Unleashing community power

“If we want to challenge the hoarding of potential in our economy then we must win the war against the hoarders in Westminster. Give power back and put communities in control”. Not my words, but those of Keir Starmer speaking at Labour conference last year. 

The concentration of economic and political power in our capital city is damaging for the rest of the country. It means that decisions are made at too great a distance from the people affected by them. It is no wonder then – as people look around them and see the dire state of public services, feel the thinning of their wallet, and the decline of their local high street – that they lack faith in a political class they see as responsible for this. Research by More in Common and UCL Policy Lab found that on a net trust-distrust scale the Conservatives score minus 50 while the Labour Party score minus 29.^[1]  The challenge is not insurmountable for Labour, still it is one the party must tackle and that forms a core part of Keir Starmer’s vision for government.

Central to this is a need to put trust in communities and working people for there to be a chance that this trust is reciprocated. Consistently, over 70% of the public report that they feel they have ‘not very much’ or ‘no control’ over decisions that affect their local community, whilst at the same time having more trust in community organisations and local people.^[2] As Starmer has said, this highlights a need to shift power out of Westminster and give communities more of a say over the decisions that affect their lives.

But this soaring rhetoric will mean little if it is not supported by credible and realistic policy. Blair states in his foreword to the Unfinished Revolution that, “Good communications come from good policy”.^[3] In an election year, the attention of the media and the public will turn to what Labour want to do in power, rather than purely the record of the incumbent government. There is a clear electoral imperative to underpin Labour’s rhetoric with credible policy. More than that, there is a clear risk that failure to back up words with action will only add to the distrust the people feel towards politics and politicians. 

Blair also says that, “The best ideas today will often come from outside the party.” Heeding both pieces of advice from the last election-winning Labour leader, Starmer should look closely at the proposals set out by the Community Ownership Commission, which recently published its report on how to increase community ownership.^[4]

The report sets out the realistic and practical steps that need to be taken to unleash community ownership throughout the country. Community ownership is important because it gives people more of a say about the spaces they care about in their local area as well as helping to build the financial self-sufficiency and sustainability of community business – those locally rooted and accountable businesses that trade for the benefit of the local area. It can also be a bulwark against the loss of shared spaces we have witnessed in communities across the country, often against the wishes of those very communities. Put simply, community ownership is an important ingredient in making people feel they have more control over their lives. 

Yet the report shows that community ownership is not at the levels existing demand and future potential suggest it should be. For any government serious about putting more trust and power in the hands of communities, community ownership is part of the answer and Labour needs a plan to increase the level of community ownership nationally. The recommendations from the Community Ownership Commission have laid out a credible and realistic path a governing Labour Party could take. 

The report reiterates Labour and Angela Rayner’s support for a Community Right to Buy. This would strengthen the powers that communities have to purchase the assets that they care about. But alongside new powers, new resources are needed too. Reshaping the Community Ownership Fund (COF) and extending it into the next Parliament is a concrete way to do this. Ringfencing a proportion of the Fund so that it is targeted at areas of higher need, combined with capacity support, will help to make sure it is not just better off places that take advantage of new powers to boost community ownership. 

This principle, that with new powers and responsibilities – whether that is for communities or local government – new resources need to be made available too, should be applied to Labour’s broader plans for power. Everyone is aware of the fiscal discipline Labour are committed to, but the Commission has shown how public money can crowd in other forms of investment, a test that Rachel Reeves is applying to the party’s Green Prosperity Plan too.

We have seen continually seen the issues with centralised funding pots directed from Whitehall. These need to be moved closer to people. The place-based funding model that the report recommends is an effective way to do this. Decision making needs to be moved closer to people at the same time. Local authorities should be encouraged, incentivised, and resourced to work in partnership with communities so that both these important actors have a seat at the table with genuine influence on decision making. 

This is a second principle Labour should apply more broadly. If, at its most simple, mission-focused government is to say to people not “leave it to us”, but instead “let’s do it together”, then Labour need to value communities alongside local authorities, trade unions and big business as partners who can deliver tangible change.  That means having genuine power with a seat at the table in decision-making in their local area. The proposals put forward in the We’re Right Here campaign’s Community Power Act could enable this,^[5] and Labour’s policy team would do well to have a read as pen to is put to paper both on the manifesto and the mooted Take Back Control Bill.

The Commission’s report offers Labour a roadmap to follow to increase community ownership, putting trust and power in the hands of local communities. But it should also be the starting point of a broader offer of a place-based approach to tackling society’s most pressing problems, with communities – and community business – playing a central role, taking forward the core principles contained in the report. 

At some point this year Labour may well form the next government after 14 years in the political wilderness. The party’s strategy until the general election is to do what it can do avoid dropping the ‘Ming vase’ whilst walking over a highly polished floor. But no complacency should not mean no policy. The Community Ownership Commission provides credible and realistic proposals to support community ownership that Labour should adopt if it is serious about shifting political and economic power out of London to help rebuild trust in politics. More than that, it can form a solid foundation from which to build an agenda for communities that respects the role they have to play in building a better Britain. 

Josh Westerling is Policy Manager at Power to Change and leads on their policy development and political engagement to influence local, regional, and national decision-makers. He has previously worked for The Jo Cox Foundation and the think tank British Future. 

Notes

^[1] Stears, M. and Tryl, L. (2023). The Respect Agenda. Available at: https://www.moreincommon.org.uk/our-work/research/the-respect-agenda/

^[2] Westerling, J. (2022). Empower communities, don’t just tinker with Westminster. Available at: https://www.powertochange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Empower-communities-dont-just-tinker-with-Westminster-Power-to-Change.pdf

^[3] Blair, T. (2011). Foreword, The Unfinished Revolution. Pp. ix-xxvi. 

^[4] Community Ownership Commission. (2023). Unleashing Community Ownership. Available at: https://party.coop/publication/unleashing-community-ownership/

^[5] We’re Right Here. (2022). The Community Power Act. Available at: https://right-here.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/The-Community-Power-Act-Were-Right-Here.pdf