Will Hutton’s The State We’re In was one of the most important polemical works of the 1990s. The challenging, creative critique of the UK's political economy caught the public mood and provided intellectual underpinning for a period of progressive renewal. The book remains one of the bestselling books on UK public policy. But how relevant is it today?

Are the problems faced by the UK different now? And what lessons are there in progressive renewal? To mark the book's 25th anniversary, this event will bring together Will Hutton with leading political thinkers to update the work and consider parallels between the UK politics of the mid-90s and now.

Meet our speaker and chair

Will Hutton is a political economist, author and journalist. He is President of the Academy of Social Sciences, an associate of the CEP, a non-executive director of the Satellite Applications Catapult, an associate of the Oxford University Martin School and writes a fortnightly column for the Observer. As one of the leading economic commentators in the country, Will is regularly called on to advise senior political and business figures and comment in the national and international media.

Alison McGovern (@Alison_McGovern) is a British Labour politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Wirral South since 2010. 

Geoff Mulgan CBE is Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London (UCL). Prior to that he was Chief Executive of Nesta, the UK's innovation foundation between 2011 and 2019. Between 1997 and 2004 Geoff had roles in the UK government including director of the Government's Strategy Unit and the Performance and Innovation Unit, and head of policy in the Prime Minister's office. From 2004 to 2011 he was the first Chief Executive of The Young Foundation. He was the first director of the think-tank Demos; and has been a reporter on BBC TV and radio.

Neil Lee (@ndrlee) is Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

More about this event

The Department of Geography and Environment (@LSEGeography) is a centre of international academic excellence in economic, urban and development geography, environmental social science and climate change.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEHutton

Podcast & Video

A podcast of this event is available to download from The State We're In at 25: reconsidering progressive politics.

A video of this event is available to watch at The State We're In at 25: reconsidering progressive politics.

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.