Community Power is co-operative politics. It’s a politics of empowerment. A new settlement which recognises and strengthens the democratic power of communities rather than top-down targets and reorganisation. A settlement which doesn’t just talk the talk about rebalancing, but which shifts control from the centre to regions, councils and communities.
That is why we are launching “Community Power” – a new publication which draws on our co-operative values and principles to define the building blocks needed for community power. Our policy officer, Cllr Anna Birley, will be joined by guests including Alex Norris MP, the Shadow Levelling Up Minister and Labour & Co-operative MP for Nottingham North, to discuss the building blocks of community power, highlight the places and communities already taking power into their own hands, and unpicking the rhetoric of the Government’s levelling-up agenda.
Because unlike the Conservative’s approach to Levelling Up, community power done right has the potential to be genuinely transformative. Upending power imbalances in our society and economy allows us to create stronger, more responsive institutions, better services, accountable decision-making and participation at every level of politics. Unlike the Government’s so called levelling-up agenda, community power results in communities feeling empowered, because they own a stake in the economy and because public institutions and political decision-making are rewired to ensure they don’t simply have a voice but that it is listened to.
This online event will be live captioned for greater accessibility.