Progressive Britain Ltd - Revision history

Jewish Charity Bot: Category overhaul (approved)

2026-10-17T13:02:41Z

Category overhaul (approved)

David at 12:37, 7 September 2026

2026-09-07T12:37:59Z

David at 12:37, 7 September 2026

2026-09-07T12:37:23Z

David at 12:36, 7 September 2026

2026-09-07T12:36:56Z

David at 12:36, 7 September 2026

2026-09-07T12:36:47Z

David at 12:36, 7 September 2026

2026-09-07T12:36:29Z

David: /* Current directors */

2026-09-07T12:33:18Z

Current directors

David: /* People */

2026-09-07T12:33:06Z

People

David: Created page with "{{short description|'''Labour-aligned company and New Labour pressure group, formerly Progress Limited'''}} {{Infobox organization | name = Progressive Britain Ltd | t..."

2026-09-07T12:31:38Z

Created page with "{{short description|'''Labour-aligned company and New Labour pressure group, formerly Progress Limited'''}} {{Infobox organization | name = Progressive Britain Ltd | t..."

New page

{{short description|'''Labour-aligned company and New Labour pressure group, formerly Progress Limited'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Progressive Britain Ltd
| type = Private company limited by guarantee without share capital
| industry = Activities of political organisations (SIC 94920)
| founded = 3 October 1995
| founders = [[Derek Draper]]<br />[[Paul Richards]]<br />[[Liam Byrne]]
| location = 3rd Floor, 86–90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE
| key_people = [[Adam Langleben]] (executive director)<br />[[Roger Liddle|Lord Liddle]] (director)
| website = https://www.progressonline.org.uk/
}}

'''[[Progressive Britain Ltd]]''' (company number 03109611) is a British private company limited by guarantee that is the legal vehicle for the Labour-aligned pressure group long known as [[Progress]]. Incorporated on 3 October 1995, it is registered for “activities of political organisations” and remains active.<ref name="CHOverview">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03109611 PROGRESSIVE BRITAIN LTD overview] ''Companies House'', accessed 7 September 2026.</ref>

The organisation was founded as a New Labour vehicle to support [[Tony Blair]]’s leadership. It traded as [[Premiumunit Limited]] (3 October–20 November 1995) and [[Progress Limited]] (20 November 1995–28 July 2021) before adopting its present name after merging with [[Policy Network]] in 2021.<ref name="CHOverview" /><ref name="LabourList2021">LabourList, [https://labourlist.org/2021/05/the-relaunch-of-progress-as-progressive-britain-with-policy-network/ The relaunch of Progress as ‘Progressive Britain’ with Policy Network] ''LabourList'', 17 May 2021.</ref> In January 2026 it publicly resumed the [[Progress]] brand for its thirtieth anniversary while the company name stayed [[Progressive Britain Ltd]].<ref name="LabourList2026">Roger Liddle, [https://labourlist.org/2026/01/celebrating-thirty-years-of-progress/ ‘Celebrating thirty years of Progress’] ''LabourList'', 29 January 2026.</ref>

[[Progress]] has operated as a factional organiser, magazine publisher, events body and candidate-training network on the right of the [[Labour Party]]. Its principal historic funder was [[David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville]], who bankrolled the group for two decades until 2017.<ref name="Guardian2017">Rajeev Syal, [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/23/uks-biggest-political-donor-lord-sainsbury-to-end-his-contributions UK's biggest political donor, Lord Sainsbury, to end his contributions] ''The Guardian'', 23 June 2017.</ref> Critical reporting from pro-Palestinian and left publications has treated the company as part of an interlocking Blairite and pro-Israel personnel network inside Labour.<ref name="JC2024">Dahlia Krutkovich and Jonathan Shamir, [https://jewishcurrents.org/pro-palestine-politics-hit-a-wall-in-keir-starmers-labour-party Pro-Palestine Politics Hit a Wall in Keir Starmer’s Labour Party] ''Jewish Currents'', 27 February 2024.</ref>

