GO BIG

A new book by Mr Miliband is an important political event ... mounts a coherent challenge to orthodox views, encouraging his audience to think differently and laying the foundations of where the country needs to go ... Miliband is clear that we live in an age where it is movements of people, not politicians, that change the world * Guardian * Full of ambitious ideas about how to solve gigantic social issues such as working life, childcare and climate change ... This flawed, funny Miliband sparkles with an Alan Partridge-like flourish through Go Big ... Miliband never sounds angry. He doesn't even seem to get annoyed when the Tories steal his ideas * GQ * At a time when our problems seem insurmountable and our disagreements intractable, Ed Miliband gives us reasons to be hopeful. This book makes a compelling case we need to hear: if we are willing to think big, politics can be a force for change and a force for good -- MICHAEL J. SANDEL, author of The Tyranny of Merit There's a lot of good stuff in here ... flashes of insight ... neat observations ... it is hard to disagree with much of what [he says] ... charmingly self-deprecating -- David Goodhart * Sunday Times * By turns bouncy, chatty and confidential, and above all relentlessly upbeat ... fully of ideas, nifty schemes for solving the climate crisis, sound stratagems for encouraging more and better housing, for revitalising public transport, for loosening the stranglehold of the market and a whole lot more besides * Private Eye * Go Big is enthralling. I had forgotten that such energy and imagination were possible in a book that concerns itself with contemporary problems of politics and public life. Ed Miliband writes with a vigour and lightness of touch that doesn't conceal or deny the seriousness of the problems or the intelligence of his suggestions for solving them. I was left with such an unusual feeling that I didn't at first realise what it was, and then I remembered: optimism. I hope everyone with the slightest interest in the way the world works will read it, and act on the lines he suggests -- PHILIP PULLMAN Engages with thinkers, often working at a local level, who propose radical solutions to a range of problems, from climate change to affordable housing * Financial Times Best Politics Books 2021 * Such a wonderful, joyous guest ... everyone must rush out and buy GO BIG ... I really did find it such a hopeful book ... [written] with great wit and intelligence -- ELIZABETH DAY, host and author of How To Fail Self-deprecating and relentlessly upbeat ... so darned likeable ... demonstrating a boldness and clarity ... Miliband is right: we have devalued our social goods ... There's no reason why the Tories ... can't nick some of the sensible ideas in [this book] and make them their own * Telegraph * Argues that the scale of the crises we face must define the scale of the solution ... Miliband is a listener ... and he draws inspiration wherever he can find it: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Icelandic female strikers, Paul Stephenson and the Bristol bus boycott ... [provides] the outline ... of 'a renewed social contract' ... set out with likeable energy * Observer * Inspired and inspiring for all those for whom the future of Britain and of the world is important, Miliband calls upon us to rise to our challenges with clarity and conviction but above all with courageous boldness -- CHRISTIANA FIGUERES, lead negotiator of the UN Paris Climate Agreement If you think we can just keep tinkering around the edges, you're the one who lives in la-la land. 'Go big' should be the rallying cry of progressives around the world -- RUTGER BREGMAN, author of Humankind A hopeful and inspirational book for our depressing times. Ed Miliband, a politician made more human, engaging and wry through surviving the bitterness of electoral defeat, provides example after example from around the globe - some more persuasive than others - of how progressive ideas can work in action. Yet put them all together and the result is this: a vision of a better, sunnier world in which we would all love to live. Great fun, a great programme and a great read -- WILL HUTTON, author of The State We're In Engaging, powerful and funny, Ed Miliband's Go Big is an urgent call for democratic politics to rise up to the critical challenges of the 21st century. Bringing together research, personal experience and political vision, Miliband makes a compelling case for fundamental change. It is time to make the unthinkable thinkable, it is time to go big -- KATRIN JAKOBSDOTTIR, Prime Minister of Iceland Tinkering around the edges will not solve the problems facing Britain. As we emerge from the crisis, we must create a bold new settlement, based on economic security, fairness and prosperity. This timely and thought-provoking book will make important reading for everyone interested in shaping that future -- SIR KEIR STARMER, Leader of the Labour Party A post-pandemic world requires policy-makers to stop clinging to ideology, challenge accepted norms and be bold in finding solutions to the big challenges of our time. Go Big advocates just that, questioning the left and right of politics. At times it makes for uncomfortable reading but I believe it is a brave, essential and timely intervention as policy-makers start to redefine new norms after an unprecedented period of instability. It made me think and rethink again and again -- BARONESS SAYEEDA WARSI, former co-Chair of the Conservative Party Jam-packed with creativity, Go Big's courageous vision will not only inspire a generation to tackle today's most fearsome global challenges but provide them with the essential tools to succeed -- DAVID LAMMY By looking around the world at the people fixing and transforming communities, Go Big offers real hope for the future, showing us not only that the challenges we face are huge but that the scale of what is possible is even greater -- NINA STIBBE, author of Love, Nina With wit and compassion, Ed Miliband's inspiring call-to-arms gives refreshingly long-term answers to the short-termism and paralysis in our current politics. Informative and exciting, playful but practical, it's a brilliant roadmap towards a necessary national reboot -- JAMES GRAHAM, author of Brexit: The Uncivil War A funny, modest, intellectually robust individual, serious about the range of policies needed for transformation. Miliband assures us this is not a manifesto. To my mind, it should be -- Ann Pettifor * Times Literary Supplement *