Since launching in April 2020, SDPTalk has grown to an insightful, adventurous, and thoughtful outlet covering the state and future of social democracy and British society. Featuring contributions from both within the SDP and friends of the party, SDPTalk is always on the look for new articles that may be of interest to our members and readership
Our articles aim to appeal to not just our membership, but any curious and non-partisan member of the public. We aim for our articles to be interesting and readable, ideally exploring a complex or challenging issue that will connect with our readers.
SDPTalk does not merely exist to raise the profile of the SDP. We believe in publishing high-quality writing that stimulates and inspires our membership, and seeds new ideas both within the party and beyond. Like the best outlets, we aim to develop a consistent and solid editorial reputation that our readers can come to trust: we aim to be a platform that readers will regularly return to.
Topics
There are three types of content we typically publish. In general, any one of articles tends to be some mix of these:
- Political and Social Analysis: These pieces explore a trend, a major piece of news, or some other fact of British social and political life. In these pieces, authors dig into details and often offer an insight into why something is happening.
- Philosophy and Ideology: Building on the groundwork set by the New Declaration, these pieces explore ideas about why and how society should be structured. In these pieces, an author draws off philosophy, developments that challenge our existing ideas, and their own intuitions and experience.
- Policy and Proposals: Building off the SDP’s existing policy set, these pieces explore policies that can improve our society. In these pieces, an author investigates how a policy proposal can alleviate a problem and explores how such a policy could be implemented.
Form, Tone, Style
Typically our articles are 500-1,000 words in length, although we may consider articles of up to 1,500 words if they’re sufficiently high quality and their length is justified.
Articles should have a clear thesis running throughout, with a strong and interesting hook at the beginning and every paragraph serving the piece’s central argument. Logical flow and a strong narrative are essential, along with the piece being crisp and engaging.
If possible, hyperlink sources. If not, then provide citations on authors and book names inline.
How to pitch
If you’re interested in writing for us, send a pitch to the SDPTalk editorial team at: sdptalk@sdp.org.uk
Your pitch should be a 100-200 word synopsis of your piece, followed by anything we should know about you. Explain what it is you’re arguing, and any intermediate points you’ll make to demonstrate your argument.
We aim to respond to all pitches within a week of receipt. If your pitch is accepted, we’ll share any relevant deadlines or editorial steers with you.