Brendan Conway ☘️
@communityguy.bsky.social
Effective altruist. Meitheal. Places. People. Pubs. Arts. Land Trusts. Q jumper. Does community. SW Ldn. YNWA.
medium.com/@brendan_323... My tuppence worth on the Wandsworth election result.
Wandsworth Elections: A Crisis of Connection, Not Competence
Why Labour’s loss in Southwest London reveals a deeper accountability breakdown that no local campaign can fix.
medium.com
Spot on analysis and local insight on the man who would be king in Wandsworth post local election. I have watched MG a fair bit over the years and he is a fair man and committed to his ward & transparency. His chairing of the oversight and scrutiny committee would set a great tone.
@putneynews.bsky.social · 5mo agoHe could have had a veto over every Wandsworth Council decision. He understood it in full. Chose not to take it. Why: https://putney.news/2026/05/09/the-man-wandsworth-cant-ignore-any-more/ #Wandsworth #UKNews #London
Just listening to the king maker Malcolm Grimston (IND) on @thisisriverside.bsky.social saying council needs more open debate and honest about finances. The numbers mean the position of casting vote of Mayority comes into play. Jeremy Ambache to play crucial role. @davehillonlondon.bsky.social
Lots of chat over lunch y'day with wise local heads on local elections. Consensus that is will be close. Labour have drank the Kier Kool aid & will be punished as such. Greens will do well as will independents. Torys are bullish. Looks like no overall control. Not a bad thing tbh.
10 years ago I painted this poem by Drew Dellinger on the side of a pub I had just acquired close to my home in Wandsworth. As a provocation this piece of public art and the pub project that followed still offers valuable learning in how to do community. What a decade.
www.transformationbydesign.co.uk/projects/con... ..Just launched this research and deploying the @doughnuteconomics.bsky.social approach to frame our work. Glad to be using the fine thinking from @kateraworth.bsky.social here in Wandsworth.
Transformation by Design | Public Realm and Developing a Community Portrait of Wandsworth Town
transformationbydesign.co.uk
The Overton Window of the Wandsworth One way system hasn’t just shifted : it’s been slammed shut by austerity, risk aversion & administrative fatigue. And the true tragedy isn’t just the loss of a scheme; it's the lack of political ambition to do the right thing. Climate emergency me arse ...
@mazzucatom.bsky.social ..The high priestess of the common good ... This is a knock out lecture ... Dive in ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Mariana Mazzucato@mazzucatom.bsky.social · last yr.It was a pleasure to deliver Christian Aid's 2025 Annual Lecture #CALecture25 on directing economic growth through a common good approach. Thanks to Christian Aid & Patrick Watt, to Stephanie Flanders for her thoughtful questions, & to Revd Richard Carter for welcoming us to St Martin-in-the-Fields.
It was a pleasure to deliver Christian Aid's 2025 Annual Lecture #CALecture25 on directing economic growth through a common good approach. Thanks to Christian Aid & Patrick Watt, to Stephanie Flanders for her thoughtful questions, & to Revd Richard Carter for welcoming us to St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Delighted to share some learning from Paradise Coop at Forever Fishponds yesterday. Superb workshop and an exciting journey lies ahead. This is community... Dig where you live ...
Forever Fishponds@ffishponds.bsky.social · last yr.The seeds of a Fishponds Community Garden were sown today. Thanks to everyone who came with bags of ideas and enthusiasm. Watch this space for updates on next steps #gardening #tooting @tootingnewsie.bsky.social
A few pics as I head towards the end of my summer back home in Ireland. Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin.
Some gig in Brockwell Park last pm with those legends from West Belfast & Derry .. #Kneecap ☘️Free Palestine !!!
18 years today eh @rowanconway.bsky.social .. and bon voyage as you head to NZ to sort that PhD out. So inspiring .. Love BC xx
Labour’s cuts is a political choice. One that deepens inequality and betrays the very people they claim to stand for. This isn’t “fiscal responsibility” — it’s austerity, plain and simple. And it hits the most vulnerable first. As one local put it: “Reeves? George Osborne with a bob.”
As l head up to the London Irish Centre this pm I wanted to share a blog I wrote around this time last year on what the LIC means for me. ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️ medium.com/@brendan_323...
The London Irish Centre — Home away from Home, Then, Now and into the future.
Where is home?
medium.com
Wee blog on Sadiq ‘s intervention in Wandsworth Councils Local Plan. medium.com/p/wandsworth...
Wandsworth’s Housing Dilemma: Balancing Ambition, Viability, and Delivery
Sadiq is watching …
medium.com
As Alex Norris MP says, what makes the Plan for Neighbourhoods different is that "communities can now spend funding on things that matter to them", from tacking food poverty with community grocers to revitalising high streets with new co-operative businesses. This is Community Britain in action.
Fond members of hosting @thersaorg.bsky.social at Paradise Coop a few years ago .. Different world !!
Beyond Budgets: Power, Participation & Real Impact in Wandsworth. Let’s do this — together. medium.com/@brendan_323...
Beyond Budgets: Power, Participation & Real Impact in Wandsworth. Let’s do this — together.
Reimagining Wandsworth: A Community-Driven Future
medium.com
Launch of the London Borough of Culture at Battersea Arts Centre this morning celebrating all the wonder & culture in our community. What an exciting year lies ahead. Well done @kemiakinola.bsky.social & the brilliant Culture team at Wandsworth Council. This is community.
www.jtpbfund.scot Got to love this approach eh @georginacreighton.bsky.social .. Be great to see this deployed here in WW as a prototype with the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund ?
Just Transition Participatory Budgeting Fund
jtpbfund.scot
Dig where you live …
Platform Places@platformplaces.bsky.social · 2y agoCommunity priorities + council objectives + asset owner partnerships = a powerful mission. Read Brendan Conway's reflections on unlocking buildings for community business and local innovation, with Wandsworth Town's #LocalPropertyPartnership. @communityguy.bsky.social
Great to see Wandsworth as part of this 👇👇
Platform Places@platformplaces.bsky.social · 2y agoSome great reasons for optimism in @powertochange.org.uk new report: www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and... Community businesses are stable and resilient, on the whole. They support community cohesion, wellbeing, local growth and vibrancy ✨ And yet... 🧵👇
WBC saying ‘The lowest council tax in UK delivering deliver a fairer, compassionate, and more sustainable Wandsworth’ is a ruse imho. CT is a regressive tax at best & disproportionately affects poorer households. This from IFS is worth a read on exactly that 👇👇 ifs.org.uk/sites/defaul...
ifs.org.uk
Wee blog l wrote on the launch of our local community land trust earlier this year. medium.com/@brendan_323...
In Community we Trust …
A Community and Mission led Approach to Renewal
medium.com
Had a fascinating chat with an elderly gent who lived in these prefabs post the war to solve the overwhelming housing crisis then. They were in situ for 20 years ! He regaled stories of how safe they are & the strong bonds of community. A solution to our current housing crisis perhaps !
Gotta applaud this approach to working with your community on allocation of Community Investment Levy. Well done @rachelbentleyld.bsky.social .. looking on enviously from Wandsworth !
Listening to the main man @johncreedon.bsky.social and these lovely songs of London from the great city itself. Choice tracks always from JC.
