Islington (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Praful Nargund, ex-Labour candidate and think tank director, aims to test the UK’s “red lines” on closer EU ties after losing to Jeremy Corbyn in Islington.
Nargund is focusing on a new political endeavor now that Labour is in power.
The Good Growth Foundation (GGF), his new think tank, was formally established this month with the goal of promoting policies that will increase economic growth and lessen inequality throughout the United Kingdom.
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Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and other members of the Labour backbench attended the inaugural event.
A number of parliamentarians walked through the event to gauge the potential influence of the new organization. As they left the packed Parliamentary room, one MP told PoliticsHome, “I just wanted to see who is here…”
Nargund stated in an interview that he wants the government to directly benefit from the GGF’s work. Researching how businesses view growth and assessing public opinion regarding the UK’s relationship with Europe are among its upcoming initiatives.
The UK government is looking for a new beginning in its relationship with the EU in light of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and Ukraine and the potential of extensive trade penalties from US President Donald Trump. For the first time since Brexit, a UK prime minister traveled to Brussels last week to meet with EU leaders. This was Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Every British constituency, according to a January YouGov poll, agrees that the government should prioritize trade with the EU over the US and other nations.
Nargund said:
“So we just felt like this is politically the right thing to do.
If you get it right, you have a huge potential to transform people’s lives across the country quickly. And we know SMEs in particular have disproportionately been negatively impacted by Brexit.”
According to Nargund, his think tank will investigate “where some of the red lines are” in terms of popular perceptions of UK-EU relations.
These “red lines” might include a number of sectoral agreements or security cooperation agreements, a “one in, one out” visa system, membership in a customs union, or re-entering the single market.
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Domestically, the GGF’s initial study, “Mind the Growth Gap,” outlined why policymakers should make sure that economic growth is “clear, relatable, and grounded in their everyday experiences” so that it affects average citizens.
Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be aware that if they intend to be re-elected to government, voters will want to see a noticeable change in this Parliament, since their level of satisfaction with the government has been declining since the election.
According to Nargund, the Treasury must thus “face two ways,” seeking to secure investment and growth in the long run while simultaneously determining the public’s immediate gains.
Nargund said:
“You don’t need to see the total transformation of the economy [in this Parliament.
But you could have these personal impacts in terms of skills, health, transport, or in their community, their high street is transformed, or they see new industries turn up in their community.”
In support of his claim that measures aimed at increasing house building should be prioritized in areas where they “have the most chance of actually taking a chunk out of affordability as quickly as possible,” he cited the examples of housing and planning reform.
“People don’t celebrate devolution for the sake of devolution,” he added in reference to the concept.
Therefore, the GGF will support measures that distribute the nation’s economic gains from growth.
However, Nargund is certain that the GGF would be distinctive, saying, “We don’t have ‘Labour’ in the name. We are truly independent, even though we are publicly progressive.
Nargund is still working on “professionalizing” the GGF, even though the organization has hired several full-time employees to work on policy, public affairs, and communications.
Nargund, who was the director of a family-owned IVF fertility service before becoming the director of a venture capital firm, is using his own companies to finance the GGF for the next two years. He did, however, state that he anticipated the think tank would eventually acquire funds “in the normal way” through grants and donations.