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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T110000
DTSTAMP:20260814T103804Z
CREATED:20260602T133111Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260814T103804Z
UID:366-1794996000-1794999600@economicsfestival.co.uk
SUMMARY:Have we been here before? Lessons from history
DESCRIPTION:This event is part of the Economic History Society’s centenary year celebration. \nWhat has improved or got worse in the UK economy since 1926? What has the impact of these changes been on the lives of British citizens? Some policies have helped to advance the UK economy over the last 100 years\, while others have held it back – here we draw lessons from the past to inform how to seize the opportunities and address the challenges of today. \nSpeakers: \n\nChair: Anu Anand (Bath Spa University)\nJudy Stephenson (Economic History Society)\nMore to be announced shortly.\n\nAnu Anand is Programme Leader for Journalism at Bath Spa University and founder of The Bath Bee\, an online publication producing hyperlocal journalism in Bath. Anu has over 25 years of experience in international news and current affairs as a journalist and correspondent for the BBC World Service\, APTN\, the Guardian\, the Christian Science Monitor and Al Jazeera English. Anu has reported on major stories from all around the world including the death of Mother Theresa\, the 2003 US invasion of Iraq\, the 2004 Asian Tsunami\, Nepal’s devastating earthquakes in 2014 and several Indian elections. \nDr Judy Z Stephenson is an economic historian of London 1600–1800. Her research examines labour markets\, finance and the construction industry in particular. She is Lecturer in Economics and Finance of the Built Environment at the Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management at University College London.  She was previously the first David Richards Junior Research Fellow in Economic History at Wadham College\, Oxford. \n– \nTickets are now available via Eventbrite. Discounts are available for groups (10+ people) and school bookings – get in touch here. \nArtwork by Alys Jones Illustration.
URL:https://economicsfestival.co.uk/event/have-we-been-here-before-lessons-from-history/
LOCATION:Cinema 1\, Watershed\, 1 Canon’s Rd\, Bristol\, BS1 5TX\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://economicsfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/mice.png
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T113000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T123000
DTSTAMP:20260624T160107Z
CREATED:20260602T133114Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260624T160107Z
UID:367-1795001400-1795005000@economicsfestival.co.uk
SUMMARY:Degrees\, debt and disruption: the future of higher education in the age of AI
DESCRIPTION:The value of a higher education degree has increasingly been under the spotlight since undergraduate tuition fees were first introduced in 1998 and particularly since they were trebled in 2006 and again in 2013. Throughout this time participation in higher education has increased\, such that around one in two young people now go to university by age 25\, and the Government estimate than just under one-third of the costs in tuition fee and maintenance loans will be picked up by the taxpayer. With the educational and labour market disruption caused by the rapid expansion of AI\, and increasing disquiet over mounting student debt\, we will be asking who will pay for higher education in the future? What is the role of undergraduate study in the age of AI? And is it still worth getting a degree? \nSpeakers: \n\nGill Wyness (UCL / LSE)\nGlen O’Hara (Oxford Brookes University)\nDebbie McVitty (Wonkhe)\n\n– \nGill Wyness is a Professor of Economics\, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) at the University College London Institute of Education. She is also a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. Gill’s main research area is the economics of higher education\, with a particular focus on inequalities in university participation and attainment\, and the drivers of it – including higher education finance\, information advice and guidance\, and school factors. \n \nGlen O’Hara is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Oxford Brookes University. His research examines British central governments’ economic and social policies\, focusing especially on the period since the First World War and he has written and edited a number of books on this subject. Glen’s most recent book\, published in February 2026\, is New Labour\, New Britain? How the Blair Governments Reshaped the Country.   \nDr Debbie McVitty is Editor of Wonkhe\, where she curates Wonkhe’s output of higher education news\, commentary and analysis across multiple platforms. Debbie is a former chief of staff at Universities UK\, director of policy at the University of Bedfordshire\, and head of policy at the National Union of Students\, and is a founding member of Wonkhe’s editorial group.  Debbie is interested in the social impact of HE\, learning\, teaching and curriculum\, and change and innovation in higher education.  \n– \nTickets are now available via Eventbrite. Discounts are available for groups (10+ people) and school bookings – get in touch here. \nArtwork by Alys Jones Illustration.
