About
We live in times of extraordinary turmoil. The international order that we’ve known since post WWII is rapidly breaking down. Climate change and the nature crisis have entered our daily existence. New technologies disrupt our societies, even our sense of who we are. And yet in the turmoil there are signs of hope: of the possibility of genuine alternatives to the failed economics of inequality and exploitation.
To address these new times requires new thinking and a new approach. We will work collaboratively, bringing citizens and experts together to design the next chapter of progressive politics in the UK. We will draw on expertise across the environment, social, and economic justice movements, conducting deep, future-facing research to develop practical and ambitious policy proposals. But unlike traditional think tanks, we will engage with communities on the top policies, testing and refining ideas through participatory processes, ensuring that the people most affected by policies help to shape and refine them, strengthening their legitimacy with politicians, media and the public.
Our aim is to make bold, inclusive policy the foundation of a fair, flourishing and sustainable Britain.
Our context and approach
Verdant is stepping into a space where politics are extremely fraught and polarised, where our entire political system has been eroded and where trust has broken down having lost connection with people’s everyday lives. People are unable to make ends meet, in spite of working hard, and the future they were promised is under severe threat by the impact of climate change and geopolitical turmoil.
Our intention as Verdant is to provide a place to strengthen policy engagement and thinking outside party political structures, but with a deep green and social-justice lens.
Context
Verdant is stepping into a time that is unlike those that preceded us, that will require a wholesale renegotiation of the role of the state. Previous disruptions in our political settlement between state and society came in the 1940’s after WWII and later in the 1970’s under Thatcher; the former leading to investment in public services and public delivery, the latter dismantling state-led provision and aiming to shrink the state. Under the current anti-state, lower-tax mantra, characterised by austerity and lower investment, we have seen a commensurate rise of inequality and insecurity.
What neither of the past periods in history had to contend was with the age of the ‘anthropoecene’, which brings with it the acceleration of planetary breakdown. This upheavel is more profound than any change that has come before and will ultimately impact every economic and social outcome for decades to come, regardless of which party is in power.
Internationalism and the rule of law, meanwhile, are also breaking down, as the age of the strong man promising security and safety takes hold. Global conflict is rising at a time when we need far more cooperation, not less. We are seeing a complete upheaval in the post WWII order – impacting security and predictability in a range of policy areas, from trade to security.
Thus, a programme for any future government must jointly address the demand for economic transformation and state reform (national, regional, local) situated in the context of extreme ecological stresses and a breakdown of our multilateral world order.
For the UK, chronic economic failure over the last 15 years is seen in very low productivity growth, low and often insecure household incomes, and a failure of both public and private sectors to deliver investment. Coupling this with Brexit, the UK is in a precarious position going forward, breaking down previously held assumptions about the geo-political landscape.
In sum, the context for Verdant is to consider: an ambitious new agenda that redefines the relevant role of the state and the policy choices available to a progressive, green-centered policy agenda.
Our agenda
Verdant will focus on those areas of policy thinking where people’s lived experience in areas where green thinking hasn’t thus far led in the public sphere: economy and security. Moreover, we want to ensure that there is an economically and politically viable alternative to today’s reality.
In particular, we will be looking at:
Financing a progressive agenda
A green response to the cost of living crisis
Peace, security and defence
A socially-just response to the climate and nature crisis
How we work: A think tank for the 21st century
People have lost trust in ‘experts’ including the media, and rely instead on influencers, friends and networks. Whilst our role as a think tank is to inform policy makers, we also need to engage beyond traditional policy circles. Deliberative processes will inform our approach to policy development. We believe this can bring better ideas, and improved legitimacy to the work of a think tank. Meaningful innovative participatory processes will be developed alongside our experts to inform and shape the policy ideas we put forward.
