Think forums

Bright Blue’s think forums are run by our members and are spaces for those on the centre-right to come together to chat about politics and discuss policy.

For this forum, we welcome two guest speakers John Flack MEP from Conservatives for Animal Welfare and Stuart Roberts from the National Farmers Union.

Date: Thursday 28th February, 2019, 19.00 – 21.00

Venue: Rose & Crown, 47 Colombo Street, Blackfriars, London SE1 8DP

RSVP: Here

Bright Blue’s think forums are run by our members and are spaces for those on the centre-right to come together to chat about politics and discuss policy.

For this forum, we welcome two guest speakers: Professor Nick Pearce (Director, IPR and Author, Shadows of Empire: The Anglosphere in British Politics) and Jeffries Briginshaw (former CEO, British-American Business Council).

With Brexit fast approaching, conversation in Britain has turned to the importance of our ‘special relationship’ with the United States. It is said that for trade and political influence we must sit ever closer to our long-time ally.

Key questions:

• Is the special relationship truly reciprocal
• What will it take for the United States to stand closer to Britain
• What impact will Brexit have on the US view of Britain
• How expansive could a bespoke trade deal be
• Does Britain’s future really lie in the ‘special relationship’

Date:  Wednesday 13th February, 2019, 19.00 – 21.00

Venue: The Spying Room, Morpeth Arms, 58 Millbank, Westminster, London SW1P 4RW

RSVP: Here

Bright Blue’s think forums are run by our members and are spaces for those on the centre-right to come together to chat about politics and discuss policy.

For this forum, we welcome two guest speakers: Rebecca Lowe (Director, FREER) and Tom Kibasi (Director, IPPR).

With ever increasing support for nationalisation of key industries does the case for privatisation need to be remade? This event will also examine some of the broader principles of the free market, and the relative merits and demerits of capitalism.

Key questions:

• What are the reasons the privatisation agenda appears to have stalled?
• Why have calls for nationalisation grown louder?
• What alternatives are there to these agendas?

Date:  Wednesday 10th October, 2018, 19.00 – 22.00

Venue: The Spying Room, Morpeth Arms, 58 Millbank, Westminster, London SW1P 4RW

RSVP: Here

Bright Blue’s think forums are run by our members and are spaces for those on the centre-right to come together to chat about politics and discuss policy.

For this forum, we welcome three guest speakers: Stephen Joseph (former CEO, Campaign for Better Transport), Wil Barber (London Electric Vehicles Company, manufacturers of the new London black cab), and Dustin Benton (Policy Director, Green Alliance).

The Government has strict, legally binding targets for carbon emissions. If it is going to successfully meet them, it will likely need to oversee a radical decarbonisation of the UK’s transportation sector. Promisingly, the sector already appears to be in the early stages of a wave of technology-led innovation, with electric cars, driverless vehicles and bike hire apps just a few examples of new products coming to market which have huge potential to cut the carbon footprint of getting around.

Key questions:

• How much should policymakers try to influence consumers’ choices between competing forms of transport, in the hope that we arrive at a much greener destination?
• Where Government attention is needed, are there conflicts between environmental considerations and other policy goals, such as deficit reduction?

Date: Wednesday 5th September, 2018, 19.00 – 20.30

Venue: Rose & Crown, 47 Colombo Street, Blackfriars, London SE1 8DP

RSVP: Here

Bright Blue’s think forums are run by our members and are spaces for those on the centre-right to come together to chat about politics and discuss policy.

For this forum, we welcome guest speakers Stuart Goodall (Chief Executive of Confor) and James Cooper (Head of Government Affairs at the Woodland Trust).

Both speakers will be making the case for more forests in Britain and their vision of how we get there – whether that be through public, private or charity funding, cultivating natural forests for solely environmental purposes or industrially productive forests.

With the sustainable private forestry industry in the UK booming, the health and environmental benefits of woodlands undeniable, and high public support for further conservation, the case may seem clear. However with many ancient forests under threat, government planting targets being missed, and a higher than ever pressure on land use from agriculture and home building, how can we ensure a vision of a more forested Britain is actually achieved?

Key questions:

• What is the impact and how effective are current policies?
• Does the private sector have a role to play in long-term planning?
• What is the role and function of new forests?

Date: Thursday 17th May, 2018, 19.00 – 20.30

Venue: Boot & Flogger (downstairs), 10-20 Redcross Way, Southwark, SE1 1TA

RSVP: Here

In the latest of the Europe Forum series, we consider what impact Brexit has had on the world of arts and culture and ask what, if any, opportunities it may provide.

