Annual Report 2011

FABIAN SOCIETY

4

It has been yet another successful yearfor the Fabians. We were quick out ofthe blocks after the election to start theprocess of assessing what went wrongand learning lessons. Immediately afterthe election we launched our Next Leftconference with Ed Miliband. We havebuilt on our central position in thedebate about Labour's future, withsome significant interventions over thelast year, and will continue to play akey role. People trust our voice in thesediscussions because of the high qualityof our research and the space weprovide for non-factional debate on thecentre-left. Over the coming year, theFabians will continue to work hard toinform the Labour Party's policy reviewprocess. Our role, as always, will be asa critical friend.

Despite the difficult political andeconomic times, the Society hascontinued to grow. This year has seenmembership at a record high. TheYoung Fabians, Local Societies andFabian Womens’ Network continue tothrive. The Young Fabians, in particular,have been particularly successful and Iwish to congratulate Adrian Prandle onthe wonderful work he has done overthe past year as Chair.

We have had significant changes instaffing too. Our General Secretary ofseven and a half years, SunderKatwala, has left. I would like to expressmy gratitude to him for his wonderfulstewardship of our Society. I would liketo welcome our new General Secretary,Andy Harrop. He brings with him ahuge amount of talent and energy. Ilook forward to the great things that hehas planned for the Society. The nextyear will be an important phase ofrenewal in the Society's long anddistinguished history. I also wish tothank all the staff and the ExecutiveCommittee for their great work over thepast year.

Suresh Pushpananthan,Chair of the FabianSociety

Fabian Executive 2010-11

Suresh Pushpananthan Chair of the ExecutiveJessica Asato Vice ChairLord Peter Archer Fabian Society PresidentDuncan Bowie Local Societies RepresentativeMartin Brown Convenor for ScotlandNick Butler TreasurerDavid Chaplin Former Chair of the Young FabiansJohn Denham MP MP for Southampton ItchenJames Green Young Fabian Anticipations magazine editorJonathan Evans Local Society RepresentativeAlf Dubs Member of the House of LordsKate Groucutt Labour Councillor in IslingtonSadiq Khan MP MP for TootingEllie Levenson Lecturer at Goldsmiths College, London.Denis MacShane MP MP for RotherhamSeema Malhotra Director of Fabian Women's NetworkConor McGinn Chair of the Labour Party Irish SocietyAustin Mitchell MP MP for GrimsbyPamela Nash MP MP for Airdrie and ShottsGeraint Owens Convenor for WalesAdrian Prandle Chair, Young FabiansJenny Rathbone Labour Assembly candidate, Cardiff CentralMari Williams East London comprehensive Assistant Principal Sandy Martin Local Society Representative

Individual(of which Young Fabians)

CLPs, Co-ops & Trade UnionsLibrariesCorporate

Total

5

Fabian Staff 2010-11 Tim Horton, ActingGeneral Secretary

Tim Horton Acting General Secretary/Research DirectorNatan Doron ResearcherJames Gregory Senior Research Fellow

Tom Hampson Editorial Director Ed Wallis Editorial Manager

Olly Parker Events Director James Hallwood Events ManagerKatherina Klebba Events Manager and Executive Assistant

Phil Mutero Finance Manager Deborah Stoate Local Societies Officer Giles Wright Membership Officer

Fabian Women’s NetworkSeema Malhotra Director

From the NHS to the National MinimumWage, many of the great progressiveachievements of the 20th Century werefirst called for by Fabians. And today,our work aims to lay the ground for thenext generation of progressive advances.

As we have done in previous periodswhen Labour has been in opposition,the Society is now playing a central rolein re-shaping Labour’s thinking andpolicies, as the Party seeks to renewitself ahead of the next election. Havinglaunched his leadership bid at our post-election conference, Ed Milibandreturned to keynote our New YearConference, and to hear direct fromFabian members how Labour needs tochange. Looking forward, our majornew project on how we can re-make thecase for the state will help Labournavigate what are often noisy andhighly-charged debates amongstcompeting Party factions.

Culminating in autumn 2010, ourmajor project on public spendingcreated a new model to show howhouseholds gain from spending onpublic services – and used this tohighlight the regressive impact of thecurrent spending cuts. In our eventsprogramme, our strong public presenceacross all three major party conferences– unique among think tanks – helps uskeep challenging all parties to ensuretheir policies meet the fairness test.

None of this work would have beenpossible without the talent anddedication of the excellent Fabian staffteam. And our presence around the UKand beyond is greatly deepened by ourmembers and volunteers – through localsocieties, the Young Fabians and theFabian Women’s Network. Thank you toeveryone who has been involved with usand followed us over the last year. Ihope, like all of us here in DartmouithStreet, you are looking forward to anexciting political year ahead.