==History==

The company was incorporated on 3 October 1995 by nominee firms [[Instant Companies Limited]] and [[Swift Incorporations Limited]]. On 12 October 1995 [[Derek Draper]] became a director; he resigned on 15 July 1998.<ref name="CHOfficers">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03109611/officers PROGRESSIVE BRITAIN LTD people] ''Companies House'', accessed 7 September 2026.</ref> The public organisation [[Progress]] was launched in 1996 by [[Derek Draper]], [[Paul Richards]] and [[Liam Byrne]] to support [[Tony Blair]]’s modernising project.<ref name="LabourList2026" />

[[Derek Draper]] was later central to the 1998 “Lobbygate” affair around the New Labour lobbying firm [[LLM Communications]]. Subsequent company directors included [[Darren Murphy]], [[Patrick Diamond]], [[Robert Philpot]], [[Jennifer Gerber]], [[Stephen Twigg]], [[Jonathan Mendelsohn]], [[Richard Angell]] and [[Nathan Yeowell]].<ref name="CHOfficers" />

In May 2021 [[Progress]] merged with [[Policy Network]], associated with [[Peter Mandelson]], and relaunched as [[Progressive Britain]]. [[LabourList]] reported that the new platform would pursue “critical thinking, political education and policy-making” and “the intellectual revitalisation of the centre-left”, while internal organising would run through [[Labour to Win]].<ref name="LabourList2021" /> The company name changed from [[Progress Limited]] to [[Progressive Britain Ltd]] on 28 July 2021.<ref name="CHOverview" />

[[Roger Liddle]] wrote in January 2026 that the group had “announced that we would once again be known as Progress”, presenting the move as a return to organisational clarity rather than nostalgia.<ref name="LabourList2026" />

==Company structure==

[[Progressive Britain Ltd]] is a private company limited by guarantee without share capital. Status: Active. Registered office: 3rd Floor, 86–90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE (changed from New Derwent House, 69–73 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8TA on 4 July 2025).<ref name="CHOverview" /><ref name="CHFilings">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03109611/filing-history PROGRESSIVE BRITAIN LTD filing history] ''Companies House'', accessed 7 September 2026.</ref>

Last accounts: total exemption full to 31 December 2024. Next accounts due by 30 September 2026. Confirmation statement made 6 October 2025. No registered mortgages or charges have been reported on commercial company-data sites drawing on Companies House.<ref name="CHOverview" /><ref name="CompanyCheck">Company Check, [https://companycheck.co.uk/company/03109611/PROGRESSIVE-BRITAIN-LTD/companies-house-data PROGRESSIVE BRITAIN LTD | Company Summary] ''Company Check'', accessed 2026.</ref>

Commercial compilers list 2024 cash of about £96,000, current assets of about £193,000 and net worth of about £131,000, with four employees.<ref name="CompanyCheck" /><ref name="Endole">Endole, [https://open.endole.co.uk/insight/company/03109611-progressive-britain-ltd Progressive Britain Ltd - Company Profile] ''Endole'', accessed 2026.</ref>

==People==

The organisation’s own site names [[Adam Langleben]] as executive director. He was previously head of communications at the [[Jewish Leadership Council]], a [[Labour]] councillor in Barnet, national secretary of the [[Jewish Labour Movement]], and co-led the referral of the [[Labour Party]] to the [[Equality and Human Rights Commission]]. Deputy director [[Tom Collinge]] previously worked at [[New Philanthropy Capital]] and [[The New Statesman]].<ref name="AboutPB">Progress, [https://www.progressonline.org.uk/about-us/ About Us] ''Progress'', accessed 7 September 2026.</ref>

===Current directors===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Current directors of Progressive Britain Ltd
! Name !! Role !! Appointed !! Notes
|-
| [[Catherine Carberry]] || Director || 16 January 2020 || British; born October 1950
|-
| [[Mary Goudie|Baroness Goudie]] || Director || 11 March 2021 || British; born September 1946
|-
| [[Adam Langleben]] || Director || 29 February 2024 || British; born February 1987; executive director
|-
| [[Roger Liddle|Lord Liddle]] || Director || 3 September 2019 || British; born June 1947; listed by Endole as a person with significant control
|-
| [[Terence Paul]] || Director || 27 March 2023 || British; born May 1968
|-
| [[Stephanie Thomas]] || Director || 27 March 2023 || British; born March 1956
|-
| [[Emily Wallace]] || Director || 16 June 2021 || British; born August 1971
|}

