We are at a pivotal moment in British politics. Across the globe the radical right is gaining ground, fuelled by economic stagnation and public despair. Here at home, they are surging in the polls, driven by the public’s justified anger with the failure of mainstream politics to provide answers. Faith in the democratic contract is draining away and a slide towards a very dark reality is in clear view. People see wages stagnating, living costs spiralling, and an economy that no longer delivers for working families. They want change — and unless we can come together to deliver it, the space will be ceded to those who would exploit frustration and division.
That is the landscape we face, and to confront it demands a new force that can build the coalitions needed, supply the energy and craft the ideas to turn the tide. The Labour Growth Group and the Good Growth Foundation are joining forces to do just that, and to cement economic prosperity as the organising mission of progressive politics in Britain. Growth is not an abstract concept. It is the foundation upon which we build a better society — the only way to fund the NHS, create better jobs, lower bills, and restore hope. Unless our politics can show that a better future is possible, with progress measured in people’s pay packets and felt in their communities, then it will fall in the face of the radical right.
This partnership will bring together the political reach of the largest backbench grouping in Labour with the research firepower and policy capacity of one of the fastest-rising think tanks on the progressive left. It is a formidable combination: the campaigning force to shift the political weather in Westminster allied with the expertise to design policies that work in practice.
We are clear about our mission. Britain has been trapped in managed decline for too long, a drift that has hollowed out communities, stifled ambition, and left our politics vulnerable to charlatans peddling snake oil and performative cruelty. To break free, we need a politics that is bold enough to confront vested interests, radical enough to take on failing institutions, and disciplined enough to deliver real outcomes.
We will build coalitions grounded in a shared commitment to prosperity – from the soft left to red wall and beyond party lines – to shape the economic agenda rather than merely respond to it. Together, we will scale up rapidly, expanding our organising capacity and putting forward radical, workable ideas on housing, infrastructure, workforce and energy. LGG will continue to bring political direction and grassroots momentum. GGF will contribute cutting-edge research, polling and policy development. Combined, we will supercharge our impact.
And this will not be confined to Westminster. Growth cannot simply be imposed from the centre; it must be rooted in the regions and nations of Britain. Early next year we plan to convene a landmark conference outside of London, bringing together mayors, councils and civic leaders to advance the growth agenda where people live and work. This is about building a project that will take the politics of abundance into communities right across the country.
We are not concerned with personalities or Westminster navel-gazing. We are focused on creating a force that ensures the cause of delivering growth remains central to British politics for the long term. We remain independent, but united in purpose: to confront decline and to prove that serious politics can still change lives.
The moment demands courage. It demands urgency. It demands that we, as a movement, rise above comfort zones and factional games and do the one thing that can restore faith in our politics: deliver prosperity. The Labour Growth Group and the Good Growth Foundation are determined to meet that challenge. Together we will turn back the tide of despair, and build a future fit for the British people.
Chris Curtis is the Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes North.
Praful Nargund is the Director of the Good Growth Foundation.
[Further reading: Britain faces a revolutionary moment. Labour must respond]
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