Fabian national membership(as at 30 June 2011)

2010

6540(1615)

2414874

6786

2011

6694(1726)

2414452

6914

change

154(111)

0-4

-22

128

2010

July

As Labour began to regroup after a painful election defeat, the Summer Review(The Morning After) analysed the elections, looks at what went wrong, what wentright, and how to move on. During the leadership contest, we commission thefive candidates to write Fabian Essays on Labour’s ideology, published online.Our first Gala Dinner is keynoted by acting Labour leader Harriet Harman.

August

The pamphlet What’s fair? Applying the fairness test to education asks what afair education system would look like and argues for important reforms neededto narrow the gaps in educational attainment and opportunity between differentsocial groups in the UK.

September

The TUC publishes a major report Where the Money Goes: How we benefit frompublic services, by Fabian Research Director Tim Horton and Howard Reed ofLandman Economics, which uses a new model of public spending to analyse thedistributional impact of the cuts. The Fabian Review Conference Special(Congratulations Mr Miliband ...But now what?) charts the key moments acrossthe leader’s first year, while Nick Johnson’s pamphlet Separate and Unequalchallenges the left not to see integration as an adjunct to issues of equality but aspart of the same broad agenda.

October

The pamphlet Work, the Grand Cure: How changing the way Britain works willbe good for our health argues that the new Government’s willingness to engagewith health inequalities will be a litmus test of their commitment to social justice.

November

November sees the launch of our series Assessing the EU’s response in a G2World, with contributions from Vince Cable and Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (Presidentof the Party of European Socialists).

December

The Winter Review (His Test and Ours: The big questions for Labour’s rethink),examines some of the big questions for Labour’s Policy Review, while a newpamphlet Europe’s Left in the Crisis: How the next left can respond, edited bySunder Katwala and Ernst Stetter, rejects pessimism about the left’s future.

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Fabian programme highlights

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2011

January

900 delegates see Ed Miliband keynote the Fabian New Year Conference anddebate whether a ‘next left’ movement could build the majority coalition weneed.

February

Shirley Williams gives the keynote at our Fabian & European CommissionConference Britain & Europe: In, out or somewhere in between? whichexplores competing visions of Britain’s future relationship with Europe.

March

Sadiq Khan delivers his first major speech on justice, The Justice Tests, settingout the future direction of Labour’s criminal justice policy review.

April

The Spring Fabian Review is a gender-equality special (Still Unequal: Why theleft is putting women front and centre). It asks why things are getting worse forwomen under the Coalition Government and sets out some new campaignsfor gender equality.

May

After the local elections, our conference The Progressive Fightback broughttogether politicians, campaigners and activists to discuss the electoral verdictwith Andy Burnham, Peter Hain and Vince Cable.

June

June saw the publication of a Runnymede Trust report by Fabian SeniorResearch Fellow James Gregory. Diversity and Solidarity: Crisis, What Crisis?challenges the idea that diversity and solidarity are incompatible and arguesthat a strong welfare state can in fact create a sense of shared identity andsolidarity.

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Voluntary Societies

Fabian Women’s Network

Since its inception six years ago, the Fabian Women’sNetwork (FWN) has gone from strength to strength. This yearsaw the launch of our new political education and mentoringprogramme, which is being piloted with 22 women across thecountry who want to move forward in political or public life. Iwould like to thank our mentors and our programmeAdvisory Group - in particular the Chair, Meg Munn MP. Theprogramme was launched in March 2011 at the Labour PartyInternational Women’s Day (IWD) Conference – an excitingday which brought together 700+ women for the 100thAnniversary of IWD, and was supported by the FWN, LWN,unions and Coop Party. We were also delighted to launch ournew strapline Women Changing Politics with t-shirts andmugs to match!

Last September we held a successful Labour Leadershiphustings organized with LWN and Lead4women. Around 200women heard the leadership candidates answer an array ofquestions including; how they voted on gender quotas for theshadow cabinet, their experiences of ‘macho culture’ in theLabour Party and how the party should respond tointernational abuses of women’s human rights. In May thisyear we held an FWN consultation and made a submission toLabour’s Refounding Labour review of party organisation. InJune we held a powerful seminar on the Future of Women’sPensions at the House of Commons with Steve Webb,Pensions Minister, Rachel Reeves, Shadow Pensions Minister,Baroness Patricia Hollis and Margaret Creear, Age UK.

We are excited also that we will shortly be launching a newe-magazine for the Fabian Women’s Network and lookforward to your feedback.

