Starmer: Year One conference to take place at ARU
Labour History Research Unit event will analyse and debate the government’s record
A street sign at Downing Street
The Labour History Research Unit at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is hosting the first ever conference to focus on the record to date of Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
The public event, called Starmer: Year One, is taking place at Anglia Ruskin’s Cambridge campus on Saturday, 14 June, and will feature a number of high-profile speakers, including a former advisor at Number 10 Downing Street.
Bringing together policy specialists, political scientists, historians and other experts, the conference will examine various aspects of the current Labour government, from its handling of the economy and the Ukraine crisis, to issues such as gender, immigration, and the NHS.
In addition to analysing and debating the Labour government’s progress, the Labour History Research Unit aims to use the day to develop the first academic study on Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
Confirmed speakers include Professor Tim Bale (Queen Mary University of London), Dr Emily Stacey (independent researcher), Professor Jonathan Portes (King’s College London), and Dr Kevin Hickson (University of Liverpool).
Other participants include Jovan Owusu-Nepaul who stood for Labour in Clacton last year against Nigel Farage, and Professor Patrick Diamond, a former head of policy planning at Downing Street.
“This is the first conference to review the record of the new government and by the time of the event, Labour will have been in power for almost a year.
“However, the results of May’s local elections show that the political landscape of Britain has continued to shift significantly since last year’s General Election and there is evidence that voters have become disenchanted with the two-party political system.
“This is a government that promised change in 2024 but its tone so far has proven to be one of caution. Why is this, and what does it tell us about the challenges of governing in the mid-2020s? What is the new political landscape and how should the Starmer government seek to shape it? This Labour History Research Unit event promises to be a 'must' for anyone interested in contemporary politics.”
Rohan McWilliam, Professor of Modern British History and Director of the Labour History Research Unit at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)The conference is open to all and tickets cost £25, which includes lunch and refreshments. For further information, visit https://www.aru.ac.uk/arts-humanities-education-and-social-sciences/humanities-and-social-sciences/research/labour-history-research-unit/news/starmer-year-one