Britain’s Place in the World: Does Charity Begin at Home?

The Labour Party clearly recognise the importance of the UK’s investment in development as a core part of understanding Britain’s place in the world. They have stressed the importance of focus and prioritisation of effort aligned to the UK’s core strengths, while continuing to support the poorest countries and communities globally.

As a key pillar of UK foreign policy and tangible evidence of the UK’s soft power, the specific plans and priorities will be important beyond the development community.

In this session, Nick will explore the latest indications of priority areas and approaches likely to be deployed.

Nick Forbes, CBE, Senior Advisor at Strategy International:

Nick served as the Labour Leader of Newcastle City Council from 2011 to 2022, bringing more than £1.5bn of investment into the city. Nick was the (annually elected) Leader of the Local Government Association Labour Group for 6 years, and in this role was invited by Sir Keir Starmer to attend Shadow Cabinet meetings, representing the increasingly powerful voice of local and regional government within the Labour Party.

Nick served for 12 years on the National Policy Forum and for 6 years on the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party. Nick has been Chair of Core Cities UK (establishing the influential Climate Change Finance Investment Commission) and Vice Chair of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority. He was awarded a CBE in 2019 for services to Local Government.