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Jess Craig

@jesscraig.bsky.social

Policy at Power to Change. Talking about communities, social connection, high streets, politics and policy.

144 Posts1129 Follower477 Folgt
Jess Craig@jesscraig.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Andy Burnham clearly understands the role pubs, shops and social clubs have in our shared life – he’s based his campaign out of one. But while high business rates are part of the declining picture of Britain’s high streets, they're by no means the full picture. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Burnham pledges to review NICs increase and cut business rates for pubs

Labour candidate in Makerfield byelection says party has ‘got it wrong on small businesses’

theguardian.com

Power to Change@powertochange.org.uk · 3mo ago

🧵 1/4 High streets are more than shops. They’re civic spaces for culture, learning and connection. 🚨 Today, we publish ‘The high street playbook’, sharing lessons from our Community-Led High Street Innovators programme, and why they matter now. Quick read: buff.ly/FEQKij1 #HighStreets

The new high street playbook: Community-led innovation in action - Power to Change

The 'new high street playbook' shares lessons from our Community-Led High Street Innovators programme, and why they matter now. Connecting real wo ...

powertochange.org.uk

Power to Change@powertochange.org.uk · 4mo ago

ICYMI: Govt announced £300m+ to fund High Street Innovation Partnerships & last week @jesscraig.bsky.social dug into learning from our Community Led High Street Innovators project - showing how communities can deliver long-term, meaningful regeneration of the high street👇 https://bit.ly/4s1a7Vb

Putting communities at the centre of new High Street Innovation Partnerships - Power to Change

The government has announced over £300m to fund High Street Innovation Partnerships. Learning from our Community Led High Street Innovators projects demonst ...

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Jess Craig@jesscraig.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I've written something about nostalgia and the high street, and how heritage-led regeneration can bridge the gap between where places have been and where we're going. Bonus photo of me and colleagues in awe at those beams. www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...

Old buildings and new realities - Power to Change

A longing for ‘how things used to be’ threatens progress to reimagining the high street. But creative heritage-led regeneration ushers in a brighter future. ...

powertochange.org.uk

Jess Craig@jesscraig.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Lovely day in Dewsbury yesterday with @powertochange.org.uk and our community-led high street innovator cohort visiting Dewsbury Arcade. This summer it reopens to the public for the first time in a decade, now council owned and community run . Look at those beams!

The exterior of Dewsbury’s grade II listed arcade. Still undergoing extensive redevelopment.
Jess Craig@jesscraig.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The Business and Trade committee published its report on the Small Business Strategy yesterday. V pleased to see it highlight the role of community business in high street regeneration and adopt @powertochange.org.uk recommendation for funding to support the introduction of Community Right to Buy

Screenshot from Business and Trade Committee report on the Small Business Strategy. Conclusion: Community owned businesses have significant potential to support the renewal of high streets and safeguard valued local assets. The introduction of a community right to buy represents an important step towards empowering local groups to take ownership of assets at risk. However, the effectiveness of this new right will depend on whether communities have the practical means to act when opportunities arise. Recommendation: The Government should consider reintroducing the Community Ownership Fund, or other mixed finance methods for financing the community ownership of properties on the high street.
Jess Craig@jesscraig.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Also absolutely *right* that Epstein's victims were acknowledged when all the political intrigue over Mandelson/the threat to the PM's position seems to have slightly lost sight of them. I can't say it better than this: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Never forget Epstein’s little helpers – the powerful men who knew about his crimes, and helped him out anyway | Marina Hyde

I’m sorry, but this is not just a political scandal. Time to refocus on the horrific mistreatment of women and girls, and the role of these ghouls, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

theguardian.com

Jess Craig@jesscraig.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Very likely the PM's speech today will be remembered more for his apology on Mandelson but good nonetheless to hear Pride in Place is being extended to 40 more places.

Sacha Hilhorst@sachahilhorst.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Have seen this take a lot and really disagree. Gov’t could invest in anchor institutions for towns; build FE colleges in town centres; set up childcare co-ops; retrofit iconic buildings and make them into community gyms, etc. We are more than individual consumers - that’s the point of politics!

Tim Bale@timbale.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Sorry to sound so grumpy but this has the same vibe as people moaning about the state of public services at the same time as not wanting to pay more in tax. What's any government (right or left) supposed to do when people don't go shopping or to pubs as much as they used to - and never will again?

