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SOAS-GFTU Political Economy Conference
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Agenda
Key information
- Date
- to
- Time
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9:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Venue
- Quorn Grange Hotel
- Room
- Goodacre
- Event type
- Conference
About this event
The General Federation of Trade Unions Educational Trust (GFTU ET) is hosting the first-ever conference dedicated to political economy, in collaboration with the Department of Economics at SOAS, University of London.
This event forms part of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project supported by Innovate UK (UKRI), and the Lipman-Miliband Trust has generously provided support for participants facing financial barriers to attendance.
Economists from SOAS and General Secretaries from major UK trade unions will speak and engage in discussions on a range of issues that shape the everyday lives of working people. The conference will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, and interactive group work for participants.
Hwanhee Bae, the KTP Associate, and Professor Costas Lapavitsas, the Academic Advisor, have played a key role in organising this event, which aims to create a space where economists and trade unionists can meaningfully interact and learn from one another.
About the KTP project
The aim of the KTP project is to equip workers with the tools needed to understand macroeconomic policy and the political economy of decision-making in contemporary capitalist societies. Through this collaboration, our Department also seeks to strengthen its theoretical and empirical understanding of the economy by engaging with the lived experiences of workers across different sectors, and by learning from their strategies of organising and mobilising.
As part of the KTP project, Hwanhee has developed and delivered a number of political economy courses for the GFTU Educational Trust to accompany the Conference. These include the Series in Advanced Political Economy, jointly organised by the Departments of Economics at SOAS University of London and the New School for Social Research (NSSR), as well as the Forum for Real Economic Emancipation (FREE).
Following the Conference, a beginners’ course will introduce unionists to the fundamentals of industrial policy and support them in collectively developing strategies for achieving meaningful change. This course is based on the forthcoming book co-authored by Costas, Larry Elliott, and Doug Nicholls, Transforming Broken Britain: A Strategy for Wealth Creation, to be published by Polity in 2026. The book has been supported by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), and the Communication Workers Union (CWU).
Next year, Hwanhee will also deliver bespoke courses for several major unions on the theme of Challenging the Far Right.
The Conference takes place over two days at Quorn Grange Hotel in Loughborough. It consists of the following themes.
- Our economy is in crisis
- Post-Brexit UK economy: Austerity, privatisation, and no growth
- The world after Trump: Tariffs, nationalism, and authoritarianism
- How do we bring political economy into our fights?
Please see below for the full agenda and the speakers’ bios.
Objective
Participants to create a concrete plan to take back to their union and implement in organising & campaigning
Aims
- To understand capitalism as a system built on exploitation of labour
- To collectively imagine what an alternative economy can/should look like
- To understand the definition and importance of political economy in working-class and trade union movement
- To discuss how economic policies (domestic & international) has impacted different industries and their workers
- To create action plans to be implemented post-conference
Agenda
Agenda - Day 1: Imagining an alternative economy
| Time | Session | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 18.00-18.30 | Participants arrival | |
| 18.30-19.30 | What is the crisis we face and how to rebuild the British economy for workers? (Keynote speech + Q&A) |
|
| 19.30 | Dinner | |
Agenda - Day 2: Winning an alternative political economy
| Time | Session | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 09.00-10.15 | Our economy is in crisis (Keynote speech + Q&A)
|
|
| 10.15-11.30 | Post-Brexit UK economy: Austerity, privatisation, and no growth (panel discussion)
|
|
| 11.30-11.45 | Break | |
| 11.45-13.00 | The world after Trump: Tariffs, nationalism, and authoritarianism (panel discussion)
|
|
| 13.00-14.00 | Lunch | |
| 14.00-16.00 | How do we bring political economy into our fights?
| Chair: Gawain Little (GFTU) Panel:
|
| 16.00 | End | |
About the speakers
Eddie Dempsey
Eddie Dempsey is the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). He originally joined the railway in 2008 and has worked as station staff and a train driver. He has been a leading figure in the union’s campaigns for fair pay, job security, and better conditions for transport and maritime workers. He has pledged to continue RMT’s tradition of industrial strength and tough negotiation to protect members’ interests.
Chandi Dwarkasing
Chandni Dwarkasing is a Lecturer in Economics at SOAS University of London. Her current research regards the intersection between working conditions, consumption patterns, and socio-ecological reproduction. In doing so, she draws on classical theories of production, the metabolic rift theory, and world-ecology. Her ongoing research on this topic aims to empirically investigate the relationship between individual carbon footprints, income, and working conditions.
Manuel Garcia Dellacasa
Manuel Garcia Dellacasa is a Chilean economist and Lecturer in the Department of Economics at SOAS University of London. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Chile and a PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research explores the relationship between urban development and work inequalities—both within and beyond the labour market. At SOAS, Manuel convenes the MSc Economic Policy and teaches topics in Microeconomics and Political Economy.
Fran Heathcote
Fran Heathcote is the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union. Following her election in 2023, she is the first woman to hold this position in the 130-year history of PCS and its predecessor unions. Fran is leading the fight as general secretary to keep driving up PCS members’ pay, improve members’ terms and conditions, deal with the cost-of-living crisis and to campaign for justice both at home and internationally.
Fran is a key figure in the UK’s trade union movement. Having been a part of PCS for 30 years, Fran has tirelessly campaigned against the fragmentation and privatisation of public services.
Thabo Huntgeburth
Thabo Huntgeburth is a doctoral student at SOAS University of London for Development Economics. In his research he explores the functioning of alternative economic systems with a particular focus on worker cooperatives and radical democratic institutions. Besides this, he engages in political economy analysis of contemporary capitalism and the rise of fascistic politics in Europe.
Costas Lapavitsas
Costas Lapavitsas is Professor of Economics at SOAS, University of London. He researches the political economy of money and finance, the financialisation of contemporary economies, and the economics of the European Union. He has published widely and writes for the UK and the international press. His latest book is "The State of Capitalism", Verso, 2023.
Gawain Little
Gawain Little is the current General Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU). He is the co-author of Lessons in Organising What Trade Unionists Can Learn from The War On Teachers (Pluto, 2023). Prior to the GFTU, he was a teacher for over 20 years and activist. This included being a workplace rep, local branch officer and National Executive member of the National Education Union (NEU). Gawain chaired the International Solidarity Committee of the NEU and edited the journal Education for Tomorrow.
Thereza Reis
Thereza Balliester Reis is a Lecturer in Economics at SOAS - University of London. Her research interests are related to financial inclusion, over-indebtedness, poverty and inequality in the Global South. Her work applies both quantitative and qualitative methods. She is currently working on a research project about financial inclusion in Nairobi, funded by the BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant (2022-24).
Ezgi Unsal
Ezgi B. Unsal is a lecturer of development economics at SOAS, University of London. Her research interests include political economy of development, social provision and industrial policy for sustainable production.
Sarah Woolley
Sarah Woolley is the first ever woman to lead the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union (BFAWU). Previously shop steward at Greggs and is currently the President of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU)..
Steve Wright
Steve Wright is the General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). He joined the Fire and Rescue Service at the age of 18 and became active in the FBU during the 2002–2003 pay campaign, taking on a branch rep role at his fire station. Over the years, Steve has held positions at every level of the union, both at brigade and regional levels. Steve also serves as the Employee Side Joint Secretary of the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (NJC) and the Middle Managers' Negotiating Body (MMNB).
David Wilson
David Wilson is the Deputy General Secretary at National Education Union (NEU). He is responsible for strategy and political engagement. He is also a co-author of Lessons in Organising, published by Pluto in 2023.
Header image credit: Basma Alghali via Unsplash.
