Bright Blue’s Think Forums are spaces for people the centre-right of politics to come together to discuss policy and politics.
Aristotle’s observation that human beings are political animals is not so much a profound insight as it is a statement of the obvious. Caring about the taxes you pay and laws you abide by requires no instruction: it comes for free. People can grow disillusioned with politicians or disenchanted with systems, but the challenges which politics is aimed at addressing – whether that be in education, healthcare, transport or welfare – remain resolutely relevant.
However, opportunities for political discussion are often limited. Political societies abound at university, but for those in the world of work there are few such comparable spaces.
Bright Blue is launching a series of discussion groups or ‘think forums’ with the aim of addressing this issue. We want these to be spaces for those broadly on the centre-right to meet in a relaxed, informal setting to discuss political issues and ponder new ideas.
Bright Blue has always been about bringing together people who identify broadly as social and economic liberals to chat about politics and brainstorm policy. As Ryan Shorthouse explained in his blog this week, the origins of the organisation lie in small gatherings of like-minded people conversing in pubs. Today we have a wide support and membership base and host regular Drink Tanks with high profile speakers. Yet the objective of bringing people together and engendering policy debate is as important as ever.
We are launching four initial forums, each coordinated by one of our fantastic members. They will be held at central London venues at various times. The themes of the forums are:
Politics and culture
International affairs
Environment and climate change
Business and economics
By attending and contributing, forum participants will be plugged into Bright Blue’s broader network. We are keen to have participants contribute to our blog and are aiming to post video snippets of forum discussion on our website. Moreover, views and opinions will be fed back, helping to shape our thinking as a campaign and pressure group.
If you want to attend a think forum, please contact the relevant coordinator. If you are interested in coordinating a think forum of your own, email david@brightblue.org.uk.
