In this new collection, the idea of republican democracy is put forward as a way of moving progressive politics beyond its present impasse. The core aim of republicanism is taken to be the sustenance of a strong and participative civil society as well as an active and democratic state. The challenge is to put both the state and the market in their place, so as to build a citizen society.

It was launched in March 2009 at a highly successful even in Whitehall addressed by, among others, Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for energy and Climate Change, and David Willetts, Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills [Varun or Sarah - pls check these job titles]. It is a follow-up to the original Options for Britain edited by David Halpern, Stuart White, Stewart Wood and the late Gavin Cameron. The original Options was heavily used by ministers, civil servants, and policy advisors under New Labour.

In the wake of Labour's worst poll results in three generations on 4 June 2009, Demos asked some the left's leading thinkers to offer their diagnosis of the party and prescribe what it needs to do to revive itself. Their reponses, collected in this book, are unanimous on the need for urgent renewal. But they differ widely on what shape that renewal should take. The essays also propose a wide range of policies and reforms - to tackle inequality, reform the constitution and above all to radically open up both politics and the party.

• Engagingly and provocatively written
• Based on extensive historical research and deploying the analytical tools of contemporary political science
• Demolishes many of the myths surrounding the constitution
• Offers a constructive alternative

The Public Policy Unit has collaborated with a range of other organizations to produce a new e-book, Revisiting Associative Democracy. Edited by Andrea Westall, the e-book is free to download at http://lwbooks.co.uk/ebooks/AssociativeDemocracy.html