Onward Newsletter 12/05/23

What’s Onward this week

This week the Government announced plans to fix primary care, boosting the role of pharmacists and upgrading GPs phone lines to improve access. Onward’s report After The Fall found that more than half of voters put pressures on the NHS as one of the top three issues facing the UK, so this plan is a significant step for the Tories to rebuild their electoral credibility. Particularly given the Prime Minister’s five pledges include a commitment on NHS waiting lists.

But will it be enough come the 2024 election? At our second Future of Conservatism debate this week the message was clear – get the basics right first, think about specific voter groups second. More focus on ambulance waiting times, less on Millenial Millie. Catch up on the full debate, featuring Eddie Hughes MP, Tom McTague and Rachel Wolf, at the link here.

✍️Research

As the Second Reading of the Energy Bill went through Parliament this week, Head of Net Zero Jack Richardson wrote for ConservativeHome, discussing new Onward polling on the Hydrogen Levy and why a rethink is needed. 

📰Media Mentions 

Sebastian Payne joined Politics Live to discuss GPs, the King’s Coronation, Britain’s housing crisis, and the local election results.

Adam Hawksbee is quoted in the Financial Times on the need to accelerate the Levelling Up Bill. He is also quoted in The i on the need to build more houses.

Onward Policy Fellow Ted Christie Miller wrote for Times Red Box on the lack of an electoral offer for the young.

Chair of Historic England, Laurie Magnus, referenced Levelling Up Locally in his article on the power of heritage.

Onward’s paper The Generative AI Revolution was cited by Matt Warman MP on Chopper’s Podcast.

Adam Hawksbee spoke at the New Statesman’s Regional Development Conference.

🌐Onward Online

Head of Politics and Polling, James Blagden, reflected on the recent local election voting figures.

Director of the Future of Conservatism project Gavin Rice live tweeted Wednesday’s Future of Conservatism event.

🗓️Upcoming Events

A Shot in the Arm: Restoring the UK’s capacity to run clinical trials

The development of COVID-19 vaccines was an unmitigated success. But alongside this success lies an uncomfortable reality – the UK’s attractiveness to large clinical trials is in decline. If the UK is to be a ‘science superpower’, it cannot allow its strongest research sectors to fall behind international rivals.

This event will consider, in the wake of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, what are the opportunities for growth offered by restoring UK clinical research? How will this stimulate innovation? How will capacity for research in the NHS be ring-fenced? What are the major causes of the decline in clinical trials in the UK? What are barriers currently impeding the ability to run trials? How are they recognised and addressed, especially considering differences between specialties? In addressing such questions, this panel will explore the need to restore clinical trial capabilities in the UK to deliver growth and improve the delivery of care.

Sign up here.

🐥Tweet of the week