Solutions to the biggest challenges in our society begin in our communities

It is easy to feel very small and powerless as the world is engulfed by existential crises. First, the onset of the pandemic in 2020 immediately changed the way we all live, dramatically curtailing our freedoms (apart from those living in No 10) and tragically cutting short the lives of too many. Now, with war on European soil, the threat of nuclear weapons hangs over humanity. Many younger readers thought such fears were consigned to history lessons at school. But it all feels rather real to us now too. And the generational challenge of climate change, with pictures of melting ice caps, rising sea levels, heatwaves in Europe and droughts in East Africa, remind us that our world is on the precipice of destruction in any event.

Whilst media headlines understandably focus on global politics and diplomacy on a grand scale, many of the solutions to these macro challenges can begin in our communities today. What we saw during the pandemic was the power of community cooperation and action. This can be harnessed to develop solutions to help with climate change and, in fact, even the geo-political dynamics with Putin’s Russia.

During the last two years of the pandemic, many local community and faith groups worked effectively to support residents during the lockdowns. We saw the role of already trusted institutions, such as parents-groups in schools assisting with home learning, and food aid being prepared from faith centres. These organisations understood the needs in their locality more than any civil servant or minister in Whitehall ever could.

But we also saw citizens themselves taking on responsibility for those living next door. Street WhatApp groups were set up to check on those isolating alone, food was delivered to those unable to venture to the shops, socially-distanced drinks were organised for neighbourly camaraderie. These have developed, with Covid legacy groups now tackling other issues, such as antisocial behaviour, traffic and rubbish. This spirit of community cooperation and empowerment can be harnessed to develop sophisticated public policy solutions to existential problems.

The Co-operative Party has been leading the charge in this area. Over recent months and years, the cooperative movement have been working with local authorities to develop policies that harness the power of community-led solutions. From Birmingham to Greater Manchester to Tower Hamlets, commissions have considered how cooperative politics can empower communities to confront inequality, poverty and build a fairer, more sustainable economy meaning we are less reliant on other countries.

Community energy responses is a case in point. Self-sufficiency is the aim: to build local, greener and cheaper energy networks as an alternative to multinational corporations who are not responsible to communities but to shareholders and indeed in some instances nation-states, like Russia. Across the country, communities are increasingly empowered to become greener, tackling fuel poverty and assisting in the transition to zero carbon, whilst supporting households to become less reliant on gas and oil from Siberia. Community-owned renewable energy is generated by the community for the community, in accordance with cooperative principles to ensure that communities realise the full financial, environmental and social benefits from energy generation and reduced energy consumption.

Consider the work of Repowering, for example, across some of the poorest boroughs in London. The group works with local authorities, schools and the private sector to build solar panel capacity owned by the community to deliver power, as well as an annual return to be reinvested in other carbon cutting initiatives and to assist in eliminating fuel poverty. Another community-led initiative is GreenSCIES in Sandwell, which is a smart energy network that utilises low-carbon heat pumps to share waste heat from commercial buildings to heat buildings in need of heat.

There is an energy services cooperative of over 170 local members in Brighton, which has delivered 52 local energy project and assisted over 1,500 residents making annual savings of 441 tonnes of CO2. A community-group in one of the poorest parts of the Bristol has developed a wholly community-owned wind turbine (without any government support) to help ease the energy price increases for many of its residents (and for the community to keep any profits). In Sheffield, and across South Yorkshire, Labour candidates are committed to supporting the installation of renewable energy in community hubs, such as schools and libraries.

We similarly need to become less reliant on mass-produced products delivered by multi-national corporations in our food sector, and instead focus on local solutions. This can assist communities overcome food poverty, public health concerns and offer a boost to the local economy. The context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with wheat prices rising to a two-decade high, has only emphasised the importance of vibrant, diverse local food supply. Whilst the use of food banks has grown exponentially over the last decade, it is becoming increasingly clear that whilst these initiatives are wholly admirable in mitigating food poverty, more permanent solutions were necessary.

Councils are beginning to assist food banks transition to social supermarkets, to build and encourage sustainable and, indeed, permanent solutions for families. These act as hubs, linking families to advice services – whether that be benefits or employment or housing or health. The Tower Hamlets Food Partnership brings organisations and individuals together to shape a better food system for everyone, with housing providers, food charities, businesses schools, social enterprises community gardens and the council coming together to build more robust solutions to food poverty than exclusively having to rely upon altruism.

The famous phrase is ‘all politics is local’, but often all solutions begin locally too. As the campaign in the local elections comes to a close this week, we may hear more about potholes and rubbish collection – important though they are – on the door step – but it is also worth remembering that each vote is critical in ensuring Labour local authorities can confront the most fundamental problems, too.