New research published this week has thrown the impact of the skills shortage in the UK into sharp relief.

A new Labour/Liberal Democrat Coalition at Canterbury City Council, led by Leader, Alan Baldock will see the Kent local authority working to deliver opportunity into the historic heart of the south east.

With student loans expected to feature as a key issue in next year’s general election, figures from the Student Loans Company have revealed that outstanding student loans in England have surpassed £200bn for the first time. Individual debt has also risen again, with an average cost of just under £45,000.

There are many complex reasons for people becoming homeless. A lack of affordable housing, poverty, unemployment or a life event such as divorce or mental health issues can all result in someone losing their home.

The consequences of another interest rate rise are bleak. On Thursday, new analysis from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research found that by the end of 2023, more than a million households will run out of savings because of higher mortgage repayments, taking the proportion of insolvent households to nearly 30%, with the largest impact in Wales and the North East.

Shadow Minister for Business and Industry, Bill Esterson MP, has officially launched the Purpose Coalition’s latest report, Entrepreneurial Revolution, in partnership with SME for Labour.

Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer, alongside Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero, and Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sawar has today announced the fourth of the party’s five ‘Missions’ for government - focused on ‘making Britain a clean energy superpower’

The roundtable was an opportunity for the Minister to learn more about the work of private sector Purpose Coalition organisations and the benefits of Young Enterprise for teachers and young people across the UK.

Fundamentally, whether you call it improving opportunities, social mobility, levelling up, or something else entirely, it means the same thing - regenerating communities and delivering change.

As we approach the next election, health will remain a crucial battleground. It’s one of the most important issues facing voters, and any political party putting themselves up for election without a clear plan to deliver the health services people want to see is unlikely to win.

This week, Leader Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting unveiled their ‘NHS mission’. It’s a key battleground that undoubtedly commands the public’s attention but its success is also vital to the social and economic recovery of the country.

“Are you thinking what we’re thinking?”. In the 2005 General Election that was the question that Conservative leader Michael Howard asked voters in posters on billboards around the country.

This week I was delighted to welcome Labour’s Shadow Minister for Business and Industry, Bill Esterson MP, to a Purpose Coalition roundtable with senior representatives from leading business members of the Coalition, including Travelodge’s Chief People Officer Hannah Thompson, UK Power Networks’ Director of HR Andrew Pace, and Head of Government Relations at Pearson Education Daniel Pedley.

Labour’s Shadow Minister for Business and Industry, Bill Esterson MP, has joined leading Purpose Coalition businesses for a roundtable to discuss the party’s approach to engaging with the business community, the importance of social mobility, and how the next Labour government can learn next practice from business. 

Matthew McPherson reviews what might come from a Labour reshuffle, and sets out why Keir Starmer needs a punchier front bench with ‘more Wes Streeting’s’ to take his message to the country.

While political commentary on local election results is always caveated with a warning against extrapolating them to predict general election outcomes, it doesn’t stop numerous column inches being published about what they mean for the prospects of the main political parties.

A major new Purpose Coalition advocacy campaign was launched today by Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting MP, alongside former Health Ministers Rt Hon Dame Caroline Dineage MP, Rt Hon Anne Milton, and former Member of Sir Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet Nick Forbes CBE.

Policy and Public Affairs Director Matthew McPherson sets out why Labour needs to use its newfound local power to show the country how it would govern Britain.

Senior Treasury Minister and Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle, Victoria Atkins MP has joined Purpose Coalition leaders Tony Simpson of Sodexo, Lynda McVay of Leonardo and Sandhya Sabapathy of The Adecco Group for a panel discussion with Rt Hon Justine Greening, Chair of the Purpose Coalition

Guest blog by Rob Powell, Strategic Director of Resources at Warwickshire County Council