Timing

Tuesday 29th September: 15:30 - 16:30

Chair

Jon Trickett, MP

Speakers

Isabella Weber, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
Richard Burgon, MP
Andrea Egan, General secretary, UNISON
Matthew Brown, Preston City Council Labour Leader

Topic

Rewiring Britain: Labour's Last Chance?

Britain's oldest socialist publication, Tribune magazine, is bringing together key figures from across the labour movement to assess the changing character of the working class - amid precaritisation and automation - and what it means for the British economy. What forms of political action and policy intervention are needed to address the legacies of neoliberalism today?

About Tribune Magazine

Tribune was established in 1937 as a socialist magazine that would give voice to the popular front campaigns against the rising tide of fascism in Europe. For eighty years, it has been at the heart of left-wing politics in Britain, counting giants of the labour movement like Aneurin Bevan and Michael Foot among its former editors.

Over the decades Tribune has campaigned for socialist ideals inside and outside parliament. It championed the cause of the Spanish Republic abroad and the National Health Service at home. Tribunite Jennie Lee wrote in its pages about the need to democratise culture, before going on to found the Open University as a pioneering Minister for the Arts.

Speaker bios

Jon Trickett, MP

Jon Trickett has served as an MP for three decades, representing Labour in Normanton and Hemsworth. He is the Chair of the Tribune Advisory Board and a regular contributor to the magazine.

Isabella Weber, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Isabella Weber is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is the author of Anti-Fascist Economics (2026) and How China Escaped Shock Therapy (2022).

Richard Burgon, MP

Richard Burgon is the Labour MP for Leeds East, a former trade union lawyer, and a prominent campaigner for peace and economic justice.

Andrea Egan, General secretary, UNISON

Andrea Egan is the General Secretary of UNISON. Previously a social worker, she is the first lay member to lead the union.

Matthew Brown, Preston City Council Labour Leader

Matthew Brown is the Preston City Council Labour Leader and a Senior Fellow at The Democracy Collaborative.