URL:https://economicsfestival.co.uk/event/degrees-debt-and-disruption-the-future-of-higher-education-in-the-age-of-ai/
LOCATION:Cinema 1\, Watershed\, 1 Canon’s Rd\, Bristol\, BS1 5TX\, United Kingdom
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T133000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T143000
DTSTAMP:20260624T160056Z
CREATED:20260602T133114Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260624T160056Z
UID:368-1795008600-1795012200@economicsfestival.co.uk
SUMMARY:Are we heading for a labour market AI-pocalypse?
DESCRIPTION:A tsunami of change is sweeping the economy as robots and AI threaten to take over tasks done by humans. In her new book We Are Not Machines\, Financial Times journalist Sarah O’Connor investigates what is happening on the front lines of technological change. People are not losing their jobs to machines\, she found\, but losing something else instead: work becoming lonelier\, less creative\, less human. But she also found hopeful stories of jobs being made better\, safer and more enjoyable – where workers haven’t rejected the new tools but have learned to control them. O’Connor\, in discussion with Heather Stewart\, Guardian and Sue Turner OBE\, Professor in Practice in AI and Digital Technologies at the University of Bristol\, explores questions of power\, design\, institutions and ideas in this new world.  \nSpeakers: \n\nSarah O’Connor (Financial Times)\nHeather Stewart (The Guardian)\nSue Turner (University of Bristol)\n\n– \nSarah O’Connor is a columnist\, reporter and associate editor at the Financial Times. She writes a weekly column focused on the world of work\, as well as longer features and investigations. She has won the Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils\, the Wincott Award for financial journalism\, Business Commentator of the Year at the Comment Awards\, Financial/Economic story of the year at the Foreign Press Awards and Business and Finance Journalist of the year at the British Press Awards. Her new book is We Are Not Machines: The Fight for the Future of Work.  \nHeather Stewart is the economics editor of the Guardian. She was formerly the Guardian’s political editor. She has written about AI and employment\, welfare\, alternative economic approaches\, ‘Manchesterism’\, the living wage\, borrowing\, among many other issues. She has chaired many events in Festival of Economics\, Bristol Festival of Ideas and Festival of the Future City. \nSue Turner OBE is Professor in Practice in AI and Digital Technologies at the University of Bristol Business School. She is a globally respected authority on artificial intelligence\, data governance\, and ethics\, recognised as one of the world’s Top 100 Women in AI Ethics. Turner works at the intersection of technology\, law\, and leadership\, helping organisations move beyond experimentation to adopt AI with confidence\, accountability\, and purpose. Turner has worked previously as Regional Director of the CBI and was CEO of the Quartet Community Foundation.  \n– \nTickets are now available via Eventbrite. Discounts are available for groups (10+ people) and school bookings – get in touch here. \nArtwork by Alys Jones Illustration.
URL:https://economicsfestival.co.uk/event/are-we-heading-for-a-labour-market-ai-pocalypse/
LOCATION:Cinema 1\, Watershed\, 1 Canon’s Rd\, Bristol\, BS1 5TX\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://economicsfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/robot.png
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T160000
DTSTAMP:20260731T145500Z
CREATED:20260602T133115Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260731T145500Z
UID:369-1795014000-1795017600@economicsfestival.co.uk
SUMMARY:Levelling up or falling short? The politics and economics of English devolution
DESCRIPTION:The Government’s plan for devolution in England promises a major shift not only in the geographic coverage but also in the depth of devolved powers\, with elected mayors and their strategic authorities having greater control over transport\, skills and employment policy\, housing and planning\, and economic development funding. In her recent Mais lecture\, Rachel Reeves also signalled plans for fiscal devolution\, allowing mayors greater control over tax revenues raised in their strategic authority. The direction of travel seems clear: from administrative devolution to economic\, but is England really moving towards meaningful economic devolution – or just decentralised delivery of national policy? What does this mean for regional growth and inequality? And what do the experiences of Scottish and Welsh devolution tell us about England’s future prospects? \nSpeakers: \n\nChair: Chris Giles (Financial Times)\nHelen Godwin (Mayor of the West of England)\nGraeme Roy (University of Glasgow & Scottish Fiscal Commission)\nLucy Martin (The Brunel Centre)\nAkash Paun (Institute for Government)\n\n– \nChris Giles is the economics commentator at the Financial Times. He writes a fortnightly column and the weekly newsletter\, ‘Chris Giles on Central Banks’. Previously\, he was economics editor and served as a leader writer. Chris is also an Honorary Professor of Practice at the University College London Policy Lab. Before joining the FT\, he worked for the BBC\, Ofcom and the Institute for Fiscal Studies.   \nHelen Godwin is the current Mayor of the West of England (2025-present). Helen’s has publicly stated her Mayoral commitments as: “reliable buses and trains that connect communities\, affordable homes in the right places with essential services\, and pathways to green jobs that power the region’s future economy.” Helen has significant experience across business and local government\, including serving as a local councillor for the Southmead ward of Bristol (2016-2021).  \nGraeme Roy is Professor of Economics\, Head of the College of Social Sciences and Vice-Principal at the University of Glasgow. Graeme is also Chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission\, Scotland’s official independent economic and fiscal forecaster. Prior to joining Glasgow in March 2021\, he was Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde. Graeme is also a former Senior Civil Servant in the Scottish Government\, where he was Head of the First Minister’s Policy Unit.  \nDr. Lucy Martin is Director of The Brunel Centre\, an impact-focused research hub based at the University of Bath. Lucy leads the Centre’s mission to bridge academic research\, policy\, and business insight\, by delivering open-access data and economic intelligence that helps to drive sustainable\, inclusive growth across the West of England. In previous roles within the UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council\, Lucy was responsible for research strategy across a range of technological domains including quantum computing\, big data and robotics. \nAkash Paun s Programme Director for Devolution at the Institute for Government (IfG) n London. He leads work on the state of devolution in all parts of the United Kingdom\, and has a particular focus on the powers\, performance and policy choices of mayoral strategic authorities in England. Akash has previously worked at the UCL Constitution Unit\, the British Academy\, the London School of Economics\, and as an expert adviser to the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.  \n– \nTickets are now available via Eventbrite. Discounts are available for groups (10+ people) and school bookings – get in touch here. \nArtwork by Alys Jones Illustration.
URL:https://economicsfestival.co.uk/event/levelling-up-or-falling-short-the-politics-and-economics-of-english-devolution/
LOCATION:Cinema 1\, Watershed\, 1 Canon’s Rd\, Bristol\, BS1 5TX\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://economicsfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/mayor.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T200000
DTSTAMP:20260710T144830Z
CREATED:20260622T170000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260710T144830Z
UID:880-1795026600-1795032000@economicsfestival.co.uk
SUMMARY:The new economics of the left
DESCRIPTION:The election in 2024 of the first Labour government in a generation was followed by higher spending\, increases in taxation and a loosening of fiscal rules. Workers rights were strengthened\, parts of the rail system were nationalised and a state-owned energy company\, GB Energy\, created. Despite this\, the government has lost support on the left while the Greens have surged under the leadership of Zack Polanski. Politicians\, commentators and thinktanks on the left have made proposals for how a social democratic government could go further on economic policy\, despite the constraints imposed by high interest rates and public debt. This panel brings together leading commentators to discuss whether a coherent economic strategy of the left is possible\, the barriers to implementing such a strategy\, and the likely economic consequences — for growth\, living standards and inequality — of the choices the government has made and those it has yet to face. \nSpeakers: \n\nAdrienne Buller (The BREAK-DOWN)\nDavid Klemperer (RENEWAL)\nJames Meadway (Verdant Thinking)\n\n– \nAdrienne Buller is the Founding Editor of The BREAK—DOWN\, a new media initiative focused on the political economy of climate and ecological crisis. She is the author\, with Mathew Lawrence\, of Owning the Future (Verso\, 2022) and The Value of a Whale(Manchester University Press\, 2022)\, which won the 2024 Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics. She is an Associate Fellow at Common Wealth. \nDavid Klemperer is co-editor of RENEWAL: A Journal of Social Democracy\, and a researcher within the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath. He specialises in political economy\, the history of social democracy and constitutional reform\, and has held previous research roles at the Constitution Society and Institute for Government (IfG). \n\n\nJames Meadway is Director of Verdant Thinking\, a progressive think tank. He was formerly a political advisor to Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell\, and Chief Economist at the New Economics Foundation. He has taught in economics at SOAS\, Cambridge\, Sussex and City Universities\, and has published widely on economic policy and theory in the New Statesman\, Guardian\, Jacobin\, Tribune\, and Novara.\n\n\n– \nTickets are now available via Eventbrite. Discounts are available for groups (10+ people) and school bookings – get in touch here. \nArtwork by Alys Jones Illustration.
URL:https://economicsfestival.co.uk/event/the-new-economics-of-the-left/
LOCATION:Bill Brown Forum (Lecture Theatre)\, Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus\, Cattle Market Road\, Bristol\, BS1 5NL
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