Press Releases

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism and home of Conservative modernisers, urges the Government to supplement but not abandon the current relative poverty measure.

David Kirkby, Senior Research Fellow at Bright Blue, said:

“The Government is right to broaden the definition and measures of poverty. The causes of poverty are multiple. In fact, there are more than the ones this Government have identified: it can also stem from poor education, low pay and loneliness.

But money matters. If people struggle to afford items deemed essential to partake in society – to pay for activities for their children or afford a proper, nutritious meal – then they are without doubt impoverished. So, the relative measurement of poverty – internationally respected and employed – should stay, but be supplemented by a wider set of poverty targets.

The latest figures show that the proportion of children living in poverty has flatlined. However, the scale of the proposed cuts to tax credits, which are primarily claimed by working households, could push more children into poverty. Reductions in welfare expenditure should be more evenly distributed across the whole population.”

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism and home of conservative modernisers, today criticises the Government’s announcement of its intention to privatise the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB).

Ben Caldecott, an Associate Fellow of Bright Blue and a former advisor to the UK Green Investment Bank Commission, said:

“I admire the UK Green Investment Bank and what it has achieved so far, but the last thing we need is a publicly supported, but privately owned, asset manager using subsidised capital and jobs to compete with the private sector. In contrast a majority publicly owned institution can work in the public interest to catalyse new private investment and be truly additional, by helping the private sector to reduce the cost of capital for important projects that can deal with our national productivity crisis.”

Ben Caldecott is the author of Bright Blue’s new publication, Green and Responsible Conservatism: Embedding sustainability and long-termism within the UK economy, which will be published at the start of July 2015. The report will propose ambitious and cost-effective policies to build a greener and more long-term economy based around three major themes: tackling the tragedy of horizons in public and private sector institutions, securing value for money in relation to environmental outcomes, and urging a new internationalism to address climate change.

Bright Blue has  launched a new report entitled Understanding how ethnic minorities think about immigration, outlining how ethnic minorities view the purpose of the immigration system, which types of immigrants should be let into the UK, the impact of immigration, and their views on the integration of immigrants.

Commenting on the report, co-author and Director of Bright Blue, Ryan Shorthouse said:

“Electoral support for the Conservative Party among ethnic minority groups is rising, but is still low in comparison to the Labour Party. The Conservative Party’s approach to immigration plays a role in shaping the political attitudes of ethnic minorities, who will continue to represent a bigger proportion of the electorate in the years ahead.

As with the rest of the population, ethnic minority groups want an immigration system that is well managed, keeps out illegal immigrants and admits people into the UK who will contribute economically and socially. But ethnic minorities also have distinctive views on immigration. Compared to the rest of the population, they are less likely to prioritise reducing the number of immigrants as a policy goal, more likely to be welcoming of different types of immigrants, more positive about the impact of immigration on Britain, and more likely to believe that immigrants are integrating well. Our polling finds that a clear majority of immigrants themselves are proud to live in Britain.

It is not in the long-term interests of the Conservative Party to pursue a policy agenda on immigration that predominantly focuses on caps and clampdown. It needs a balanced approach. A strong narrative that is positive about the contribution most immigrants make to Britain. And a policy agenda that, yes, tackles abuse and illegal immigration, but is also much more welcoming of those who will enrich our economy and society”.

Commenting on the 2015 General Election results, Bright Blue’s Director, Ryan Shorthouse, said:

“Undecided and wavering UKIP and Liberal Democrat voters switched to the Conservative Party in the final moments of the election to give it a majority. But their impressions of the parties and their leaders were cemented long ago, and that’s why they voted Conservative in the end. Conservatives have been seen to be broadly successful on sorting out the economy. David Cameron has long been seen as the strongest leader, and a reasonable and modern conservative.

David Cameron’s leadership and modernisation of the Conservative Party have been vindicated. He has, rightly, delivered a broad and balanced policy programme, from offering a referendum on EU membership to legalising same-sex marriage. To build on his impressive electoral success, and especially now the economy is in a better state, he needs to use his second term to prioritise reforms to public services to support those from modest backgrounds and realise his vision of a Big Society, which he is most passionate about.”

As Britain gloried under clear and warm Spring skies yesterday, David Cameron launched an equally sunny Conservative manifesto, glowing with optimism about our shared potential to build a ‘brighter, more secure future’.

Cameron made it clear that the sunlit national uplands he described were strong because of their underlying social structure – the ‘good deeds and good humour’ of Britain’s families and communities. Arguing that the country thrived when these social institutions thrived, he set out a support package to help ‘people who live within the rules, who do the right thing’ to enjoy the ‘good life’. He made it clear that this was a manifesto that backed aspiration, with policies specifically designed to support those on modest incomes.

