Skip navigation

Act Now - A Vision for a Better Future and a New Social Contract

Lecture Theatre 001

-

'Act Now': A Vision for a Better Future and a New Social Contract

We live in an age of crisis and decline. The right presents 'solutions' that only worsen the situation, driving a downward cycle in which desperation leads to despair. But the left is also to blame: progressive politicians have consistently failed to recognise both the urgency of people's need and their receptiveness to new solutions.

At a stimulating public event next month, Northumbria University's Common Sense Policy Group will launch Act Now, an inspiring manifesto offering a better vision for Britain. 

In Act Now: A Vision for a Better Future and a New Social Contract, a team of leading researchers present a compelling and achievable vision for a progressive future. They outline clear policies for welfare, health and social care, education, housing and more. Arguing for a rolling forwards of the state, they call for a new era of active citizenship and economic democracy, grounded in robust and resilient institutions.

At a book launch hosted by Northumbria University, the authors will argue that only a comprehensive and integrated approach, based on clear evidence of feasibility and popularity, can provide a pathway to the secure, democratic and prosperous Britain of tomorrow. This book is the blueprint calling on politicians, pundits and the British people to act now.

About the Authors

Speakers at the book launch include:

Professor Andy Long FREng, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, Northumbria University 

Professor Louise Bracken PVC, Northumbria University 

Professor Matthew Johnson, Professor of Public Policy & Chair of the Common Sense Policy Group at Northumbria University 

Professor Kate Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology, University of York

Professor Danny Dorling, Professor of Human Geography, University of Oxford

Professor Richard Wilkinson, Emeritus Professor of Social Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham Medical School, Honorary Professor at University College London, and Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of York, and Visiting Professor in SWECW

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT

Event Details

Lecture Theatre 001
Business & Law Building, Northumbria University
City Campus East
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8ST


-


Latest News and Features

Greenland (credit Dr Sammie Buzzard)
Dr Juna Sathian
UUK Future Jobs event at Northumbria University
Professor Greta Defeyter OBE and Andrew Forsey OBE pictured outside 10 Downing Street.
Illustration of the ecosystem in Antarctica around 90 million years ago. Research shows that wildfires regularly occurred near the South Pole at that time. Credit:  James McKay (University of Leeds).
Dr Lea Ferellec, a Research Fellow based in Northumbria's School of Engineering, Physics and Mathematics
Professor Elliott Johnson and Professor Nicola Wake
Radar measurements of coastal ice all around Antarctica will be taken from the air in an effort to get more accurate calculations and reduce uncertainty about future global sea levels. Photo by Dr Kenichi Matsuoka
More events

Upcoming events

IPE Conference 2026
Next Stop Northumbria
Back to top