to live with paradox and get away from binary either/or towards both/and analyses.
Finally, I would say as a believing Christian, I find the preaching of Lucy Winkett at St James Piccadilly inspiring as she tells stories connecting the intimate to systems and the cosmos.
Quentin Given
Here in Haringey, decades of Labour rule were overturned on 7 May when the Green Party emerged as the biggest party. That throws up all kinds of opportunities and concerns. But my strongest feeling is what a waste – hundreds of progressive people in Labour, Greens and Lib Dems spent thousands of hours out campaigning against each other, when we probably agree on 95% of issues, and meanwhile the far right is at the door, threatening everything we all hold in common. So the Compass event was an inspiring place to explore and encourage cooperation across progressives, and unite in the face of fear.
Sheila Thornton
An interactive session asked ‘Change: Why?’ and a group of people 17 – 75year olds discussed Education and said:
The Story we should be telling?
Too many children are being lost because the system is too narrow, and therefore the country is missing out. A large percentage of children are not achieving their potential at school, and the unhappiness of trying to fit the child to the system (rather than the other way around) results in raised (and expensive) levels of anxiety and unrewarded staff.
Knowledge should not be reduced to siloed subjects too early, and for many children this may mean never. Children are individuals who will learn through different approaches and it is the teacher’s role to facilitate the gaining of experience, the rigorous challenging and questioning that is the basis of exciting education. All schools and colleges should offer different routes to developing and learning following a child’s ‘bent’ whilst also supporting new and sometimes difficult situations for students that broaden horizons, develop myriad skills and offer rich opportunities to nurture emotional growth and empathy alongside mental and physical development.
Play and the Arts are fundamental for every child’s development.
What is our analysis of how we got here?
Over reliance on exams, labelling students too early and too rigidly, because technically it’s ‘easy’; it has commodified the child. The historical class system and the overarching influence of Private and university education has distorted our system.
How do we navigate through our different approaches as progressives?
Talk, research together, debate, ask children and young people.
How do we challenge the false narratives around us?
Promote the fact that countries that centre the individual child are far more successful in raising well-adjusted and motivated adults (e.g. Finland) so learn from others
It’s a given that a happy child is more likely to fulfil their potential.
Money could be saved because of reduced resources going to anti-social behaviour, mental health problems and demotivated, unskilled youngsters leaving the system.
Businesses have always said that Skills rather than Knowledge is what they want – we are failing Business and indeed ALL economic sectors.
‘Good jobs’ are those where people earn enough and are content, not with the largest salaries.
Happy people want to learn all their lives and get satisfaction and reward from studying and practising
We know that Equality is Good for Everyone (the Spirit Level, Uncomfortably Off etc).
What stayed with me was the sense that progressives will ultimately need both – a politics capable of inspiring people emotionally, and one serious enough to confront the economic realities of national renewal.
David Hawdale
Ralph Yarrow
The Change:NOW! conference was a very good day with some inspiring, controversial, challenging and highly articulate input from an impressive range of very powerful contributors, organisations and perspectives. It highlighted many essential dialogic complexities and did not in any way simplify them (a huge plus).In particular the attention to links between economics and ecology was very promising.
For me there are two big questions:
- Can this model serve as a way to bring together a vitally necessary interaction and collaboration between voters across the left? Could/should this involve: i) a commitment to PR; ii) an agreement on a default strategy of tactical voting; iii) a short-list of basic and fundamental points of agreement; iv) a planned sequence of inter-party forums or asemblies?
- How can this promising movement, whilst articulating and forwarding the kinds of economic, ecological and political policies which sessions at the event focussed on, overcome (particularly) the Labour Party’s disastrous inability to find ways to agree to disagree? (See for example Zoe Williams’ recent Guardian article.)
In a way, 1 above is quite a simple ask, but it needs very clear cross-party consensus. Both issues are threatened by defensive attachment to ‘righteous’ positions which create walls of egoic superiority and block off negotiation.
The key focus of 2 is how to engage in difficult discussion, and to turn it into fruitful recognition and interaction. In the ‘how’ session I attended, someone in my group noted that it is about ‘listening’, which is a good start. I think beyond that to the example of Combatants for Peace, who for many years facilitated agonisingly challenging encounters between Palestinian and Israeli former combatants using workshop methodology which seeks to foster openness, vulnerability and respect. I suspect something like this may be necessary to aid cross-border operations of the kind Compass aims to promote.
I quote from a recent international collaboration on community arts: ‘We are living in a time of enormous challenges. Challenges that no one can solve alone. Challenges that ask us to move not away from each other, but towards each other. And yet, the space to do that is becoming more and more scarce. Space to meet. Space to listen. Space to imagine. […] In a world that is becoming more polarised, it is often easier to take a position than to truly listen. It is often easier to speak against than to stay in conversation.’ (ICAF 2026, Artistic Director Jasmina Ibrahimovic).
My sense is that 1 requires 2, and politics has not been very good at imagining and facilitating this kind of fully embodied dimension of encounter and interaction. I think it would be helpful to address this, and build consciously on the kinds of collaboration which Compass semems to me to be envisaging and initiating.