The system for allocating public expenditure to the nations and regions of the UK has never worked properly since the Union of 1707, when Scotland's compensation for joining the Union arrived in Edinburgh in carts guarded by dragoons. Even W.E. Gladstone got it wrong in 1886. Now it has irretrievably broken down. Money goes to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by the notorious Barnett Formula, but this is collapsing and cannot last long. Money goes to the English regions by poorly-understood formulae that work badly. People in every region think that the system is unfair to them.

• First survey of the history of the Union by political scientists
• Timely publication - 2007 will mark the tercentenary of the Union

This is the first survey of Unionism, the ideology of most of the rulers of the United Kingdom for the last 300 years. Because it was taken so much for granted, it has never been properly studied. Now that we stand in the twilight of Unionism, it is possible to see it as it casts its long shadow over British and imperial history since 1707.

Time for Land Value Tax? brings together leading economists and political theorists to explore the case for and against land value taxation.

The editors begin by providing an analysis of developments in post-war economic theory and the relation of this to developments in economic policy in the same period. A growing consensus in theory had filtered through to provide a basis for extremely significant policy initiatives. The highly distinguished contributors in this book address this them in a number of contexts. Peter jay and Alan Budd consider the policy failure of the 1960s and 1970s. Christopher Foster analyses the continuing failures within transport.

Can and should asset-based policies such as universal capital grants become a new pillar of the welfare state? Can they form the basis for a more egalitarian form of market economy? The citizen's stake throws open the debate by bringing together the ideas of leading thinkers in academia and policy to explore the future scope of asset-based policies in Britain.

This book aims to show that Adam Smith (1723-90), the author of The Wealth of Nations, was not the promoter of ruthless laissez-faire capitalism that is still frequently depicted. Smith's "right-wing" reputation was sealed after his death when it was not safe to claim that an author may have influenced the French revolutionaries.

Inheritance tax is under attack, and not just from the political right. The critics of this tax have dominated the debate over recent years but, as the authors of this Fabian pamphlet argue, inheritance tax is one of the best tools we have for tackling inequality and kick starting Britain’s stalled social mobility.

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.