To get involved or to join our email list, please email us atfabianwomen@fabian-society.org.uk or write to us at theSociety.

Seema Malhotra – Director, Fabian Women’s Network.

www.fabianwomen.co.uk

Fabian Women’s Network Committee

Seema Malhotra DirectorEmma Carr SecretaryJohanna Baxter Union LiaisonLaura Nelson Head of CommunicationsChristine Megson Mentoring Scheme Co-

ordinatorSarah Hutchinson Researcher and WebsiteEmma Burnell Events ManagerIvana Bartoletti Editor, Fabiana magazineJessica Asato ResearcherAmina Lone Fabian Women’s Network

NorthCarolina Lindhal Researcher and MembershipAlex Kemp Research and Events Nina Champion EventsClaire Hickson EventsClaire Leigh Researcher and Mentoring

Scheme supportChristine Quigley Young Fabian Women

liaison

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Young Fabians

It was a huge honour to be elected to lead the Young Fabians,taking the reins at the end of our 50th anniversary year. I set fourobjectives for the executive committee and want to thank the groupfor their commitment to achieving these, and using them to guidedecision-making. We set out to: increase membership; increasemember involvement; increase influence; and increase YF funds.

Young Fabian membership has reached record levels,increasing at a greater rate than overall society membership.Anna-Joy Rickard was responsible for producing the YFmembership strategy; equally important in developing thereputation and strength of the organisation has been a focus onmember involvement. From 28 candidates for 5 co-optedcommittee places, through to dozens more contributing ideas andtaking responsibility for organising YF activity, we have sought tocapitalise on talent and maximise opportunities for themembership to get involved. Members constantly impress and Iam proud we have provided a home for their political energies.The Big AV Debate in Liverpool, one of our best attended events,was developed by one such member, James Roberts.

Our influence has been felt by producing programmes of workuseful to Labour as the party adapts to opposition. Our call, in theYF’s The New Generation pamphlet, for a strategic review of theParty was heard and our submission to ‘Refounding Labour’ builtupon our work on party reform since the YF delegation to the2008 Obama campaign. Our policy commissions are feeding intoLabour’s policy review, and we were the only youth organisationasked to host a high-level roundtable for Lord Davies’ women inthe boardroom review. James Green, Anticipations editor, sourcedarticles from Tony Blair and Rowan Williams, side-by-side with YFmembers.

Nick Maxwell led on fundraising with cash and in-kindsponsorship comfortably into five figures. This money has beenessential to deliver all we have. Marie Loewe and Claire Leighedited the first Young Fabian Women pamphlet. Pamphlets fromour policy commissions and Middle East Programme areforthcoming. The Middle East Programme saw the first YFdelegation to the region for quarter of a century. Other activityincluded a fabulous ‘thinkers & doers’ event for new members;skills development workshops on writing and ‘getting noticed in thenorth’; and a focus on the ‘squeezed youth’ through events at NewYear Conference, Labour Party Conference, and the ‘NextGeneration’ policy commission. We have redesigned the YFwebsite and our blog continues to grow.

Some challenges remain for the next executive committee. Ourcommunications look good and are professional – but we need todo more to get people to sit up and take notice of all we aredoing. We must continue to strive for more influence and toimprove the quality of our policy work. We must build on thepositive start for Young Fabian Women. And there are areas towork with the rest of the society – offering our experience ofmember involvement, and developing a sustainable way ofexpanding the Fabian presence on university campuses.

Adrian Prandle – Chair, Young Fabiansadrianprandle@gmail.com

Young Fabian Executive 2010-11

Adrian Prandle Young Fabian ChairSara Ibrahim Vice-Chair Claire Leigh Treasurer Alex Baker Secretary and

Communications ManagerJames Green Editor, AnticipationsMarie-Noelle Loewe International Officer and YF

Women leadPreth Rao Member Involvement

Officer Brian Duggan Policy OfficerVincenzo Rampulla Officer Without PortfolioSteve Race Equalities OfficerAnna-Joy Rickard Membership OfficerRichard Lane Social OfficerCaroline Alabi Universities OfficerDaniel Bamford Networks OfficerNick Maxwell Fundraising and

Partnerships OfficerSam Bacon Regions OfficerHetty Wood Website Officer

Read the full Young Fabian Annual Report:www.youngfabians.org.uk

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Fabians around the UK

Scottish Convenor’s report 2010-11

2010 and 2011 were dominated respectively by importantelections. Labour performed quite well in Westminster – well,better than Scottish Labour did in Holyrood at least. Needlessto say it has not been a good year for the Party. Having beeninvolved in some way in both these elections, I began to drawcomparisons between Labour’s campaigns in the two countries.

