Labour must act locally to beat Tory populism | Letters
George Monbiot (The answer to demagoguery: it’s called political rewilding, Journal, 18 December) is spot-on, although he may be undervaluing the role of locally elected politicians. They can, in my experience, be crucial in orchestrating new possibilities.
In my recent book Leading the Inclusive City, the evidence I present is entirely in line with Monbiot’s analysis. The key challenge facing modern societies is between place-less power and place-based power.
Place-less leaders, many of them powerful figures working for multinational companies, make decisions without considering the consequences for communities in particular localities. In contrast, place-based leaders are in touch with local feelings of identity and solidarity, and care about the quality of life of people in their locality. Many of them strive to achieve social, economic and environmental justice. Civic leaders in a large number of cities and localities across the planet already have this understanding and are implementing progressive place-based policies with great success.
The UK is off the pace, mainly because central government policies have, since 2010, suppressed local power to a remarkable degree. Luckily there is massive political space to advance a counter-argument, as Monbiot suggests.
Robin Hambleton
Professor emeritus of city leadership, University of the West of England
John Harris is right (If Labour is to revive, it must tap into change on the ground, Journal, 16 December). Labour has to return to its roots and rebuild trust with the people whose votes it seeks. For now, there is little it can do in parliament; there will be no effective opposition while its big beasts fight each other to a standstill. But on the ground, the new army of activists can make a difference. Here are a few suggestions: provide advocacy for people claiming benefits and fighting appeals; assist EU residents with applying for their right to stay in the UK; help volunteers and charities to bid successfully for grants that will enable them to continue their work. Time is short: Labour must show it has something to offer at street level if it is to avoid further humiliation at May’s local elections.
James Lindesay
Leicester
Perhaps one way of reinventing the Labour movement would be to emulate the cooperation between the mayors of Budapest, Bratislava, Prague and Warsaw in establishing a pact to stand against rightwing central governments (Report, 17 December). A solid red wall of Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Bradford acting in concert could certainly point the way to a fresh leftwing, progressive approach to politics springing from the grassroots of regional, municipal civic pride, which would offer a viable alternative to the tired old top-down approach.
Neil Wigglesworth
Forton, Lancashire
Simon Jenkins was spot-on when he wrote that “local government ... remains Cinderella in the scullery” (This was the Queen’s speech – as written by Cummings, Journal, 20 December), and it’s a scullery desperately short of supplies. Successive Tory governments have put ever greater responsibilities on councils while their democratic control over the services they provide has been progressively decreased and their funding has been cut repeatedly. Local democracy has been sidelined. It is time for local authorities and their constituents to band together to make their voices heard, noisily, for the sake of that democracy and of the wellbeing of our nation.
Diana Francis
Bath
Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters
Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition