Since the election of a Labour government in Britain in May 1997, all those involved in adult and workers’ education have welcomed the reality that lifelong learning is now high on the agenda of Government. The pace of the transformation has been awesome, offering major opportunities for the WEA.

The Labour government has launched consultative groups, working parties, policy discussions and advisory committees, affecting all aspects of government policy. Adult education has been no exception. The WEA has prepared reports, policy statements and submissions in response to requests from the government, ensuring that the agenda for lifelong learning reflects the needs of the social and economic constituencies represented by the workers’ education movement. The WEA in England and Scotland, along with its sister organisations in Wales and Northern Ireland, has been well represented in a wide range of policy discussions.

The most important of these debates led to and followed the publication of the government’s consultation document "The Learning Age", published in February 1998. The WEA responded with substantial policy submissions and the organisation of national conferences to discuss the key issues.

The new approach by the British government recognises that the pace of economic, technological and social change is accelerating rapidly. Most importantly, new education policies are required to respond to economic globalisation and the development of the information society. Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote in his introduction to the consultation document: "We have no choice but to prepare for this new age in which the key to success will be the continuous education and development of the human mind and imagination".

The government put forward a substantial package of policies to address the need for lifelong learning, including the continuing expansion of further and higher education, a ‘New Deal’ for the young and long-term unemployed, new policies to support workplace and community education, flexible and tailor-made ‘learning accounts’ for adult learners, and the exploitation of technological opportunities through a ‘National Grid for Learning’.

The WEA welcomed this new approach and contributed to the policy proposals. The WEA’s response to the consultation paper raised several concerns. In particular, we sought to further strengthen government recognition of the needs of adult learners, stressing those facing greatest educational disadvantage; the important role of voluntary and community-based education organisations; and the need to resist an approach to lifelong learning based purely on narrowly-defined labour market requirements.

It is not only the domestic agenda which has changed. The government’s Department for International Development, has recognised the impact of globalisation domestically and the need to develop public awareness in Britain of global issues. Through a Consultation Document, DFID introduced a fundamental review of its development priorities especially as they linked to the work of civil society organisations, including trade unions. The WEA’s response to the consultation document was submitted not only on behalf of the WEA but in association with IFWEA and Euro-WEA. The WEA’s increasing profile with DFID has led to Department financial support for a number of initiatives.

The government views the WEA as a major player in adult and continuing education and in the construction of Britain as a Learning Society. The WEA is in partnership with a number of trade unions in the delivery of programme activities supported by the "Union Learning Fund"; the WEA, together with a range of locally-based community organisations, is supported in the development of its community learning initiatives through the "Adult and Community Learning Fund"; and finances have been secured for ICT infrastructural development through the "University for Industry".

Beyond the WEA’s ability to secure financial support for developmental work, there is another more significant consequence of the changed domestic climate. The new environment has given the WEA and other education organisations renewed confidence and optimism that the realisation of the long fought battle for the lifelong learning agenda is now within reach. The WEA is committed to ensuring that its policies and practices will be at the heart of this agenda. In this way, the objectives of workers’ education will be in sight of achievement.