Liam Byrne to chair cross-party group on inclusive growth

An All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has been set up to promote debate on the nature of “inclusive growth”, with Labour MP Liam Byrne elected chair. Byrne said that although members of the group “won’t always agree”, he feels there is “a duty to try and forge a new national interest”.

Announcing the formation of the group, Byrne said:

“The debate about ‘inclusive capitalism’ is gathering pace so it is vital we now have a place in Parliament where we bring together a new story about how to reform our economy so that hard work once again gets you on in life.

“I know politicians won’t always agree with each other but we’ve got a duty to try and forge a new national interest.

“The truth is good people in business, finance, unions, churches and civil society agree on more than they think. Our task is to get those ideas on the table and use them to build a new sense of the common good.”

The APPG are organising a series of events of events over the next year on topics including reform of financial markets, skills and science, competition and enterprise, building a sustainable tax base, and regional policy and trade reform.

The group includes an interesting spread of Labour figures, including New Labourites like Byrne and Peter Mandelson, Blue Labour guru Maurice Glasman, as well as a handful of MPs from the new intake, Rushanara Ali, Seema Malhotra and Stella Creasy.

Other sign ups include Orange Book Lib Dem Jeremy Browne and Tory peer Lord Heseltine.