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Probably42 News - September 2023
Welcome to our September Newsletter!
In our last newsletter at the end of July we previewed our discussion on Party Manifestos, a topic we thought was timely as we enter party conference season and the parties start to develop their manifestos.
We had a very good discussion on this subject and captured ideas on how we think democracy could be improved by changes to the manifestos and surrounding process – see Party Manifesto Preparation. More importantly we decided to turn this into a challenge to the parties that we could send to them and developed it in the form of an Invitation to Tender for the role of H.M. Government. In particular, the ITT introduces the concept of a ‘Summary Manifesto’, which can be realistically read by the general public, as the shop window for parties; to include:
- The Vision and Ambition for our future society over the long-term i.e. the next 20-25 years
- The Values and Principles of the party i.e. a statement of what they stand for, given all the adjustments over recent years
- The long-term objectives and policies as well as short term, focusing on transformative proposals
- The Manifesto as a living document with a Change Control process and annual progress reporting
We duly sent this off to the parties plus various politicians, media and think tanks, emphasising the lack of ambition and long-term thinking in most manifestos. In addition we did our own summary manifesto as an example: Manifesto for Society in the Artificial Intelligence Future (Summary Version).
See what you think. Would a summary manifesto as described improve democracy and our understanding of how they want to develop our long-term future?
Recent Discussions
The outputs of our other discussions since the last newsletter are at Improving Decision Making and The Implications for Society of Longer Healthy Lives. The latter was particularly interesting as it gave us new perspectives on the science around healthier aging but also on the problems for society of both longer lifespans and longer healhspans.
Forthcoming Discussions
As migration is very much in the news these days, not least with Suella Braverman’s speech in the USA, we decided it was time to re-visit the subject, looking at global migration impacts as well as UK impacts. The draft agenda is at: Global Migration Impacts.
Government Information that may interest you
As usual we highlight more examples of information on Parliament activity and outputs which may interest you:
- Did you realise that such a thing existed The Prime Minister's Business Council 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)? It was launched during Boris’s reign https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-assembles-new-cohort-of-business-leaders-to-turbocharge-uk-economy.
- The Government’s formal response to the House of Lords Adult Social Care Committee report, which contains 28 recommendations The government's response to the Adult Social Care Committee report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
- Want to live a longer healthier life? See here Get Active: a strategy for the future of sport and physical activity - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
- A first step in making education access throughout life the norm Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE): overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .
Why not join a Group?
If you’d like to join one of the Probably42 discussion groups held via videoconferencing, just email in response to this newsletter and we’ll send you more details. We very much want a diversity of viewpoints, so you can be sure your views will be welcomed. Remember it’s about relaxed discussion and having an enjoyable time, with hopefully some useful ideas identified.
We also want to encourage face-to-face real world discussion groups, as feeders into the main online discussions. If you’d like to find out more about the one in Berkshire, or if you’d like to see one start in your area, just email in response to this newsletter and we’ll send you details.
Feedback
We always welcome any feedback, thoughts, ideas or questions about Probably42. Simply reply to this newsletter and you’ll receive a personal reply.
All the best
Tony