It’s hard to focus on anything beyond July 4 and the results on July 5, but if you can get to Dartington Hall on Saturday 6 or Sunday 7, or both, you can still get tickets to attend the sessions that West Country Voices are hosting – and they are absolute bangers and wholly in line with this year’s theme: ‘Democracy in Danger’.
Move Fast and Mend Things: Saturday 6 July 14:30, Barn Theatre/Cinema
PLEASE NOTE REVISED TIME.
A vital discussion of the priorities for the incoming government to reverse the regressive trajectory of the last 14 years and set the UK back firmly on the path of progress.
Until the Global Financial Crisis, many of us took it for granted that, by and large, each new generation would have better opportunities, economically, democratically and in terms of their rights than those coming before. For the last 14 years, however, we have been on a path of regress.
We simply cannot afford a new government to fail. But there are many obstacles on the road to success. Our expert panel will discuss with the audience what actions the government must take while its mandate is fresh.
Expert Panel: Mark Kieran (CEO of Open Britain, co-author of UK Democracy Goals); Professor Stephen Reicher (Professor of Social Psychology at the University of St Andrews, Independent SAGE); Alexandra Hall Hall, former UK diplomat in Bogata and New Delhi and British Ambassador to Georgia. Hall was lead envoy at the British Embassy in Washington until she resigned in December 2019 over Brexit lies; Mark E Thomas, (Founder of the 99% Organisation and author of 99%: Mass Impoverishment and How We Can End It). The Panel will be facilitated by Anthea Simmons (Editor of West Country Voices)
In the Great Hall on Sunday July 7 at 09:30, I will be in conversation with George Monbiot to talk about the election results, the South Devon Primary and his latest book, The Invisible Doctrine, and to take questions from the audience.
100 Days to save the NHS: Sunday 7 July 11:00, Barn Theatre/Cinema
The ground-breaking report, The Rational Policy-maker’s Guide to the NHS showed the interactions between the UK’s health system and its economy. It demonstrated that if the NHS is allowed to fail, the economy will fail with it. And we are already seeing that play out in the record number of people of working age who have dropped out of the jobs market due to long-term ill-health. This is a vicious circle affecting not just the NHS but the whole of the UK population.
An incoming government which gets it wrong will not just see a technical failure against a policy goal, it will see a health and economic disaster. Our expert panel will discuss with the audience what actions the government must take to avoid such a disaster.
Expert Panel: Dr Rupal Shah (GP, Associate Dean Professional Development NHSE), Dr Helen Salisbury (GP, Senior Medical Education Fellow at Oxford); Professor Stephen Reicher (Professor of Social Psychology at the University of St Andrews, Independent SAGE); Mark E Thomas, (Founder of the 99% Organisation, lead author of The Rational Policy-maker’s Guide to the NHS). The Panel will be facilitated by Mark Kieran (CEO of Open Britain)
Please do not miss out on these vital discussions. We look forward to meeting you!
Tickets available here.