Our guest speakers include Times columnist and former Conservative MP Matthew Parris and artists Manick Govinda and Michael Lightfoot, co-founders of the pro-Brexit association for artists and art workers, ‘Artists 4 Brexit’.

“Given the overwhelming sighs of dismay from Britain’s cultural community since the 2016 referendum, the fledgling Artists 4 Brexit group has become perhaps the most unlikely advocate for divorce from the European Union.” (The Times, 14 February 2018)

Topics to be discussed include:

• the economic impact of Brexit on the arts world;
• how Brexit will affect artistic ease of movement; and
• whether the scale of the disconnect between artists (with 96 per cent against Brexit) and the wider population risks turning people against the arts.

Bright Blue’s think forums are run by our members and are spaces for those on the centre-right and beyond to come together to hear expert speakers and discuss policy after work at the pub.

Date: Tuesday 20th March, 19:00 – 22:00

Venue: Rose & Crown, 47 Colombo Street, London, SE1 8DP

RSVP: Here

Bright Blue’s Drugs policy think forum: high time to legalise cannabis?

Later this year, cannabis will be fully legalised in Canada, following a similar move by Uruguay in 2017. A new report for the French Government has proposed the decriminalisation of all drugs. The international debate around drugs policy is developing rapidly, yet the stance of the UK Government remains unchanged: to reduce the number of people using drugs, and to restrict the supply of drugs into the country.

As other nations and a number of US states change their positions on cannabis, is it time for the UK to think again about our laws on the possession, sale and use of our most commonly used drug? Bright Blue’s first Drugs policy think forum will consider this question in the context of the latest scientific evidence and policy debates from around the world.

Guest speakers will include Ian Birrell, former speechwriter to David Cameron, journalist, and contributor to Bright Blue’s Modernisers’ Manifesto with an essay on the legalisation of drugs.

Bright Blue’s think forums are run by our members and are spaces for those on the centre-right and beyond to come together to hear expert speakers and discuss policy after work at the pub.

Date: Tuesday 20th February, 19:00 – 22:00

Venue: Rose & Crown, Colombo Street, London, SE1 8DP

RSVP: Here

Bright Blue’s Forums are spaces for those on the centre-right to come together to chat about politics and discuss policy.

The World Economic Forum has reported that we stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate to one another. This revolution is inevitable, but government has the responsibility and power to direct it towards a future that reflects our common values and objectives. Chaired by Bright Blue member King’s College London teaching fellow, James Findon, this inaugural meeting of our Science and technology think forum poses this challenge to our guest speaker, Alan Mak MP. Alan is founder and chair of the Fourth Industrial Revolution All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).

Bright Blue’s think forums are run by our members and are spaces for those on the centre-right and beyond to come together to hear expert speakers and discuss policy after work at the pub.

Date: Thursday 18th January 2018, 18.00 – 21.30.

Venue: Rose & Crown (upstairs), 47 Columbo Street, Blackfriars, London, SE1 8DP

RSVP: Here

Bright Blue’s Forums are spaces for those on the centre-right to come together to chat about politics and discuss policy.

Consumers have long complained that energy prices from the UK’s Big 6 suppliers ‘go up like a rocket and down like a feather’, as well as penalising those on lower incomes. We will be considering how true this claim is and whether the Government’s proposed energy cap is likely to provide a better deal for consumers than the current range of tariffs. The Forum Chair will be Bright Blue member, Dan Watkins, who has worked in the energy sector for ten years and is a former Parliamentary Candidate.

We welcome to the Forum guest speakers Nick Perry and Charlie Makin. Nick worked in commercial roles in the oil and gas industry for many years before joining Enron as a UK Board Director, responsible among other things for the Teesside gas-fired power station. More recently, Nick has been an independent consultant, engaged by many of Europe’s largest energy suppliers, advising them on energy procurement and risk management. Following roles at Ofgem and DECC, Charlie has been at the front-line of the residential energy market, working in public and external affairs at Good Energy, one of the UK’s fastest growing renewable energy suppliers. His experience covers energy policy, renewables and carbon pricing.

Date: Thursday 18th January 2018, 19.00 – 20.30.

Venue: Rose & Crown (upstairs), Columbo Street, Blackfriars, London, SE1 8DP

RSVP: Here