Compass is a British

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

pressure group, aligned with the Labour Party which describes itself as: "'An umbrella grouping of the progressive left whose sum is greater than its parts". Like the formally Labour-affiliated

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

it is a membership-based organisation and thus seeks to be a pressure group and a force for political organisation and mobilisation. Compass was launched in 2003 with the publication of a founding statement called ''A Vision for the Democratic Left''. Supported by a number of academics and Labour politicians unhappy with the political direction of prime minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

this was the first attempt by Compass to help guide the Labour government. Since then it has published pamphlets and a series of booklets as part of its Programme for Renewal charting an alternative path for left governments and for centre-left activists in the UK. In June 2023, it was revealed that the chair of Compass,

Neal Lawson Neal Lawson (born 1963) is a British political commentator and organiser. Lawson was born in and brought up in Bexleyheath, South East London. He became interested in politics through his father, who was a printer in Fleet Street and joined the ...

, is facing possible expulsion from the Labour Party due to allegedly tweeting in support of

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

candidates in 2021.

Activities

Since its inception, Compass has risen in influence and media prominence. The Chair,

, has written for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper and when he called for

to resign in May 2006, it was widely reported elsewhere. Compass organises an annual conference. The event on 17 June 2006, included many figures identified with Labour and the trade union movement such as

Ed Balls Edward Michael Balls (born 25 February 1967) is a British former politician, broadcaster and economist. He served as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010, and as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2011 to ...

, Derek Simpson,

Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South, formerly ...

, Fiona Millar, John Harris,

Hazel Blears Hazel Anne Blears (born 14 May 1956) is a British former Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) successively for the constituencies of Salford and Salford and Eccles between 1997 and 2015. One of 101 female ...

, Kevin Maguire, and

Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...

. There were calls for, amongst other things, the abolition of the monarchy and the destruction of nuclear weapons put forward by the membership. In 2006 it merged with the

Catalyst Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

think tank. The 2007

Robin Cook Robert Finlayson "Robin" Cook (28 February 19466 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 until his death in 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until ...

Memorial Conference "Shaping Our Global World", included speakers such as

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...

Dave Prentis David Prentis, Baron Prentis of Leeds (born 29 May 1948) is a British trade unionist and former General Secretary of UNISON, the United Kingdom's largest trade union. He was originally elected in 2000. He was re-elected in March 2005 with 77% ...

Frances O'Grady Frances Lorraine Maria O'Grady, Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (born 9 November 1959), is a British former trade unionist leader, who served as the General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress (TUC) from 2013 to 2022, being the fir ...

Jon Cruddas Jonathan Cruddas (born 7 April 1962) is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dagenham and Rainham, formerly Dagenham, between 2001 and 2024. Having been critical of many aspects of the Blair governm ...

and

Helena Kennedy Helena Ann Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (born 12 May 1950), is a Scottish barrister, Television presenter, broadcaster, and Labour Party (UK), Labour member of the House of Lords. She was Principal (academia), Principal of Mansfield Col ...

as well as panels and seminars organised by groups such as

Unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of grassroots environmental organizations in 73 countries. About half of the member groups call themselves "Friends of the Earth" in their own languages; the others use other ...

War on Want War on Want is an anti-poverty charity based in London. War on Want works to challenge the root causes of poverty, inequality and injustice through partnership with social movements in the global South and campaigns in the UK. War on Want's slo ...

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, the

and the Citizen Organising Foundation. In 2010, Compass established the High Pay Commission on top pay and inequality, which in turn became the High Pay Centre think tank in 2011. The Compass website is a source of information about Labour politics with regularly posted opinion pieces written by a wide range of authors with an invitation for responses from readers. Since a decision in 2011 to open membership to people from other political parties, Compass has lost influence within the Labour Party.

Programme for Renewal

The Programme for Renewal is the name of the Compass policy review. This has involved commissioned 'thinkpieces' for publication on the organisation's website, seminars, working groups and online discussions involving over a hundred academics, policy thinkers and practitioners. The outcome of this process was three short books. ''The Good Society'' outlined the Compass conception of a progressive society, '' A New Political Economy'' explored progressive and alternative economic policies and ''Democracy and the Public Realm'' looked at the renewal of democratic processes and structures. The text of these books was made available online in order to be subjected to discussion and debate.

Governing structure

Compass is managed by a committee of persons elected by the membership bi-annually. The Management Committee 'provide strategic direction for Compass and make decisions on behalf of the membership'. In an attempt to promote equality, the Committee has a gender quota. The Committee meets between four and five times a year. Previous members have included MPs

Jon Trickett Jon Hedley Trickett (born 2 July 1950) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Normanton and Hemsworth, previously Hemsworth (UK Parliament con ...

and

Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British businessman and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabine ...

. Compass holds an Annual General Meeting open to all members at which the constitution, policy and strategy of the organisation can be debated and amended.

Compass Youth

Compass Youth is an autonomous organisation which aims to engage young people to find out what issues really matter, develop their skills to turn ideas into action as well as organise and champion campaigns young people can get involved in. It is best known for its campaigning on Votes at 16, its participative manifesto debates and Love Difference festivals. It has developed right across the country represented regionally and on university campuses. It also has its own YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, and Netvibes channels. Sam Tarry MP, was previously chair of the Compass Youth Organising Committee.

Funding

In November 2022, the funding transparency website

Who Funds You? Who Funds You? is a project that rates and promotes the transparency of funding sources for think tanks. The project scored think tanks according to four criteria, namely whether the organisation discloses its income, whether it publishes financi ...

gave Compass an A grade, the highest transparency rating (rating goes from A to E).

References

External links

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Ceasefire InterviewUK Labour Party urged to brainstorm new Africa policy
Africa Intelligence, 1 March 2024 (requires free registration) {{UK Labour Party 2003 establishments in the United Kingdom Centre-left politics Labour Party (UK) factions Organisations associated with the Labour Party (UK) Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Political and economic think tanks based in the United Kingdom Progressive organisations in the United Kingdom Think tanks based in the United Kingdom Think tanks established in 2003 Socialist think tanks based in the United Kingdom