A report card for the UK: Options for Britain II

How has Britain done in the last decade? How well has the Government performed? What are the big choices that face us in the next decade?

These questions were addressed at a recent conference in Nuffield College, Oxford to mark the start of ‘Options for Britain II’. The project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Gatsby, aims to provide an independent, rigorous audit of the UK’s economic, social and constitutional progress and future options. Taking into account what has worked, what hasn’t, why and for whom, the project will set out key choices, both for the electorate and a potential incoming government. Participants have been drawn from across the political spectrum – including those who will draft their Parties next manifestos.

The gulf between the academic research community and the world of Westminster remains large. Those who make policy often find themselves frustrated at the lack of relevance or political savvy of the experts and, in their turn, the experts find it difficult to identify which areas of policy are genuinely open to influence or where and when to intervene. ‘Options for Britain II’ seeks to fill this academic-policy void.

The current research follows its intellectual predecessor, the original ‘Options for Britain’, from 1995. At that time, a leading group of academics and policy experts came together to assess the key economic, social and constitutional policy options for Britain. The Conservative government had been in power for over 15 years, and thinkers on both left and right felt the need for an independent review of issues and options facing the country.

A decade on and the British political world is very different. Much of the original analysis has become accepted wisdom, and many of the policy proposals have become reality. But there is also a sense of déjà vu because the Labour government has been in power for a decade and the legacy of their own decisions has built up. It is in these historical moments that outside thinking can have a decisive influence, helping to inform the public and key commentators, and provides a source of ideas for incoming policy-makers.


ENDS

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Professor Iain McLean: Tel: 01865 278520, e-mail: iain.mclean@nuffield.ox.ac.uk
Dr Adam Coutts: Tel: 01865 278839 e-mail: adam.coutts@politics.ox.ac.uk
Options for Britain II website: http://ppu.politics.ox.ac.uk/ofb/index.asp

ESRC Press Office:
Kelly Barnett on Tel: 01793 413032; e-mail: kelly.barnett@esrc.ac.uk
Danielle Moore on Tel: 01793 413122; e-mail: danielle.moore@esrc.ac.uk

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

1. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It supports independent, high quality research relevant to business, the public sector and voluntary organisations. The ESRC’s planned total expenditure in 2007 - 08 is £181 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and research policy institutes. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk

2. ESRC Society Today offers free access to a broad range of social science research and presents it in a way that makes it easy to navigate and saves users valuable time. As well as bringing together all ESRC-funded research and key online resources such as the Social Science Information Gateway and the UK Data Archive, non-ESRC resources are included, for example the Office for National Statistics. The portal provides access to early findings and research summaries, as well as full texts and original datasets through integrated search facilities. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk
3. Options for Britain is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Gatsby Foundation, Nuffield College and Oxford University’s Department of Political Science and International Relations. The project begins with a conference at Nuffield College from the 27th-29th of February. There will be two further conferences – one in Cambridge in the summer, and a final event in London in late 2008.
4. The original Options for Britain report was published in 1996.
5. The outcomes from the Conference will be turned into chapters of a book which will identify the key economic, social and constitutional choices for the coming decade, resulting in publication before the next general election.