Pankhurst Seminar: A Green New Deal for the UK: Why, What, How, and Other Important Questions
| Dates: | 14 October 2020 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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| How much: | FREE |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Families, Adults, Alumni, General public |
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The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated calls for a ‘new deal’ for the British economy. It has highlighted the neglect of public services, the precarity of jobs, deep socio-economic inequalities, and the intensification of the climate emergency. As political economist Ann Pettifor has recently put it, the pandemic has shown that ‘capitalism is utterly useless in times of crisis’. Although first proposed after the 2008 financial crash, the case for a Green New Deal (GND), as a plan for ‘a just transition to a green economy’ and a way to ‘build back better’ after Covid, is now being made by a wide range of political actors in the UK. In this seminar, Sherilyn MacGregor will offer a 20-minute synopsis the GND, explaining what it is, why it is being proposed, and how it could be implemented. But there are many other questions that should be asked about the politics behind the GND, including who will benefit? who is excluded? what assumptions go unchallenged? and what conflicts and tensions will arise in the process of establishing this radical alternative to the capitalist status quo? These questions should prompt interesting discussion and there will be 30 minutes for attendees to bring their own questions to the (virtual) table.
Presenter: Dr Sherilyn MacGregor
Politics, University of Manchester
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