<source of table data: Companies House officers list.<ref name="CHOfficers" /><ref name="Endole" /> />

===Former officers===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Former officers, including formation nominees
! Name !! Role !! Appointed !! Resigned
|-
| [[Instant Companies Limited]] || Nominee director || 3 October 1995 || 12 October 1995
|-
| [[Swift Incorporations Limited]] || Nominee secretary / nominee director || 3 October 1995 || 12 October 1995
|-
| [[Chalfen Secretaries Limited]] || Secretary || 12 October 1995 || 1 August 2012
|-
| [[Derek Draper]] || Director || 12 October 1995 || 15 July 1998
|-
| [[Darren Murphy]] || Director || 15 July 1998 || 1 July 2001
|-
| [[Patrick Diamond]] || Director || 1 January 2000 || 1 July 2001
|-
| [[Robert Philpot]] || Director || 1 July 2001 || 15 October 2019
|-
| [[Philip Taylor]] || Director || 1 July 2001 || 26 September 2001
|-
| [[Jennifer Gerber]] || Director || 17 November 2006 || 15 October 2019
|-
| [[Stephen Twigg]] || Director || 25 January 2007 || 17 October 2016
|-
| [[Jonathan Mendelsohn|Lord Mendelsohn]] || Director || 25 January 2007 || 16 April 2019
|-
| [[Westco Nominees Limited]] || Secretary || 1 August 2012 || 15 January 2015
|-
| [[Richard Angell]] || Director || 23 September 2015 || 31 December 2018
|-
| [[Margaret Prosser]] || Director || 28 August 2019 || 17 August 2023
|-
| [[Nathan Yeowell]] || Director || 8 October 2019 || 29 February 2024
|-
| [[Gemma Doyle]] || Director || 27 March 2023 || 29 September 2023
|}

<source of table data: Companies House officers list.<ref name="CHOfficers" /> />

==Funding==

For most of its life the organisation depended on [[David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville]], supermarket heir, Blair-era science minister and Labour peer. ''The Guardian'' reported that in 2016 alone he gave £260,000 to [[Progress]], and that after the 2017 general election he would “no longer provide financial backing to party political causes”, forcing the group to seek members’ money.<ref name="Guardian2017" />

[[LabourList]] quoted [[Richard Angell]]: “Progress is extremely grateful to Lord Sainsbury for the funding he has provided for over two decades. We always knew it would not last forever.” [[David Sainsbury]] said: “I’ve been proud to support progressive ideas and organisations like Progress and I wish them well for the future.”<ref name="LabourList2017">Sienna Rodgers, [https://labourlist.org/2017/06/billionaire-supermarket-tycoon-cancels-funding-for-progress/ Billionaire supermarket tycoon cancels funding for Progress] ''LabourList'', 23 June 2017.</ref>

On 13 February 2014 the [[Electoral Commission]] fined [[Progress Ltd]] £6,000 for accepting six donations totalling £390,000 from [[David Sainsbury]] between December 2011 and April 2013 while he was not on a UK electoral register. [[Movement for Change]] was fined £5,500 for related donations. The Commission said the groups had acted in good faith, self-reported and co-operated, but had “failed to check a donor was on the electoral register”.<ref name="BBC2014">BBC News, [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-26170777 Sainsbury-backed Labour groups fined by Electoral Commission] ''BBC News'', 13 February 2014.</ref><ref name="EC2014">Electoral Commission, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150924010719/http:/www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/journalist/electoral-commission-media-centre/news-releases-donations/electoral-commission-fines-progress-ltd-and-movement-for-change-failure-to-return-impermissible-donations Electoral Commission fines Progress Ltd and Movement for Change – failure to return impermissible donations] ''Electoral Commission'', 13 February 2014.</ref>