This overall theme of optimism is welcome. We have long argued that economic prudence is just one side of the Conservative coin, necessary to secure the foundations of the other – a society in which government gives individuals, families and communities the support they need to flourish, to the benefit of all. This focus on aspiration, and on lower income families, reflects the core message of our first book, Tory Modernisation 2.0, which called for ‘ladders of opportunity for people from modest backgrounds’.

We are particularly pleased to see the 2015 manifesto adopt a number of people-powering policies that we have argued for, including a new fund to support local services and bolster integration in areas affected by high levels of immigration. Our calls for a renewed focus on widening access to the best in education have been reflected in commitments to ensure all children meet minimum standards at end of primary school and, at the other end of the learning journey, to end the cap on the number of places at university and to extend student loans to postgraduates. The strengthened minimum wage we have long advocated will provide real assistance to those working hard to get on, as will the bolstered voluntary living wage.

As we continue to campaign for an optimistic, liberal conservatism why not get involved? Join here to play your part in Bright Blue’s work to shape a future where a secure economy supports, and is in turn supported by, empowered and enriched individuals, families and communities.

Bright Blue has today launched a new report entitled A manifesto for immigration, recommending about 30 new policy ideas on immigration for the Conservative Party to adopt in its upcoming General Election manifesto.

Bright Blue’s manifesto draws on four priorities for centre-right voters, opinion formers and decision makers that were identified in two earlier papers from its year-long immigration project: that the government competently manages the immigration system, that we build a contributory-based immigration system, that more integration of immigrants is encouraged, and that a balance is achieved whereby government better maximises the benefits and tackles the challenges that immigration brings.

Commenting on the report, co-author and Director of Bright Blue, Ryan Shorthouse said:

“In its upcoming election manifesto, the Conservative Party should offer a plan on immigration which is deliverable, principled and capable of addressing public concerns. The majority of the public want reasonable and achievable policies on immigration from a party of government. So the Conservative Party does not need to pursue mimicry of UKIP or muteness on immigration. Its policies on immigration for a second term need to be firm but fair. That means new measures to ensure immigrants contribute to and integrate in our society. But it also means the UK should be more welcoming and rewarding of those who do contribute significantly.”

Bright Blue, the independent think tank and pressure group for liberal conservatives and home of Conservative modernisers, is delighted to announce that the Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, has been appointed its President.

The Education Secretary becomes co-President of Bright Blue’s Advisory Board, which currently includes high-profile ministers, politicians, opinion formers and business people.

The Education Secretary will not necessarily endorse every policy position of Bright Blue, but she does believe in the organisation’s underlying vision and principles.

Commenting on the appointment, President of Bright Blue the Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP said:

“More than any other organisation Bright Blue plays a pivotal role in promoting the cause of liberal conservatism and I am delighted to become their president.

As I will say in my speech today, the pressures that the next generation face are many and varied, but what I share with Bright Blue is an optimistic vision for the future of our country and a firm belief that through a commitment to progressive Conservative principles we can ensure that our best days remain ahead of us.”

Commenting on the appointment, Director of Bright Blue Ryan Shorthouse said:

“It is vital that an optimistic, modern and compassionate conservatism has a strong identity and voice – for the long-term success of the Conservative Party and the country. We’re thrilled Nicky is becoming the President of Bright Blue to help us articulate and champion liberal conservatism. She is a passionate and talented Secretary of State who clearly thinks that politics should be focussed on developing and delivering practical policies to support people, especially those from more modest backgrounds.”

The Tamworth Prize is a new essay competition for young people run by Bright Blue. It is a chance for young people to explain what sort of centre-right Britain needs today.

The Prize is named after the Tamworth Manifesto which Sir Robert Peel published in 1834. The Tamworth Manifesto set out what the Conservative Party would stand for in a changing Britain following the passing of the Great Reform Act two years earlier. Peel promised that as Prime Minister he would combine progressive reform with efficient government, ensuring ‘the firm maintenance of established rights, the correction of proved abuses and the redress of real grievances’. You can read more about The Tamworth Manifesto in Chapter One of our book, The Modernisers’ Manifesto.

The Prize is open to anyone aged 21 or under and the winner will have their entry published in Bright Blue’s magazine, The Progressive Conscience, as well as receiving a year’s membership of Bright Blue and a week’s work experience with us.

