NEWCASTLE CONFERENCE: PROGRAMME FINALISED, FRIDAY TICKETS SOLD OUT

In the ongoing debate about the UK’s constitutional future, the stories that people tell and believe about the country will have a crucial part to play. In recent years, nationalists have tended to be better at forging a narrative than those who believe that more unites the people of the United Kingdom than divides them.

History, however, and the shared ideals and interests that have long bound the constituent nations of the UK together, suggest that there is nothing inevitable about this. Recognising that narratives win referendums and elections, this conference aims to develop a shared understanding of a narrative for the UK that people can emotionally connect with: what is our story and how do we best tell it?

The finalised programme, including session timings, is below. Tickets for Saturday only can be purchased here.
 

These Islands: Our Past, Present, and Future

Day 1: Friday 21st February 12:00 - 18:30

12:00 – 12:30

Registration

12:30 – 13:00

Welcome (Joyce Quin / Kevin Hague)

Dan Jackson (Author) on The Northumbrians

13:00 – 14:00

The United Kingdom; The Case For Cooperation

Gordon Brown (Former Prime Minister)
Introduced by: Kevin Hague (Chairman, These Islands)

14:00 – 15:00

The English Regional Perspective

Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater Manchester)
Daniel Robinson (Policy Advisor and Historian, Magdalen College, Oxford)
Chi Onwurah (MP for Newcastle Central)
Rosie Duffield (MP for Canterbury)
Frances Weetman (Independent Councillor and Author)
Chair: Sebastian Payne (FT)

15:00 – 15:15

Coffee break

15:15 – 16:15

The Historical Perspective

Clare Jackson (Historian, Author, and Broadcaster. Senior Tutor, Trinity Hall, Cambridge)
Neil McLennan (Senior Lecturer and Education Specialist, University of Aberdeen)
John Lloyd (Author and FT Columnist)
Chair: Tom Holland (Historian and Author)

16:15 – 17:15

The Language of Debate

Willie Rennie (MSP, Leader of Scottish Liberal Democrats)
Blair McDougall (Former Campaign Director, Better Together)
Eddie Barnes (Former Director of Strategy, Scottish Conservative Party)
Fiona Hill (Former Chief of Staff to PM Theresa May)
Alan Roden (Political Consultant, Former Communications Director, Scottish Labour Party)
Pamela Nash (Chief Executive, Scotland in Union)
Chair: Kevin Hague (Chairman, These Islands)

17:15 – 17:30

Coffee break

17:30 – 18:30

What the United Kingdom is Good For

Nigel Biggar (Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology, University of Oxford)
Angus Armstrong (Director of ESRC’s Rebuilding Macroeconomics, NIESR)
Ruth Dudley Edwards (Journalist and Author)
Katy Shaw (Professor of Contemporary Writings, Northumbria University)
Chair: Iain Martin (Editor of Reaction, Columnist for The Times)
 

Day 2: Saturday 22nd February 9:30 - 18:30

9:30 – 10:00

Registration

10:00 – 11:00

British Identity and Multiculturalism

James Kanagasooriam (Pollster and Strategist)
Baroness Joyce Quin (Former Minister of State for Europe)
Sughra Ahmed (Interfaith Specialist. Former Associate Dean for Religious Life, Stanford University) 
Chandrika Kaul (Reader in Modern History, University of St Andrews)
Simon Evans (Comedian, writer, and host of Radio 4’s Simon Evans Goes to Market)
Chair: Ayesha Hazarika​ (Evening Standard)

11:00 – 12:00

The Economics of Union

Kevin Hague (Chairman, These Islands)
Ronald MacDonald (Professor of Macroeconomics and International Finance, University of Glasgow)
Frances Coppola (Economist, Journalist, and Author)
Angus Armstrong (Director of ESRC’s Rebuilding Macroeconomics, NIESR)
Paul Jourdan (CEO, Amati Global Investors)
Chair: Iain Martin (Editor of Reaction, Columnist for The Times)

12:00 – 12:15

Coffee break

12:15 – 13:15

Brexit and its Aftershocks

Sir John Curtice (Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde)
Rachael Hamilton (MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire)
Philippe Auclair (Journalist, Author, and Broadcaster)
Struan Stevenson (Chief Executive of SBUK)
Chair: Baroness Joyce Quin (Former Minister of State for Europe)

13:15 – 14:15

Lunch break (buffet lunch will be provided in the museum)

14:15 – 15:15

Britain on the World Stage

Douglas Alexander (Former Cabinet Minister)
Michael Jary (Chair of itad)
Sophia Gaston (Managing Director of British Foreign Policy Group)
Lord Jeremy Purvis (Member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association)
Chair: Martin Kettle (The Guardian)

15:15 – 16:15

The Constitution Reform Group

Lord Salisbury (Constitution Reform Group)
Carwyn Jones (Former First Minister of Wales and Constitution Reform Group)
Jim Gallagher (Gwilym Gibbon Centre, Nuffield College, Oxford)
Henry Hill (Assistant Editor, ConservativeHome)
Wendy Chamberlain (MP for North East Fife and Lib Dem Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson)
Mark Reckless (Member of the National Assembly for Wales for South Wales East)
Chair: Philip Rycroft (Former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union, and UK Governance Group)

16:15 – 16:30

Coffee break

16:30 – 17:30

Two Narratives for a Future Referendum Campaign

Colin Kidd (Professor of Modern History, University of St Andrews)
Gerry Hassan (Author and Senior Research Fellow, University of Dundee)
Ramsay Jones (Former Special Advisor on Scotland to PM David Cameron)
Chair: Iain Martin (Editor of Reaction, Columnist for The Times)

17:30 – 18:30

Identities and Institutions: a Conservative perspective on the future of the Union

Sir David Lidington (Former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster)
Introduced by: John Lloyd (Author and FT Columnist)

Closing remarks from Kevin Hague (Chairman, These Islands)
 

Tickets for Saturday only can be purchased here.