Cassilis

Welcome to this week's Think Tank Round-up - cross-posted these days over at Liberal Conspiracy as well (later this morning). As ever please flag in the comments here or over at LC anything worthy you think I might have missed...

Left \ Liberal Think Tanks

• At Compass Neal Lawson, in a typically robust mood, calls for a 'New Collectivism', a return to the basic politics of left & right and a rejection of the inherent shallowness of the New Labour project. "This capitulation to market forces had its roots in the failure of the left to renew and reinvent itself after its postwar domination of the political landscape. But in confining itself to a project that put the needs of the market before those of society, New Labour sowed the seeds of a limited and deeply frustrating life span [and the] contradictions of a largely neoliberal project performed within the body of a party of labour were always going to cause an implosion. [B]y unleashing more market forces New Labour was undoing its capacity to create a more equally society. Tony Blair was better at concealing the contradictions of this project because of his well-honed acting skills. Every one of Brown's visual and oral tics prove he is incapable of spinning and misleading to paper over the cracks of a political project now in a state of collapse."
• Also at Compass Gerry Hanson on the unravelling of Labour Britain - the implications of SNP control in Holyrood, the evident tensions between Gordon & Wendy and the what it all means for the union.
• In stark contrast to the Compass view the Fabian Society carries the text of a lecture by John Denham, the only Cabinet Minister representing a southern English seat. John argues that the New Labour coalition must be rebuilt and that means connecting with voters in the South of England - where his seat is - did I mention that...?
• Naomi Pollard at the IPPR picks up on research suggesting the great westward migration from Eastern Europe since 2004 may in fact be over and increasing numbers of migrants are now returning home.
• CentreForum has a piece on education policy for those with learning difficulties - it suggests the debate between specialist units or mainstream integration misses the point and "parents, rather than politicians or officials, are best placed to decide where their children should go to school"
• The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) carries a piece by Wolfgang Ischinger on the likely relations between Europe and the US post November's elections. "Regardless of who wins, 2009 promises to be decisive for the transatlantic relationship. On some key issues, serious differences between US and European views remain, such as on climate change, the speed of Nato's next enlargement steps and the strategic relationship with Russia. But it is often overlooked that there will not only be a new US president in January, but also a new and slightly improved EU, with the Lisbon Treaty ushering in the first president of the European Council, who will be a principal interlocutor with the US in 2009"
• The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has a study on the attachment people feel to their current neighbourhood and the extent and nature of attachment in deprived areas.
• The Kings Fund has a report on how "social and technological changes are challenging doctors and causing many to rethink their role, the way they practise and the nature of their professionalism"

Right \ Libertarian Think Tanks

• The 'Scoop Jackson' fan club - The Henry Jackson Society - has a piece by Irwin Stelzer on the 'myth that the world's oil is running out'. "[O]il matters, but not for the reasons we sometimes think. It matters because it has contributed to Russia’s new belligerence, and the West’s courting of Arabic despots. It matters because a search for alternative sources of fuel has led to increased ethanol production, and fuelled the current global food crisis"
• The Civitas blog takes issue with the IPPR reported highlighted in last weeks roundup on the pressures impacting teachers. While Civitas welcome the diagnosis they reject the prescription of yet more government oversight.
• And the Civitas-linked Centre for Social Cohesion blog offers up its own prescription for tackling violent crime. It's not 'rocket science' apparently but the Ten Commandments. Provocative stuff there too about Dave & Boris' Bullingdon past and why we react differently to their demeanours based on their background - "If theirs is the behaviour of the very most privileged, that of those far less privileged than they becomes, if not exactly less reprehensible, something over which we should be slightly less hasty simply to vent our fury."
• Reform has a piece by Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pension Chris Grayling on how Britain is losing the ability to parent effectively. "..the absence of effective parenting is a core reason for a culture of dependency in deprived communities and the role of the government in solving the problem was limited"
• Policy Exchange carries a fairly damning report on government performance against the green targets they've set since 1997. It points out that "of 138 high level targets surveyed, 60% of targets have been missed; are unlikely to be achieved or are worded so vaguely as to make meaningful analysis impossible." Interestingly the most successful areas are in waste & recycling targets (67% met) - your correspondent notes that of all the target areas this is the one most influenced by individual behaviours rather than top-down government schemes. A little bit of politics there....
• On the same theme the New Local Government Network (NLGN) calls for action on the proposed landfill tax and urges the government to favour community-based incentive schemes rather than financial ones.
• And finally for this bit, not an article or paper but worth flagging that the Centre for Policy Studies now has a daily blog which might be worth keeping an eye on.

Elsewhere

My feedreader also has stuff from overseas think tanks (mainly US) so when worthwhile I'll flag any interesting things there as well:

• The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) carries a rundown of the US Presidential candidates positions on climate change. More specifically they have the text of a speech by John McCain in Portland Oregon earlier this week on climate change policy. It's not Al Gore but still a worthy step beyond the ostrich-like posture of the Bush Whitehouse.
• And finally a bit of fun (in a nerdy, political-geek kind of way of course). CFR also have an online quiz on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I'm not kidding. Scores in the comments section please.... I haven't done it yet.....

Labels: Think Tank Roundups