To enter, send an essay of up to 1,000 words on the title:

‘Voting Blue to go Green: how should conservatives approach environmental issues?’

Email your entry as a Word Document or .txt file to <connect@brightblue.org.uk> along with your name, contact details, and date of birth. We will consider entries from anyone born on or after 29 May 1993.

The deadline for entries is 5.00pm on Friday 29 May 2015.

Bright Blue have found that nearly one in five grandparents rarely or never see their grandchildren, while one in four spend time caring for their grandchildren.

In polling conducted by Survation for Bright Blue’s recent report, Give and take, it was found that nearly one in five grandparents rarely or never see their grandchildren. By contrast, one in four grandparents were found to have caring responsibilities for their grandchildren:

• 18% of grandparents report that they rarely/never see their grandchildren.

• 5% of grandparents report being the main carer for one or more of their grandchildren.

• Grandmothers were more likely to report being the main carer for one or more of their grandchildren, 11%, compared to 1% of grandfathers.

• A further 20% of grandparents report that they spend time caring for their grandchildren, without being their main carer.

These findings were covered in the Daily Mail. In its report, Give and take, Bright Blue have called for the following policies:

1. Extending Shared Parental Leave to working grandparents. All working grandparents should be able to have any of the 50 transferable weeks of new Shared Parental Leave transferred to them. Grandparents would receive the usual guarantees of statutory parental leave – including being paid the base rate of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for a maximum 37 weeks – and would be entitled to return to work upon completion of the leave.

2. Introducing a contribution supplement in Statutory Maternity Pay, which grandparents will be entitled to if they take up Shared Parental Leave. After the first six weeks of maternity leave, mothers receive a base rate of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) of £138.18 per for 33 weeks. Under our new proposal, mothers with longer National Insurance contribution histories will be eligible for additional funding on top of the base rate they receive.  This will be tiered. So, the Government will decide a minimum number of years for which an eligible mother has to have previously worked for with NI contributions until they become eligible for the extra payment. If the mother reaches a higher specific number of years worked previously they will eligible for another payment. Grandparents would also be entitled to the Contribution Supplement of SMP if the mother transferring her leave is eligible for it.

Director of Bright Blue, Ryan Shorthouse, said:

“The majority of grandparents love to help with looking after their grandchildren. For young parents, grandparents are often an essential source of practical and financial support. So it is worrying that so many grandparents hardly ever see their grandchildren.  The reasons for this are varied. But we must make it easier for grandparents, who are increasingly working later in their lives, to balance their work and family commitments. Giving working grandparents the right to take leave to look after their grandchildren, and be paid for it, will enable different generations within a family to spend more time together.”

Today, Bright Blue released its report, Give and take, exploring how conservatives think about welfare and offering policy recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the system and support for it.

Public support for state welfare is at a historic low and amidst an unsupportive public, Conservative voters stand out as particularly unsympathetic to state welfare. In this report, we go back to first principles about how conservatives view the vulnerable and impoverished and think they should be supported. While “welfare” is closely associated with state welfare in public discourse, we conceived of welfare more broadly to include other providers of support such as families, the local community and charitable organisations. We unearth interrelated strands of conservative thinking relating to:

•Benefit claimants

•The purpose of welfare

•Different sources of welfare

We found that conservatives hold a number of positive principles and views about welfare which go beyond the prevailing narrative from the government of reducing the size of the state and reducing public expenditure. Given fiscal constraints, the government has been right to focus upon limiting welfare expenditure, but this policy focus should not be too dominant. It is also important to draw upon a wider range of conservatives principles to reshape our welfare system.

We discuss our policy recommendations here, but this blog piece will focus upon outlining the strands of conservative thinking these recommendations were built upon and explaining how conservatives think about welfare.

Views of benefit claimants

The first conservative principle we identify is a belief in individual control and personal responsibility. Conservatives tend to see individuals as agents who can shape and determine their circumstances, and so are seen to be more responsible for their impoverishment. This principle also lends itself to an opposition to paternalism in the delivery of welfare. On this view, claimants ought to be expected and encouraged, as far as possible, to make their own decisions about how they spend their money.

In polling conducted for the report by Survation, we asked respondents to rank the causes of poverty from 0 to 10, where ‘0’ signifies poverty being caused entirely by circumstances beyond people’s control, ‘10’ signifies poverty being caused entirely by people not doing enough to help themselves, and ‘5’ signifies an even mix of both. Conservatives were significantly more likely to opt for numbers above than 5, while Labour voters preferred numbers less than 5. In response to a further question in our polling, Conservatives were most likely to report “lack of work ethos” or “unwillingness to accept boring/menial jobs” as causes of impoverishment compared to Labour voters who were more likely to cite “lack of available jobs” and “low wages paid by employers”.

