Civil Servants In Talks With Left-Wing Think Tank To Prepare For Labour Government

A leading left-wing think tank is meeting civil servants to discuss how the Labour Party would implement its key policies if it gets into government at the next general election.

The Fabian Society, an influential think tank which was established in 1884 and is affiliated with the Labour Party, is meeting with the civil service this week to discuss how their work could feed into the policy agenda of a potential Labour government.

Official access talks between Labour and the civil service have already begun, with Labour leader Keir Starmer recently meeting with the cabinet secretary Simon Case. The meeting between civil servants and the Fabians would be an unusual move, with interactions between government departments and opposition-aligned think tanks usually limited.

Andrew Harrop, General Secretary of the Fabian Society, told PoliticsHome that while the planned meeting was not part of a “formal process”, he understood civil servants were in the process of “information gathering”. He suggested that the meeting would be with officials from one of the four Great Offices of State: the Cabinet Office, the Treasury, the Foreign Office or the Home Office.

“That never happens for a left-wing think tank that is affiliated to the opposition party,” he said.

“And it is a sign that the civil service is starting to think about a Labour government and wants to have an insight into policy proposals that are either already adopted by Labour or are influential in the lifeblood of the Labour movement.”

In the last few weeks, Labour has been completing its internal manifesto development process. While there could be last minute changes, the process of think tanks such as the Fabian Society offering policy proposals has drawn to a close,