Jess Craig@jesscraig.bsky.social · 6mo ago

There's lots of commentary going around on the state of the high street and what Labour can do to fix it. With the welcome news that the government plans to publish a high streets strategy later in the year, I've written a deeper dive on what that strategy should be about. 🧵https://bit.ly/4q8NH3E

Image of October Books in Southampton, overlaid with a label reading 'long read'. Text at the top reads: The government needs a new high streets strategy. Here's what it should do.
Power to Change@powertochange.org.uk · 6mo ago

🏬 Important coverage today on the state of Britain’s high streets. @drjennings.bsky.social's research finds people who feel their local area has declined are more pessimistic about the future + Reform supporters are most likely to report decline: buff.ly/UcFpKkQ @michaelgoodier.bsky.social

Labour risks election wipeout unless it improves Britain’s high streets, study finds

Decay of town centres a top issue among voters especially Reform UK supporters and is fuelling resentment against Westminster

theguardian.com

Power to Change@powertochange.org.uk · 8mo ago

@jesscraig.bsky.social explores for @labourlist.bsky.social how Community Investment Zones could transform the future of our high streets—bring life back to local economies, support small businesses & create vibrant, community-led spaces: bit.ly/48EGocX

'Britain’s high streets need Community Investment Zones' - LabourList

Community Investment Zones would give communities the tools to realise the next era of our high streets and town centres.

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Power to Change@powertochange.org.uk · 9mo ago

1/4 Today we've published our new essay collection. 'From the ground up: Community business & Britain’s next decade' marks a decade of progress for community business and Power to Change and presents bold ideas for a brighter, more connected future: buff.ly/XiNc26W

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Nick Garland@npjgarland.bsky.social · 10mo ago

I tried to cover a lot of ground here. A few points developing the argument, regarding current government's "Pride in Place" etc: basically I like this stuff, but worry a bit about lack of realism about what they might achieve in isolation.

Power to Change@powertochange.org.uk · 10mo ago

📖 @npjgarland.bsky.social pens our next 10-year anniversary essay, exploring the history of past regeneration efforts to help guide today’s public policy, and offering three lessons as the government pursues its new Pride of Place agenda. Read: http://bit.ly/4qoNpXz #PowerToChange10

Two people work on installing solar panels on a rooftop with text overlay discussing a historical perspective on community and public policy, featuring Nick Garland from IPPR.
Jess Craig@jesscraig.bsky.social · 9mo ago

On Tuesday we launch 'From the ground up: Community business and Britain's next decade' - an essay collection to celebrate 10 yrs of @powertochange.org.uk and look ahead into the future of our communities. Delighted we'll be joined by this excellent panel of guests to share their 2035 vision 👇

Power to Change@powertochange.org.uk · 9mo ago

⏰ Join our essay collection launch in Westminster to hear leading voices on a decade of community business & what’s next. Chair: @anooshc.bsky.social Panel: @jamestplunkett.bsky.social, @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social, @hetanshah.bsky.social, @patrickhurley.bsky.social & Emily Bolton.✍️👉 buff.ly/pcSxdmp

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Rachel Coldicutt@rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Wrote something for @powertochange.org.uk about the fact that government policy must include a new category - digital social policy - to address the social impacts of technologies. Tech policy has to be more than cutting-edge innovation and growth www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...

The digital disconnect: taking digital social policy seriously - Power to Change

In our next essay, Rachel Coldicutt explores the urgent need for a community-centred approach to technology policy in the UK. From WhatsApp-powered communit ...

powertochange.org.uk

Nick Plumb@nickplumb.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Tech as social infrastructure. Delighted to have @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social writing for us. She challenges the orthodoxy that social media platforms are bad for community power. (Though I'm sure @dmk1793.bsky.social would point out that there are fewer algorithms involved in these examples.)

Modern community empowerment and social infrastructure building starts in Facebook groups, Signal and WhatsApp groups, Discord and Slack communities that fill the gap left by community centres, coffee mornings, and jumble sales. As documented in comedian Jayde Adams’ hilarious podcast, Welcome to the Neighbourhood, these groups include all kinds of life and opinions, from the extremely heartwarming to the extraordinarily petty and irritating, and have taken the place of all kinds of physical infrastructure, from noticeboards to street corners. Behind every local football team or running group or community garden there’s a WhatsApp conversation where real-world plans are made. In my South London neighbourhood, local forums are the places that get people along to community markets, fill empty shops, and unite people with nothing in common save their adoration of an adventurous local cat. They power an economy of favours, freecycling and recommendations – while also being home to plenty of moaning and challenging conversations about everything from ULEZ to flags. These forums are far from perfect – and there is another essay to be written about the economic and social impacts of Meta’s de facto monopoly on informal public communication channels – but they are places where people gather that are totally neglected in social policy. Local communities that band together to buy their local pub do so not only through meeting in person but via WhatsApp chats and crowdfunding websites. Empowering more communities does not need to be restricted to brick and mortar assets, it can start with active advocacy in these digital communities, and in creating opportunities that are accessible and realisable to people who want to do more than just chat on their phones but just don’t know how.