The second principle we unearth is that conservatives make a clearer distinction between the deserving and underserving among benefit claimants. Conservatives see groups such as pensioners and disabled people to be especially deserving and contrast these sharply with groups deemed undeserving such as the unemployed and immigrants.

The third conservative principle we identify concerns the rational agency of claimants. Claimants are often understood by conservatives as making a rational choice to rely on the state. On this view, claimants are seen to be responding rationally to the various incentives they have available to them in the same way that non-claimants also seek to maximise their financial position. This view prompts a policy focus on the financial disincentives to work that the welfare system creates.

The fourth conservative principle we explore is that relying upon benefits gives rise to a psychology and culture of dependency. Claimants are seen as suffering from individual shortcomings – attitudes and entrenched behaviours – which set them apart from nonclaimants. In our polling, we found that 65% of Conservative voters see being “dependent on the system” as a typical characteristic of benefit claimants, compared to 36% of Labour voters. Thirty nine percent of Conservative voters judged that welfare cuts have been good for claimants compared to 12% of Labour voters.

The fifth view we unearth concerns the lack of trust conservatives have in benefit claimants. In our polling, we found that Conservative voters are nearly twice as likely as Labour voters to judge that the best description of the welfare system is “full of fraud and abuse” – 44% of Conservatives compared to 22% of Labour supporters. Furthermore, even for legitimate claimants, we found that an overwhelming majority of Conservative voters (68%) do not trust them to spend their benefits sensibly and without government interference. This contrasted starkly with the view taken of individuals in general, who are deemed best placed to know how to spend their money; 69% of Conservatives agreed with this.

Views of the purpose of welfare

The first principle we identify in this area is the importance of reciprocity to conservatives. Reciprocity is the principle that what an individual receives should be related to what they have given or offered: ‘something for something’. Conservatives tend to think that welfare ought to enshrine and deliver reciprocal outcomes.

One way to deliver reciprocity is to allocate welfare resources on the basis of past contributions to the tax system. In our polling, we found that Conservative voters were markedly more likely to prefer allocating benefits on the basis of contribution, as opposed to need, than Labour voters. Fifty percent of Conservatives preferred prioritising those who had contributed compared to 24% of Labour supporters. A second way to deliver reciprocity is by focusing upon claimants’ current reciprocal behavior; specifically, the conditions attached to receiving benefits. Other survey evidence finds that Conservatives support tougher conditions for claiming benefits.

The second conservative principle we identify regarding the purpose of welfare concerns promoting opportunity. Welfare should be a means of enabling people to improve their own situation and providing opportunities to help them do so.

In our polling, we found that a majority of Conservative voters (57%) prioritise a welfare system which enables people to contribute to society in the future over one where less is spent on benefits. We also found that given the choice of making society more equal and ensuring individuals have the same opportunities, Conservative voters opt overwhelmingly for the latter, whereas the former appeals much more to Labour voters. Seventy seven percent of Conservatives opt for a system which “ensures individuals have the same opportunities to flourish” compared to 47% of Labour voters.

Views of different sources of welfare

The first view we explore in this area is that there ought to be a small state. For both economic and social reasons, conservatives believe that the role and the size of the state should be limited. With regards to welfare, this tempers conservative support for extensive state provision of welfare. In our polling, we found that Conservative voters are less likely than Labour voters to see the state as primarily responsible for supporting people in financial difficulty. Given the choice of the state, families, local community, neighbours and friends and charities, 54% of Labour voters agree that the state is most responsible for supporting people in financial difficulty, compared to 41% of Conservative voters.

The second conservative view relating to sources of welfare we identify is the importance of families. Support provided within the family unit differs from state welfare in being more personal and involving mutual obligations. Our polling showed that Conservative voters see families as primarily responsible for supporting those

in financial difficulty; Given the choice of the state, families, local community, neighbours and friends and charities, 54% of Conservative voters agree that families are most responsible for supporting people in financial difficulty, compared to 36% of Labour voters. Our polling also found that a majority of Conservative voters believe that the state has a role in encouraging stable families (69%).

The final conservative view we discuss concerns active communities. Active communities, including volunteering and charitable giving, are integral to how conservatives think about welfare provision. Other survey evidence shows that Conservatives are more likely than Labour voters to want power to be taken away from government and for charities and voluntary groups to be more involved in the delivery of public services. Increasing the support offered by these non-state providers has a particular value in a period of austerity.