Battle of Ideas

The Battle of Ideas is a project of the Institute of Ideas, which is associated with the libertarian, anti-environmental LM network.

It commenced in 2005 and is an annual two-day debating event held in London. It claims it "makes virtues of free-thinking and lively exchanges of views" and "fosters an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and open-ended exploration of new ideas, research and social trends". In practice, all of the sessions' chairs, around half of the speakers and most of those selected by the chair to contribute from the floor are LM associates. In response to the question, "Is the Institute of Ideas committed to promoting debate or to promoting one side of a debate?", Claire Fox replied "We are committed to debating in general, but make it perfectly clear that we have a position in the debates we organise." Accounts by attendees are here.

Funding

Associated sponsors

• The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, whose current Chief Executive is long time LM associate Ann Furedi sponsored the Battle of Ideas in 2008 and 2009.
• cScape, whose current Chief Executive is long time LM associate Rob Killick and who employed another LM associate Nathalie Rothschild as Public Relations Officer sponsored the Battle of Ideas in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
• Sovereignty And Its Discontents, whose co-convenor is long time LM associate Philip Cunliffe sponsored the Battle of ideas in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Other multi-year sponsors, other LM network entities excluded, are:

• Art & Business 2005, 2006 and 2008
• BT 2006, 2007, 2008
• Economic and Social Research Council 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
• General Teaching Council 2005, 2006, 2008
• Pfizer 2005, 2006
• PriceWaterhouseCoopers 2009, 2010
• SAB Miller 2008, 2009, 2010
• Shell 2009, 2010
• The Times 2008, 2009, 2010
• Wellcome Trust 2008, 2009, 2010

Partners and sponsors by year

• 2005

• 2006

• 2007

• 2008

• 2009

• 2010

Speakers

Battle of Ideas speakers for the 2010 conference, as listed on the website in April 2010, were:

• Beccy Allen, researcher, Hansard Society; project manager, HeadsUp, an online forum for 11-18’s, politicians and policy-makers.
• Dave Clements, social policy writer; convenor, IoI Social Policy Forum; co-editor, The Future of Community.
• Joel Cohen, politics student, SOAS; member, Battle of Ideas Committee
• Dolan Cummings, convenor, Battle for Politics; associate fellow, Institute of Ideas; editor, Culture Wars.
• Nick Dusic, director, Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE)
• Tim Finch, director and head of migration, equalities and citizenship, IPPR
• Claire Fox, director, Institute of Ideas; panellist, BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze
• Frank Furedi, professor of sociology, University of Kent, Canterbury; author, Wasted, Politics of Fear, Where Have All the Intellectuals Gone?
• Pam Giddy, director, Power 2010; co-founder and former director, Power Inquiry
• Tony Gilland, science and society director, Institute of Ideas; director,Debating Matters Competition
• Norman Ginsburg, professor of Social Policy, London Metropolitan University; author, Divisions of Welfare: A Critical Introduction to Comparative Social Policy
• David Goodhart, founder and editor, Prospect magazine
• David Green, director, Civitas; author, Individualists Who Co-operate: Education and welfare reform befitting a free people
• Shane Greer, executive editor, Total Politics; political consultant and commentator
• Matt Grist, director, RSA's Social Brain project; author, Changing the Subject - how new ways of thinking about human behaviour might change politics, policy and practice
• Kamaljeet Jandu, national officer, Equality through Inclusion, GMB
• Geoff Kidder, director, membership and events, Institute of Ideas; convenor, IoI Book Club; IoI’s resident expert in all sporting matters
• George Lee, prospective parliamentary candidate, Conservative, Holborn & St Pancras; founding member, Black Police Association
• Kirk Leech, freelance journalist; researcher, development and environment
• Kevin Maguire, associate editor, Daily Mirror
• Brendan O'Neill, editor, Spiked; author, Can I Recycle My Granny and 39 Other Eco-Dilemmas
• Ben Page, chief executive, Ipsos MORI]; Editorial Board, International Journal of Market Research
• James Panton, politics tutor at St John’s College, University of Oxford; co-founder, radical civil liberties campaigning group, the Manifesto Club
• Jo Phillips, journalist, former spin doctor; co-author Why Vote – a guide for those who can't be bothered.
• Mike Savage, professor of sociology, University of Manchester; Director, ESRC Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change; author, Culture, Class, Distinction
• David Seymour, co-author Why Vote – a guide for those who can't be bothered; former political editor, Mirror Group, leader writer, Daily Mail; founder, Student Mirror
• Gerry Stoker, professor, Politics and Governance, University of Southampton; director, Centre for Citizenship, Globalization and Governance; author, Why Politics Matters: making democracy work
• Wes Streeting, president, National Union of Students (NUS)
• Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner; Green Party human rights spokesperson
• Robin Walsh, editorial assistant, medical publishing company; co-founder, Current Affairs Forum.
• Bruno Waterfield, Brussels correspondent, Daily Telegraph; author, No Means No!
• Jeremy Webb, editor-in-chief, New Scientist
• Richard Wilson, founder and director, Izwe; founder, leading public engagement think-tank, Involve

Contact

Address:

Phone:

Email:

Website: http://www.battleofideas.org.uk

Facebook: Battle of Ideas

Resources

Jon Alexander, Beware the Institute of Ideas Conservation-Economy, 1 Nov 2010

Jenny Turner, 'Who Are They?,' London Review of Books, 8 July 2010

Helge Ogrim, Battle of Ideas, Is the Revolutionary Communist Party still the vanguard? November 6, 2010 · 11:49 am</ref>

Press Gazette, The Battle of Ideas: It's a twisted old battlefield Press Gazette, 3 November 2006

Richard Wilson, 'Quite contrary:inside the Battle of Ideas', New Humanist, Jan/Feb 2011