Right here – right now
Community led campaign Right Here calls on Parliament to pass a Community Power Act
When COVID hit, were you part of one of the many communities across the country that sprang into action, self directed, and got on with supporting your friends, neighbours and broader community?
Did you start to think about what it would be like to have more power locally for your community?
Did you ask…
- What if the system worked with us and not against us?
- What if we took charge of our neighbourhoods?
- What if we took back control… for real?
You may well be interested in Right Here.
Set up by seven people – grassroots community builders from across England – Right Here is asking for a Community Power Act to fundamentally change where power lies in our country.
They want power to shift from politicians and officials in distant centres of power, to local people, who would have the powers they need to shape the areas where they live.
The Community Power Act would make three things happen:
- Give communities a legal right to self-determination. This would mean that the authorities would need to ensure that decisions about local services and spaces would be made at the ‘most local’ level possible and with the participation of local people.
- Create Community Covenants between communities and councils. These neighbourhood-level power-sharing agreements would give community organisations and local people access to significant new powers which would enable them to play a much bigger role in shaping and delivering services and to take control of community spaces. Once agreed, central government would also be required to transfer more powers and resources to the local council.
- Establish an independent Community Power Commissioner. The Commissioner would hold the government accountable for its performance in upholding communities’ right to self-determination – conducting investigations of government policies, practices and departments and making binding recommendations to put power in people’s hands.
We are fully behind this amazing campaign. Watch their powerful and moving video here and find out more – right here