The Fabian Society’s general secretary has announced he will step down following Labour’s Party conference in Liverpool this autumn.
Andrew Harrop, who has has been in post since August 2011, will have been the longest serving Fabian general secretary since the 1930s.
He said: “It has been an incredible honour to steward the Fabian Society over the last 13 years. In that time the society has been a wonderful blend of membership movement and think tank, where people on the British left forge new ideas.
“My tenure started in the coalition years as Labour was coming to terms with opposition and ends in celebration as the party returns to government. With over 140 Fabian MPs elected to Parliament, Fabians making up half the Cabinet and our ideas peppered through yesterday’s King’s Speech, now is the right time for me to hand over the society’s leadership.
“The society is riding on a high. It is at its most productive, influential and financially secure in living memory. Proposals I developed, especially for a National Care Service, have shaped Labour’s programme for government. I now look forward to taking on new challenges in politics and civil society.”
Recruitment for Harrop’s replacement is set to start in the coming weeks.
Sara Hyde, chair of the Fabian Society said: “Andy has made a fantastic contribution to the Fabian Society and policy thinking on the left. His research work – particularly on social care, employment, social security and pensions – has been imaginative and groundbreaking. Andy’s depth of understanding of both policy and politics has laid the ground for some very exciting proposals we look forward to seeing the new government take forward.
“He led the Fabian Society during hard times when Labour was far from power, through to the jubilation of the party’s victory this month. Over 13 years under his leadership the society has supported the political journey of countless activists and policy thinkers, many of whom now sit in the House of Commons. Andy leaves us a thriving organisation that is financially stable and politically influential.
“We wish him the very best for whatever comes next, and we know he will continue to play an important part in public policy, civil society and the Labour family.”
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