Firstly its easy to say afterwards that there were signs ofoverconfidence in both the internal workings of the UK LabourParty and their public messages at the 2009 Party Conference.I feel the same is true of the Scottish Labour Party in Glasgow,who appeared confident that they would do much better if theycould only emphasise the distance between them and London,while ignoring their common intrinsic problems.

Despite Gordon Brown's excellent speech to conference inBrighton, cracks were showing: in a hotel just along theparade, the Sun newspaper was highlighting a failure in theLabour’s defence policy and using Iraq as an excuse to switchits allegiance to the Conservatives at the next election. This wasa media bombshell. The SNP needed no such support from themedia in Scotland. Some would say Labour’s selection ofelectoral candidates was poor, although personally, I wouldemphasise the weakness in their communications andorganisation in comparison to that of the SNP. Scottish Labourhad repeated a mistake made by their colleagues in London inunderestimating the true value of the opposition's command of(new) media and better communications strategy, both insideand outside the party.

This year, as usual, I attended the Politics festival inEdinburgh and was most interested to hear talks on NewMedia given by Kez Dugdale MSP for the Scottish Labour Partyand Euan Mcintosh for the SNP. We need more MSPs like Kezbut, even more importantly, Scottish Labour needs to makemore of both their young talent and the opportunities offeredby new communications. Though Labour has good messagesthey appear unable to communicate them to the Scottishpublic. Though I have moved to Brighton, I will be keenlyfollowing all developments online.

Martin Brown – Scottish Convenor

Welsh Convenor’s report 2010-11

The last year saw a change of First Minister in Wales and PrimeMinister in the UK. As Rhodri Morgan passed on the mantle ofleading Wales to Carwyn Jones, and we managed to have acontested democratic leadership election without tearing theparty apart. It was a textbook example of a stable and orderlytransition. Welsh Labour has moved on much from 1999, andstands as example to the rest of the Labour movement.

Welsh Fabians were balloted as part in the Welsh LabourLeadership election process. Indeed as an innovation, Fabianmembers were also given the option of voting electronically aswell as by post.

It is clear that we need to change our structure in Wales toreflect the new political realities. The coming to power of theLiberal-Tory coalition in the UK, means that Wales is now theonly part of the UK with Labour in Government. We are aboutto learn just why we need a Welsh Assembly, and why we needa Labour Government in Westminster. Whilst Wales so far hasnot suffered as badly as elsewhere in the global downturn, cutsin public expenditure will hit us harder. We are older, poorer,and more likely to work in the public sector than those who liveelsewhere in Britain- we are therefore more dependent on thepublic sector. The fact is cuts in public expenditure means cutsin the Welsh Assembly Government’s budget. Yet this will notbe as bad as last time the Tories were in power, we don’t haveone of them in Cathays Park ruling by his Quango stateproxies.

The Cardiff and the Vale Local Society has continued to beparticularly active year, having held very regular meetings.

Geraint Owens –Welsh Convenor

Local and regional activities

17

If you want to help start a localFabian group, please contactDeborah Stoate, the Local SocietiesSecretary, at debstoate@hotmail.comor in the Fabian office on Tuesdays on020 7227 4904.

Local Societies Secretary’s report 2010-11

There are currently 60 Local Fabian Societies in Britain.Proposed initially at a meeting on 6 May 1897 by AnnieBesant to ‘carry socialism to the unconverted in differentparts of the metropolis, with further attempts made toform other groups for local propaganda’, they are stillholding meetings and events and bringing informed andenlightened political debate all over the country. Theyare all affiliated to their Regional Labour Party and localCLPs and their meetings are advertised on the listingspage of Fabian Review, on the website and in membersemail newsletters. I would also like to thank the fourLocal Society representatives on the National FabianSociety Executive Committee for their support.

Local Societies meet on average eight times a year andattract an average audience of around twenty. NewSocieties have formed this year in Richmond and Kew,Cambridge, Greenwich and Merseyside. In common withthe National Fabian Society, membership of the LocalSocieties is also rising. Most Societies have speaker anddiscussion meetings featuring MPs, Councillors, NGOs oracademics. However, the Societies are always looking forinteresting new formats. Brian Keegan of Peterboroughnotes in his annual report ‘Excellent meeting with fourgenerations of local women talking about womens’perspectives during their lifetimes – an 85 year old, 60,39 and 18 year old. Worth trying elsewhere!’

