Over the past ten years, we’ve created hundreds of practical opportunities that have helped young people step into roles in public service – especially those from underrepresented background.
If you want to make a difference, we want to make it count – no matter your background, beliefs, or experience.
We’re inspired by John Smith, Labour leader from 1992–94, who said in his final speech: “The opportunity to serve our country – that is all we ask.”
Thirty years on, we’re still driven by the belief that every young person who wants that opportunity deserves the chance to shape the world they live in.
How we break down barriers:
Join us to hear former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown discuss his new book The Future Starts With Us with John Smith Centre Director Eddie Barnes at the University of Glasgow.
Drawing on decades of experience at the heart of politics, alongside new research and original polling of nearly 100,000 people across forty-five countries, Gordon Brown reveals how global instability and civic decline are connected.
The Future Starts With Us is more than a guide to our present turmoil. By uncovering and targeting the root causes, Brown offers a practical and hopeful roadmap to bring us back together, renew the global order, and set us on a more equitable and sustainable course.
2 September 2026, 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Saltire Lecture Theatre, James McCune Smith Learning Hub, University of Glagow
Join us to hear former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown discuss his new book The Future Starts With Us with John Smith Centre Director Eddie Barnes at the University of Glasgow.
Drawing on decades of experience at the heart of politics, alongside new research and original polling of nearly 100,000 people across forty-five countries, Gordon Brown reveals how global instability and civic decline are connected.
The Future Starts With Us is more than a guide to our present turmoil. By uncovering and targeting the root causes, Brown offers a practical and hopeful roadmap to bring us back together, renew the global order, and set us on a more equitable and sustainable course.
2 September 2026, 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Saltire Lecture Theatre, James McCune Smith Learning Hub, University of Glagow
The John Smith Centre Parliamentary Internship Programme has been running since 2017 and places students with host MSPs/MPs for invaluable work experience.
Through the structured 10-week placement programme, our interns work in parliamentary and constituency office settings in close cooperation with their host MSPs/MPs and their staff, enabling them to develop a range of workplace relevant skills and an appreciation for the value of a career in public service.
Creating hands-on learning opportunities for students to engage in frontline public service roles and a platform from which they can examine the role of public servants and elected representatives today.
The course offers students from across the University of Glasgow the opportunity to hear from practitioners whose work relates to campaigning and politics, and to gain practical experience of creating a campaign for change.
The course offers honours students in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow a unique opportunity to gain practical experience of running a high-profile national poll.
We are delighted to announce the launch of the John Smith Centre’s second course for University of Glasgow students. Not just politics as usual: The John Smith Centre guide to
Drawing on decades of experience at the heart of politics, alongside new research and original polling of nearly 100,000 people across forty-five countries, Gordon Brown reveals how global instability and
By Iain Anderson, chair of the John Smith Centre The first weeks of any new premiership are filled with expectation. Never more so than now. For our new Prime Minister,
There is widespread recognition that the image of politics as dominated by middle-aged, middle-class, privately- and university-educated white men (with degrees in phisolophy, politics, and economics, or PPE) turns a
UK Youth Poll 2026 shows that support for intervention outweighs support for isolationism among young Britons. Isolationist perspectives are becoming increasingly prominent in the foreign policy narratives of many advanced
Young people in the UK are often described as politically disengaged because they are less likely to join traditional political parties or vote as consistently as older generations do. However, the UK Youth Poll
We are delighted to announce the launch of the John Smith Centre’s second course for University of Glasgow students. Not just politics as usual: The John Smith Centre guide to
Drawing on decades of experience at the heart of politics, alongside new research and original polling of nearly 100,000 people across forty-five countries, Gordon Brown reveals how global instability and
By Iain Anderson, chair of the John Smith Centre The first weeks of any new premiership are filled with expectation. Never more so than now. For our new Prime Minister,
John Smith Centre’s Work
The night before he died in May 1994, The Rt Hon John Smith QC, MP gave a speech that concluded with these words: “The opportunity to serve our country – that is all we ask.”
That single phrase encapsulates a lifetime of seeking to help others through public service. Inspiring that in a new generation will be the legacy of the John Smith Centre.
