A victory for Sharkstoppers everywhere

Today, a cap on the cost of credit will be introduced.

It was a day that many of us thought would be a much longer time coming, but comes just 3 years after Sharkstoppers started campaigning in communities across Britain.

We set out with two clear aims: to get the Government to introduce a cap on the cost of credit, and to find ways of spreading access to fairer credit through credit unions.

But 3 years ago, the current Coalition government, lead as it is by dyed-in-the-wool free-marketeers, had begun to take its grip of the country. Rolling back the state, they sought to protect the market regardless of the effect is had on the people. Against this backdrop, achieving a cap on the cost of credit felt impossible.

What began in Walthamstow – a local organised response to high-interest money lenders taking over the high street – seemed like a long fight. But it soon spread. People saw that others were reacting against the injustice, and they got organised too.

Newcastle got organised. Edinburgh got organised. Barrow got organised. Swansea got organised.

They organised against payday lenders in our trade unions. They organised in our local Labour parties.

And in our Labour councils they fought too. In Islington they fought. In Glasgow they fought. In Swansea they fought. Pushing back the charge of payday lenders, and flanking them by reinforcing the ranks of fair credit providers that had already been mustered in our communities in the form of credit unions.

That today’s cap is a reality shows the power of organised people taking strategic action.

In all of the areas mentioned – and more – it was Sharkstoppers activists, trained by Movement for Change to use the tools of community organising in their local groups, parties or trade unions, who won the change. Thousands of relationships built, hundreds of actions taken.

Locally, this organised action has led to myriad changes. In Swansea, activists negotiated with major advertisers to curb payday loan adverts, and get free adverts for the local credit union. In Southampton, a deal was brokered with the credit union to make loans available to lower-income borrowers so long as the campaigners could organise high-value savers to join. In Newcastle, football fans organised to advertise their credit union in fanzines, to counter the Wonga sponsorship of Newcastle United.

All of this organised effort meant Labour politicians could take the fight further. In Scotland, our new Deputy Leader Kez Dugdale led efforts that saw “wealth warnings” introduced over Christmas by the Scottish Government, warning people about exploitative lending. In Wales, Ministers who met Sharkstoppers activists pledged nearly £2m to boost credit union funds and organisation.

And then, after increasing calls from Sharkstoppers activists and Labour MPs, Labour committed that if it were to win the 2015 election, it would introduce a cap on the cost of credit. Rachel Reeves, at the time Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, then led the fight from the front bench. That fight ended when the Government reacted and agreed that it would introduce a cap on the cost of credit, set by the new regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

And what about the access to fair credit? Well, along with all of the local efforts to boost credit unions, Sharkstoppers activists have negotiated with Andy Burnham, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, and ensured that if a Labour government is elected in 2015, payroll deduction to the local credit union will be offered to NHS staff.

With a Labour government, the biggest employer in Britain – the 5^th biggest employer in the world – and one of the best healthcare providers in the world, will also become a leader in the fight for fair credit.

The rate being introduced today is too low – we all know that. But that legislation has been changed to have a cap at all is a huge achievement. That cap can be lowered. And no doubt, as the FCA sees that more action is needed, and with the continued pressure from Labour MPs, it will be.

But it will change lives. For example, through the Sharkstoppers campaign, we have brought people into politics that had been paying back over 7 times what they first borrowed. Now, nobody will ever pay back twice what they borrowed.

These are huge changes. We may be out of power, but the Labour movement, using the power of community organising, can still be powerful. Sharkstoppers has shown that in practice, on the ground. A campaign that can now end, having achieved what felt impossible when it started 3 years ago. Today is a victory for Sharkstoppers everywhere. Together, we won the cap.

Stewart Owadally is a Community Organiser at Movement for Change.