A panel discussion with Andrew Adonis, Guillaume Liegey, Sudhir Hazareesingh and Pepper Culpepper.

Emmanuel Macron built a new political movement, En Marche (later renamed La Republique en Marche—LREM), which catapulted him to victory in the French presidential and legislative elections. The new movement was particularly attractive at a time of weakness and decline for the established parties of the left. From the initial success of LREM, it seemed to be possible to rapidly transform a broad-based democratic movement into a governing party.

Enthusiasm for President Macron and for his party has since waned. In this discussion, we will seek to understand how the French president was able to build a new party so quickly, and how the successes and idealism of its creation have been challenged by the demands of governing. We will discuss the implications of the developments in France for the possibility of a new movement of the political centre in the UK, and we will also consider the broader question of how individuals can have an impact on the political landscape.

Discussants

Andrew Adonis, the Rt. Hon. the Lord Adonis, is the former Chair of the UK National Infrastructure Commission and a former Transport Secretary and Schools Minister. He is a Labour Peer.

Guillaume Liegey is the CEO of LMP, a leading European campaign technology company. More than 1,000 political and business clients have used LMP’s software in Europe, notably Emmanuel Macron's movement “En Marche!”

Dr Sudhir Hazareesingh is a Lecturer in Politics at Balliol College and an expert observer of French politics.

The event was moderated by Pepper Culpepper, Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government.