''The Independent'' noted at the time that union leaders “do not care for Progress” and that an internal [[Unite]] document had framed the struggle against the group as a battle for “Labour’s soul”.<ref name="Indy2014">Andy McSmith, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/andy-mcsmith-s-diary-another-fine-mess-caused-by-political-donations-9127043.html Andy McSmith's Diary: Another fine mess caused by political donations] ''The Independent'', 13 February 2014.</ref>

==Zionism and Israel advocacy==

Personnel and donor links have repeatedly connected the company to Britain’s Labour-facing pro-Israel organisations.

[[Adam Langleben]], now executive director and a company director, was national secretary of the [[Jewish Labour Movement]] and head of communications at the [[Jewish Leadership Council]]. The group’s own “About Us” page records both posts and states that he “co-led the referral of the Labour Party to the Equality & Human Rights Commission”.<ref name="AboutPB" /> ''Jewish Currents'' described [[Progressive Britain]] as a “Blairite think tank” led by Langleben, “who has also held roles with the conservative Jewish Leadership Council and the pro-Israel Jewish Labour Movement.” A left-wing Labour insider told the magazine: “These groups are fundamentally politically aligned… Even the word ‘alliance’ separates them out too much—there’s a total overlap in personnel and in policy.”<ref name="JC2024" />

[[Jonathan Mendelsohn]], a company director from 2007 to 2019, was formerly chair of [[Labour Friends of Israel]]. ''The Guardian'' reported in 2007 that Mendelsohn “was formerly chair of Labour Friends of Israel” and that the ''Jewish Chronicle'' had written: “At ease in the corridors of power, Mendelsohn has the contacts and know-how to advance Israel’s case in his LFI role.”<ref name="GuardianMendelsohn">David Hencke and Rob Evans, [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/nov/28/labour.uk2 'Ethical lobbyist' caught up in donations row] ''The Guardian'', 28 November 2007.</ref> He co-founded the New Labour lobbying firm [[LLM Communications]] with [[Neal Lawson]] and [[Ben Lucas]].<ref name="GuardianMendelsohn" />

[[The Electronic Intifada]] has treated historic funding by [[David Sainsbury]] as part of the same network. Jody McIntyre wrote that [[Progress]] “was funded by David Sainsbury, a government minister under Blair who was seated at a ‘top table’ during a Labour Friends of Israel fundraising dinner attended by the then prime minister,” and that the group “is currently led by Adam Langleben, a former national secretary of the Jewish Labour Movement.”<ref name="EI2026">Jody McIntyre, [https://electronicintifada.net/content/little-change-likely-palestine-if-starmer-ousted/51455 Little change likely on Palestine if Starmer ousted] ''The Electronic Intifada'', 11 June 2026.</ref>

[[Declassified UK]] has mapped a wider pattern in which Labour MPs accept funds and funded trips from [[Labour Friends of Israel]], [[ELNET]] and individual pro-Israel donors, and has noted that Red Capital, owned by former [[Labour Friends of Israel]] chairman [[Jonathan Mendelsohn]], has funded MPs.<ref name="Declassified2024">Declassified UK, [https://www.declassifieduk.org/labour-mps-have-accepted-over-280000-from-israel-lobby/ Labour MPs have accepted over £280,000 from Israel lobby] ''Declassified UK'', 13 February 2024.</ref>

==Criticism==

Left, socialist and pro-Palestinian publications argue that [[Progress]] / [[Progressive Britain]] functions as a machine to keep Labour’s foreign policy aligned with Israel and to sideline the party’s left.