There were three Local Society events this year. OnMarch 5 we held an Eastern Region Conference inCambridge entitled ‘Next Left – Creating an Alternative’,with speakers including Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP,Richard Howitt MEP, Professor Mary Evans and Patrick

Diamond. After the conference another meeting washeld to re-form the Cambridge Local Fabian Society.

On Saturday 11 June there was a South WesternRegional Conference in Bournemouth – ‘Next Left’ withspeakers including MPs Kerry McCarthy and AlanWhitehead, Dr Howard Stoate, Sara Ibrahim, PatrickDiamond and Lord Jim Knight. I would like to thankBournemouth Fabian Society for sponsoring this eventand particularly their secretary Ian Taylor for all his hardwork. Bournemouth remains the largest Local Societywith a membership of over 150 and has a regular andvaried programme of excellent speakers.

The annual Local Societies House of CommonsMeeting and Tea was held on Tuesday 19 July. It wasentitled ‘Labour’s Future. What Can we Learn from theFabian Tradition?’ with speakers Austin Mitchell MP,Baroness Estelle Morris, Paul Richards and Lord RoyHattersley and chaired by Tim Horton. It was, as usual, apopular and successful event, attended by Fabians fromall over Britain and also Joff Lelliot, representing theAustralian Fabian Society.

Local Fabian Societies are run by volunteers – Chairs,Secretaries and Committee members - who put in a lotof effort to keep them running so efficiently. I would liketo thank them all for their hard work. The Local Societiesare what makes the Fabian Society unique and differentfrom every other think tank.

Deborah Stoate – Local Societies Secretary

Local Society listings are on pages 18-19of this Annual Report

Harrow

Marilyn D. Devine35 Beresford Road Harrow HA1 4QPmarilyn.d.devine@gmail.com

Hartlepool

Stephen Wallace78 Percy Street Hartlepool Cleveland TS26 0HT

Hastings and Rye

Nigel Sinden2 Francis Bird Place St Leonards On Sea East Sussex TN37 7GJfabian@sindenql.com

Havering

David Marshall31 Vicarage Road Hornchurch Essex RM12 4ASdavid.c.marshall@talk21.com

Hertfordshire

Robin Cherney24 Grace Way Stevenage Herts. SG1 5AArcher24@aol.com

Islington

Dan Stacey56 Lordship Park LONDON N16 5UAdan_stacey_uk@hotmail.com

Leicester

Annie Moelwyn-Hughes22 Great Bowden Road Market Harborough LE16 7DFanniemh@tiscali.co.uk

London Central

Martin Kennon11 Dartmouth Street London SW1H 9BNmartinkk@aol.com

Camden

Tristan StubbsFlat 12 Geoff Marsh Court Weedington Road London NW5 4DXtristanstubbs@hotmail.com

Cardiff

Jonathan Evans52 Marguerites Way St Fagans Cardiff CF5 4QWwynneevans@phonecoop.coop

Chiswick & West London

Monty Bogard22 Duke's Avenue Chiswick London W4 2AEmb014f1362@blueyonder.co.uk

Colchester

John Wood63 Godmans Lane Marks Tey Colchester CO6 1NQwoodj@madasafish.com

Dartford & Gravesend

Deborah Stoate36 Heathclose Road Dartford DA1 2PUdebstoate@hotmail.com

Derby

Ron Blanksby25 Petersham Drive Derby DE24 0JUronald_blanksby@o2.co.uk

Doncaster & District

Kevin Rodgers46 Petersgate Scawthorpe Doncaster DN5 9JEk.t.rodgers@gmail.com

Durham West

Alan Townsend62A Low Willington Willington

Local Societies

Bexley

Alan Scutt50 Normanhurst Avenue Bexleyheath Kent DA7 4TPalan.scutt@phonecoop.coop

Birmingham

Claire SpencerFlat 1 42 Prospect Road Moseley BIRMINGHAM West Midlands B13 9TDvirginiaisawitch@gmail.com

Bournemouth

Ian A. Taylor71 Shaftesbury Road Queens Park Bournemouth, Dorset BH8 8SUtaylorbournemouth@gmail.com

Bridgend

Huw DavidEdendale Court Cefn Road, Cefn Cribwr Bridgend CF32 0AHhuwjdavid@aol.com

Brighton & Hove

Maire McQueeney22 Warleigh Road Brighton BN1 4NTmairemcqueeney@waitrose.com

Bristol

Gerald RosenbergChurchside Church Road, Frenchay Bristol BS16 1NBgrosenberg@churchside.me.uk

Cambridge

Kehinde Latunde-Dada173 Shelford Road Trumpington CAMBRIDGE CB2 9NDcambridgefabiansociety

