Change:NOW! Mobilising the Progressive Majority

Exciting event from comrades at Compass and the Progressive Economy Forum! Tickets here.

Last year, Compass brought together 450+ progressive pioneers at ‘Change:HOW? A Decade of Radical Renewal’ to re-orient the current Labour government’s promise of a ‘decade of national renewal’.
This was an amazingly successful day and a springboard for our work in the Labour Party to get organised, energised and mobilised through Mainstream.

But the past year has proven one thing above all else: the need for an organised progressive agenda across parties and movements, the relationships to make that agenda happen, and the urgency of making change.

That’s why Compass is thrilled to be working with Progressive Economic Forum to host ‘Change:NOW! Mobilising the Progressive Majority’, a day of debate, disagreement and deliberation between progressives of all parties (and none!) on Saturday 30th May 2026.

The conference will feature speakers from across the progressive parties and movements, including keynote speeches from Mayor Andy Burnham, Caroline Lucas, and Gary Stevenson. Please find a full speaker list below.
We’ll also be joined by partners including Friends of the Earth, UCL Policy Lab, New Economics Foundation, Make Votes Matter, Unlock Democracy, and Migrant Democracy Project.
We are splitting the day between focusing on what policies we need to deliver the change to reset our economy, and the political and cultural changes we need to bring about those policies.
Through establishing consensus on political strategy and economic direction - and highlighting the important differences in detail across progressive parties and the wider movement - this event will be the catalyst for the change our country so desperately needs.
So whether you’re a Labourite, a Green, a Lib Dem, otherwise spoken for or unaligned, get your ticket today and join us for what promises to be an inspiring and imaginative day of ideas and political debate!

The event will take place on Saturday 30th May at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA.

With our partners: Friends of the Earth | UCL Policy Lab | New Economics Foundation | Mainstream | Renewal | Economic Change Unit | Make Votes Matter | Unlock Democracy | Migrant Democracy Project

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Keynote speeches from Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, economist, YouTuber, and author Gary Stevenson, and Former Leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas.
Speakers include: Abubakr Nanabawa, Director, The Muslim Vote | Allan Njanji, Regional Campaigns Manager, Asylum Matters, researcher and advocate for refugee rights | Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds Central & Headingley, Chair of APPG for Fair Elections | Alex Zur-Clark, Labour for a New Democracy | Andrea Egan, General Secretary, UNISON | Ann Pettifor, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics; author of The Case for the Green New Deal and The Global Casino | Anthea Simmons, Founder of Common Ground Org, co-founder South Devon Primary and editor-in-chief of West Country Voice | Asad Rehman Chief Executive, Friends of the Earth| Beth Stratford, Honorary Research Fellow, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose | Bethany Gardiner-Smith, Senior Policy Associate, the Future Governance Forum | Caitlin Prowle, Assistant General Secretary, Cooperative Party | Carolina Alves, Associate Professor in Economics, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose | Cecilia Rikap, Associate Professor in Economics, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose| Clare Short, Former Secretary of State for International Development | Clive Lewis MP, Labour MP, Norwich South | Daniella Jenkins, Executive Director, Women’s Budget Group | Daniel Kebede, General Secretary, National Education Union | Danny Sriskandarajah, Cheif Executive, New Economics Foundation | David Wilson, Deputy General Secretary, National Education Union | Diane Elson, Emeritus Professor, University of Essex; adviser to UN Women and the Women’s Budget Group | Emma Harrison, Chief Exec, Make Votes Matter | Faiza Shaheen, Executive Director of Tax Justice UK, and Independent candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green in the 2024 General Election| Fatima Ibrahim, Co-executive Director, Green New Deal Rising | Francesca Klug, Human Rights expert and Visiting Professorial at the LSE | Geoff Mulgan, Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London (UCL) | Guy Standing, Professorial Research Associate, SOAS; author of The Precariat, The Politics of Time and Human Capital | Hannah Rich, Director, Christians on the Left | Hannah Robathon, Take Back Big Tech | James Baggaley, Head of Politics and Partnerships, UCL Policy Lab | James Meadway, Director, Verdant | Jeremy Gilbert, Professor of Cultural and Political Theory, University of East London | Jo Michell, Professor of Economics, UWE Bristol | Jonathon Shafi, Activist, Political Commentator, ERS Scotland Campaigns Organiser | Josh Ryan-Collins, Professor of Economics and Finance, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose | Kate Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology, University of York; author of The Spirit Level and The Good Society | Kerry Postlewhite, Chair, Mainstream | Lara Parizotto, Director, Migrant Democracy Project | Lexie KirkConnell-Kawana CEO, Impress | Marc Stears, Director, UCL Policy Lab | Mark Drakeford, Former First Minister of Wales | Mat Lawrence Director, Common Wealth | Orla McBreen, Deputy Ambassador, Ireland's Embassy in London | Patrick Allen, Founder and Chair, Progressive Economy Forum | Paul Fleming, General Secretary of Equity | Paul Wragg, Director, Hacked Off | Peter Holmes, Emeritus Reader, University of Sussex | Roz Savage MP, Lib Dem MP, South Cotswolds | Stewart Lansley, Author of The Cost of Inequality, Breadline Britain, and The Richer, The Poorer | Sue Goss, Political Scientist, Author | Susan Himmelweit, Emeritus Professor, Open University; Economist and Chair of the Policy Advisory Group of the Women’s Budget Group | Thomas Barlow, Treasurer, Independent Media Association | Tom Brake, Director, Unlock Democracy | Tom Chivers, Vice Chair, Media Reform Coalition | Tom de Grunwald, Founder and Director, Forward Democracy | Vince Cable, Former Leader of the Liberal Democrats | Will Hutton, President of the Academy of Social Sciences; author of The State We’re In and This Time No Mistakes | Will Stronge, Chief Executive, The Autonomy Institute | Zoe Williams, Guardian columnist