Back in 1982, I stood for Manchester City Council for the new shiny SDP. We hoped for and expected big changes. Many of the Labour councillors had come over to the SDP, including Chris Muir, the Labour leader and director of Manchester City Football club. Chris stood on the same ticket as me in Burnage, south Manchester, once the home of John Thaw (Sweeney, Morse) and the Gallagher brothers (Oasis). But it was not to be: voters reverted to form and reelected a Labour majority

There is widespread frustration at the failure of partisan politics and traditional economics to reduce the toxic inequality that causes financial hardship, diminishes personal opportunity and restricts social mobility. While it is clear that voters want these issues addressed, plainly demonstrated in the ballot box in June 2016 and June 2017, the political parties offer only piecemeal interventions that do not get to the root of the problem and only marginally address the ca