@hotmail.co.uk

Crook, Durham DL15 0BGalan.townsend@durham.ac.uk

East Lothian

Noel Foy5 Hope Park Haddington East Lothian EH41 3AHnoelfoy@lewisk3.plus.com

Enfield

James Easy26e Sutherland Road LONDON N9 7QDjameseasy1@gmail.com

Finchley

Mike Walsh35 Lyndhurst Gardens Finchley, London N3 1TAmike.walsh44@ntlworld.com

Forth Valley

May McIntyre182 Carmuirs Avenue Camelon Falkirk FK1 4LDmcintyrem@parliament.uk

Glasgow

Martin Hutchison48 Archers Avenue Stirling FK7 7RJmartin@liathach.net

Gloucester

Roy Ansley49 Brookfield Road Churchdown Gloucester GL3 2PGroybrendachd@yahoo.co.uk

Grimsby

Maureen Freeman198 Chelmsford Avenue Grimsby DN34 5DDm.freeman871@btinternet.com

18

19

Norwich NR1 1SPandreas@headswitch.co.uk

Nottingham

Arun Chopra134 Loughborough Road Ruddington NOTTINGHAM NG11 6LJarunkchopra@gmail.com

Ogmore

Michael Gregory1 Hafod Las, Pencoed Bridgend Mid Glamorgan CF35 5NBcllrmikegregory@aol.com

Peterborough

Brian Keegan8 Glamis Gardens Peterborough PE3 9PQbrian@briankeegan.demon.co.uk

Portsmouth

June Clarkson6 Tokar Street Southsea, Portsmouth PO4 9PFjune.clarkson@ntlworld.com

Reading & District

Tony SkuseWestcroft, 16 Croft Road Wokingham Berkshire RG40 3HUtony@skuse.net

Sheffield

Rob Murray11 Edward Place Sheffield S11 9DSrobertljmurray@hotmail.com

Southampton Area

Eliot Hornc/o Southampton Labour Party 20-22 Southampton Street Southampton S015 2EDeliot.horn@btinternet.com

London South-East

Duncan Bowie105 Court Lane London SE21 7EEduncanbowie@yahoo.co.uk

Manchester

Graham WhithamApartment 4 Whittles Croft 42 Ducie Street Manchester M1 2DEmanchesterfabians@

googlemail.com

Merseyside

Phillip Brightmore8 Chatsworth Road BIRKENHEAD Merseyside CH42 1NYp.a.brightmore@gmail.com

Newham

Tahmina Rahman2 Godwin Road LONDON E7 0LEtahmina_rahman_1@hotmail.com

Newport

Mark Whitcutt59 Lansdowne Road Newport Gwent NP20 3GAmark.whitcutt@ntlworld.com

Northampton

David Brede3 Blossom Way Little Billing Northampton NN3 9ETdavidbrede@yahoo.com

Northumbria Area

Pat HobsonThe Holm 14a Wallace Terrace Ryton, Tyne & Wear NE40 3PLpat.hobson@hotmail.com

Norwich

Andreas Paterson11 St Matthews Road

Staffordshire North

Richard Gorton21 Hill Street Cross Heath Newcastle Under Lyme ST5 2DWr.l.gorton@staffs.ac.uk

Suffolk

John Cook27 Grange Road Ipswich IP4 1NPcontact@ipswich-labour.org.uk

Sunderland

Michael MordeyApt 17 River Quarter William Street Sunderland SR1 1ULcllr.michael.mordey@sunderland.gov.uk

Surrey

Maureen Swage1 Hillary Close Farnham Surrey GU9 8QZmaureen.swage@btinternet.com

The Marches

C. Barrie Thornton2 Church Street Ellesmere, Shropshire SY12 0HDcandk.thornton@tiscali.co.uk

Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells

John B. Champneys116 Farmcombe Road Tunbridge Wells Kent TN2 5DLjohn@champneys.plus.com

Tower Hamlets

Chris WeaversFlat 34 Rutherford House Brady Street London E1 5PSchris_weavers@hotmail.com

Tynemouth

Brian Flood45 Percy Park Road

North Shields NE30 4LWritaorbrian@aol.com

Tyneside South

Paul Freeman124 Manet Gardens South Shields Tyne & Wear NE34 8LTfreemanpsmb@blueyonder.co.uk

Valleys

Peter Huw Fitzgerald8 Kidwelly Court Hendredenny Caerphilly, Mid-Glam CF83 2TYfitzwales@btinternet.com