''Jewish Currents'' placed the company inside the apparatus that, after October 2023, “managed to contain internal dissent over Israel’s war on Gaza,” linking [[Adam Langleben]]’s dual roles to candidate selection and the quashing of pro-Palestine lists.<ref name="JC2024" />

''The Electronic Intifada'' tracked the rename from [[Progress]] to [[Progressive Britain]] and argued that a change of Labour leader would not, by itself, alter Palestine policy because leading successors were themselves products of the same faction. It recorded that one of [[Wes Streeting]]’s first jobs “was a part-time role at Progress, a Labour Party pressure group set up in 1996 to support Tony Blair’s bid for power.”<ref name="EI2026" />

Jonathan Cook, writing in ''Middle East Eye'' in 2021, did not confine his critique to this company but described the “factional machinery” of the Labour right and pro-Israel groups after [[Jeremy Corbyn]]’s leadership. He wrote that “pro-Israel groups were able to push through a new definition of antisemitism – one originally advanced behind the scenes by the Israeli government – that switched the focus away from protecting Jews from hatred to protecting Israel from criticism.” Cook argued that [[Keir Starmer]] “blurred the distinctions between criticism of Israel and antisemitism” and coined “anti-Zionist antisemitism”, “which seemed designed to conflate criticisms of Israel’s state ideology of Jewish supremacism with racism towards Jews.” The result, he wrote, was that “Israel’s apartheid character, its vigorous lobby and support for a boycott are all off the table.”<ref name="MEE2021">Jonathan Cook, [https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/uk-israel-palestine-labour-reversed-progress-years How UK Labour reversed 40 years of progress on Israel and Palestine] ''Middle East Eye'', 25 November 2021.</ref>

Union hostility predates the Gaza war. ''The Independent'' recorded in 2014 that [[Paul Kenny]] of the [[GMB]] had threatened to use the union’s block vote to have [[Progress]] banned from the Labour Party, while [[Unite]] called the fight a battle for “Labour’s soul”.<ref name="Indy2014" />

==See also==

* [[Labour Party]]
* [[Labour Friends of Israel]]
* [[Jewish Labour Movement]]
* [[Policy Network]]
* [[Peter Mandelson]]
* [[David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville]]
* [[Labour Together]]

==External links==

* [https://www.progressonline.org.uk/ Official website]
* [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03109611 Companies House: Progressive Britain Ltd]
* [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03109611/officers Companies House officers]

==Notes==

<references/>

[[Category:Labour Party]]
[[Category:Lobbying]]
[[Category:UK]]
[[Category:Zionism in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Zionist movement]]

@@ Line 162: / Line 162: @@
 [[Category:Lobbying]]
 [[Category:UK]]
-[[Category:Zionism in the United Kingdom]]
+[[Category:Zionist movement UK]]
 [[Category:Zionist movement]]

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 | founder     = [[Derek Draper]]<br />[[Paul Richards]]<br />[[Liam Byrne]]
 | location     = 3rd Floor, 86–90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE
 | key_people   = [[Adam Langleben]] (executive director)<br />[[Roger Liddle|Lord Liddle]] (director)
 | website      = https://www.progressonline.org.uk/

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 | industry     = Activities of political organisations (SIC 94920)
 | founded      = 3 October 1995
-| founders     = [[Derek Draper]]<br />[[Paul Richards]]<br />[[Liam Byrne]]
+| founder     = [[Derek Draper]]<br />[[Paul Richards]]<br />[[Liam Byrne]]
 | location     = 3rd Floor, 86–90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE
 | key_people   = [[Adam Langleben]] (executive director)<br />[[Roger Liddle|Lord Liddle]] (director)

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{Infobox organization
 | name         = Progressive Britain Ltd
-| logo = [File:PROGRESS-NEW-LOGO.png|250px]
+| logo = [[File:PROGRESS-NEW-LOGO.png|250px]]
 | type         = Private company limited by guarantee without share capital
 | industry     = Activities of political organisations (SIC 94920)

@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 |}
-<source of table data: Companies House officers list.<ref name="CHOfficers" /><ref name="Endole" /> />
+Source of table data: Companies House officers list.<ref name="CHOfficers" /><ref name="Endole" />
 ===Former officers===

@@ Line 101: / Line 101: @@
 |}
-<source of table data: Companies House officers list.<ref name="CHOfficers" /> />
+Source of table data: Companies House officers list.<ref name="CHOfficers" />
 ==Funding==