Building a nation of neighbours

On the evening of Thursday 28 May, changemakers from across the country came together to celebrate A Nation of Neighbours: Rebuilding Britain from the Ground Up. Built with a powerful coalition of community groups, leading cross-party think tank Demos and Lloyds Bank Foundation, the report calls on leaders to recognise the power of communities in reshaping Britain’s future.  

The timings matters. While the race to win the Makerfield by-election has gripped Westminster, something else was felt in the room. A consensus that we should not lose sight of the radical change needed to transform the nation. It is within the small acts of real people, that a genuine optimism, and renewed sense purpose, can be found. 

Thought-provoking remarks from Alison McGovern MP and Cllr Rowenna Davies explored how the work of our communities intersects with the world of the politics across a local and national level, while brilliant community organisers, including Andy Jackson and Annoushka Deighton, spoke to what it meant to meaningfully shape their local place through bravery, capacity for connection and a genuine belief that things can be better, without waiting for Whitehall. 

“In the dangerous waters in which we now find ourselves, community is both the ark and the direction of travel. Strengthening and rethreading the bonds that hold our communities together pulls us out of the grip of online actors – grounding and collectively re-centring ourselves in the places we come from.”   

Says Ros Wynne-Jones, Britain Editor of The Mirror, and a member of the Nation of Neighbours project coalition.  

"Far from solutions being found at the centre or the apex, our communities hold everything we need to solve the problems we face right now. We are at our most resilient when we are knitted together, strongest when we are rooted, and at our brightest when we think co-operatively about a future that works for everyone. 

Community power is the only power that is truly accountable. It means human versus algorithm, generosity versus anger, people versus the machine, and hope versus hate. Its direction – back to the future.”