Wales North-East

Stella MatthewsOsborne House, Osborne Street Rhosllannerchrugog Wrexham LL14 2HU

Walsall

Ian C Robertson87 Belvidere Road Walsall WS1 3AUrobertsonic@hotmail.co.uk

Warwickshire

Benjamin Ferrett17 Stanley Road Rugby CV21 3UEben_ferrett@hotmail.com

Wimbledon

Andy Ray56 Burstow Road Wimbledon London SW20 8SXandyray@blueyonder.co.uk

York

Stephen Burton153 Lowther Street York YO31 7LZsteve.burton688@mod.uk

Jenny Jeger Prize

The Jenny Jeger prize was organised to commemorate Jenny Jeger,lifelong Fabian and Chair of the Society in 1984. The 2010 prize forbest Fabian publication of the year was awarded to Tim Horton andJames Gregory for The Solidarity Society.

24

Fabians remembered

In MemoriamRichard Acton (Lord Acton)Ali BakranDerek S. BerryDavid CairnsCyril ClaydonRoger ClementsGordon CollingMartin CookPaddy CosgroveDavid John CostainClare CozensSusan Crosland

Kenneth W. DobsonAnthony HowardMrs I. HughesGeorge JamiesonC.A. JecchinisBob KilbeyBenn LinnellBill LythgoeBarbara MillsEdna M. MoncktonGordon PolleyRobin Robinson

George RossLionel SchultzJames E. SiddelleyPeter Gerald SlipHarold SodipoMiss M. StanbridgeShelby SyerAnthony John WadeEnid WhithamSheila Williams

25

Fabian Friends scheme

William T. Bain Rt Hon Hilary Benn MPRt Hon Hazel Blears MPDave A. BrownDavid Coats David Connell Alan Davidson Andrew Edwards Alison Frater Cormac Hollingsworth Lucy Howson Martin Jones Lord Frank Judd

The Fabian Friends provide invaluable support for the Society’s research.

We are grateful to the following members for their donations:

To join Fabian Friends, please contact Giles Wright byemail at giles.wright@fabian-society.org.uk

Hans LundL. KitchenProfessor Lord Richard Layard Anthony Leeks D.J. Maisey Paul Matz John McDonald Andrew Mercer Rt Hon Ed Miliband MPSheila Millington Mark Needham Anna H.L. Peters Richard Pond

Michael Ratcliffe Richard RawlesJohn RobertsonTim Root Donald J. Roy Jamie Spark Clifford Thomas Gillian Travers Baroness Warwick of UndercliffeStuart WhiteT.P. Wilson Chad Wollen

Treasurer’s Report

26

This has been a difficult year for the Fabians but thanks tothe tremendous efforts of our staff, led by Sunder Katwala,our finances remain in balance and we have adjusted tothe realities of opposition politics. I would particularly liketo thank Phil Mutero our Finance Manager for his help overthe last 12 months.

The most encouraging factor this year has been thesustained level of membership numbers, which rose to arecord 7,100 in December 2010. Secure income fromsubscriptions has enabled us to manage despite a fall inrevenue from events which reflects the general politicalclimate. Membership income also enabled us to maintainour independence, avoiding the dependence on solitarylarge scale donors or business sponsorship on which otherorganisations so often rely. Financially, as well as inorganisational terms, the Fabian Society remains one ofthe strongest organisations on the political left.

I would like to thank all those who have helped us overthe year.

The energy and drive of the Young Fabians in recentyears has been remarkable. They are now at the heart ofthe Society and their strength should give all of us greatconfidence for the future. I am personally extremelygrateful for the sustained support of Suresh as Chair andall the other members of the Executive Committee and theFinance and General Puroposes Committee. Ourvolunteers and those who organise the local societies alsodeserve our thanks. I would particularly like toacknowledge the considerable help we receive throughdonations - some of them private and anonymous. Withoutthat support we could not sustain the level of activityreflected in this report.

Many challenges remain. Our staff are not paid well byany standards and there is much political work to be doneto help the Labour Party prepare for a return to office. Weneed to ensure that we have both the premises and theorganisational structure appropriate to the challenges ofthe times. There is much to be done - but thanks to agreat collective effort we have come through a very difficultperiod with our finances in balance and secure.

Nick Butler – Treasurer, The Fabian Society

Funders and Partners

Research and Publications:AgeUK, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Bristol Water, Crisis,Dartmouth Street Trust, Gingerbread, Joseph RowntreeFoundation, Moat Housing, Runnymede Trust, SembcorpBournemouth Water, Thames Water, The Webb MemorialTrust, WWF, Wessex Water

Environmental Policy NetworkNational Grid, UKBCSE

Employment NetworkCity & Guilds, Reed Employment, Newham Council

Conferences, Receptions, Lectures & SeminarsAltitude 360, European Commission, Friedrich EbertStiftung, Sanofi-Aventis, Provident Financial

Labour Party Conference 2010Avanta, CPAG ,Criminal Justice Alliance, EEF, ElectoralReform Society, FEPS, Food & Drink Federation,Groundwork, ICAEW, IOE, Prison Reform,

Trade Unions Amicus, Community, CWU, FBU, GMB, PCS, TGWU, TSSA,TUC, TUFM, UNISON, USDAW

Partner OrganisationsCompass Institute of Education, the Guardian, theIndependent, the Observer, E Sharp, Left Foot Forward,Progress, Labour List

201044,047

999

213,590810

215,399

(190,317)

25,082

£69,129

62,8546,275

£69,129

2012163,148

49,3909,4972,896

265,822

57,05184,98029,807

808-

£663,399

19,040393,766

62,780116,839

2,9584,817

10,0352,914

2405,371

11,0728,7062,342

24,8218,445

£674,146

(10,747)

-(10,747)

-£(10,747)

2011181,794

34,15138,944

2,703169,274

59,335108,305

34,8611,1735,041

£635,581

24,904374,120

58,53393,155

2,9952,5579,5433,387

5255,3008,4438,396

90834,526

8,755£636,047

(466)

(466)

-£(466)

27

Annual accounts

IncomeIndividual membersInstitutional affiliations & subscriptionsDonationsPublication salesConferences & eventsPublication sponsorship & advertisingResearch projectsRentsBank interestRoyalties & miscellaneousTotal Income

ExpenditureResearch projectsStaff costsPrinting & distributionConferences & eventsPromotionAffiliation feesPostage, phone, and faxDepreciationTravelOtherStationery and copyingLegal and professionalIrrecoverable VATPremises costsWebsite & DatabaseTotal Expenditure

(Deficit) Before Tax andTransfersTransfers from Reserves(Deficit) before TaxationCorporation Tax(Deficit) for the year

Income & Expenditure Account for the year ended 30 June 2011

Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2008

Fixed assets

Current Assets

StockDebtors and prepaymentsBank and cash

Current Liabilities

Creditors and accruals

Net Current Assets

Net Assets

General FundRestricted Fund

TOTAL FUNDS

201147,333

2,463

162,182542

165,187

(143,857)

21,339

£68,663

62,3886,275

£68,663

The Fabian financial year runs from 1 July 2010 to30 June 2011 and the financial information in thisreport covers that period. The essential parts of thisreport are sent to members in the September FabianReview and the full report is presented to theSociety’s AGM on 12 November 2011.

Financial StatementsThese accounts are an extract from the financial statementsand may not contain sufficient information to allow a fullunderstanding of the financial affairs of the society. Forfurther information the full financial statements and auditorsreport should be consulted. Copies of these can beobtained from the Fabian Society, 11 Dartmouth Street,London SW1H 9BN. Auditors StatementWe have audited the financial statements of The FabianSociety for the year ended 30th June 2011 which consistsof a balance sheet, income and expenditure account andnotes to the accounts. In our opinion the FinancialStatements give a true and fair view, in accordance withUnited Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, ofthe state of The Fabian Society’s affairs at 30th June 2011and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended.Knox CropperChartered Accountants16 New Bridge StreetLondon EC4V 6AXRegistered Auditors

The Fabian Society is Britain’s leading left of centre think tank and political society,committed to creating the political ideas and policy debates which can shape the futureof progressive politics.With over 300 Fabian MPs, MEPs, Peers, MSPs and AMs, the Society plays anunparalleled role in linking the ability to influence policy debates at the highest level withvigorous grassroots debate among our growing membership of over 7000 people, 70local branches meeting regularly throughout Britain and a vibrant Young Fabian sectionorganising its own activities. Fabian publications, events and ideas therefore reach andinfluence a wider audience than those of any comparable think tank. The Society isunique among think tanks in being a thriving, democratically-constituted membershiporganisation, affiliated to the Labour Party but organisationally and editoriallyindependent.For over 120 years Fabians have been central to every important renewal and revisionof left of centre thinking. The Fabian commitment to open and participatory debate isas important today as ever before as we explore the ideas, politics and policies whichwill define the next generation of progressive politics in Britain, Europe and around theworld. Find out more at www.fabians.org.uk

Fabian Society11 Dartmouth StreetLondonSW1H 9BNTel: 020 7227 4900Fax: 020 7976 7153Email: info@fabian-society.org.ukwww.fabians.org.ukISBN 978 0 7163 4057 7 September 2011