Distrust, disconnection, disillusionment… not where any of us wants to be.
But in a fractured Britain, hope is growing (and essential) for a different kind of politics — one which shares power with communities already working hard for people in their own patch, one that backs this local leadership and believes strong communities build foundations not barriers.
In a new report by Demos and UCL Policy Lab with Lloyds Bank Foundation, Marc Stears and Polly Curtis argue that meaningful renewal will come from people outside of politics, will be rooted in ordinary lives and in many cases is already underway — often without “permission” or funding — restoring the trust and connection we have lost.
‘Nation of Neighbours: Rebuilding Britain from the ground up’ has been co-created with a small number of organisations who were asked to form a guiding coalition for the Nation of Neighbours programme. We’re proud to be one them.
And so the new report pays a visit to Coventry and our senior community organiser Siân Lewis, who reflects on where we put our hope when the system has failed us.
Siân shares how eight years of community organising and building our Connecting for Good movement “from the ground up” gives real perspective on what it will take to rebuild Britain.
Siân writes
“In Coventry, a city whose political landscape has just been redrawn, we believe the picture can look different. Grapevine has had a dedicated team of community organisers on the ground here for years. They work alongside residents to uncover the root causes of local challenges, supporting them as they step into leadership and organise to build a city that reflects their own decisions and vision.
“Our next ambition is a core team of community leaders and changemakers working to put place-powered decision-making on the radar in this city and beyond and to build the structures to keep it there.”
Coventry locals Kaz and Tim step forward to share their story of making their dream of a shared, community woodland become a reality. Their story is by no means complete but the support of Connecting for Good helps ensure they remain hopeful, not hopeless.
Roots in Nature: Strength in shared spaces
We meet Kaz and Tim at Grapevine, a pioneering community organising charity in the heart of Coventry, along with Sian Lewis and Laura Fisher. Together, they have been working over the past years to campaign for something Coventry doesn’t yet have: a community woodland.
“There’s nowhere in Coventry where you can be outside with a group of people that isn’t a park, a public woodland, or an allotment. And what that means is you’ve always got dog walkers, or motorbikes, or the public wandering through your session. We want a safe, enclosed space where groups can just do whatever they need to do. In nature,” says Tim.
Beyond strategy, both speak about Grapevine in more personal terms: as a compass, an anchor, a source of support when the work felt impossible.
“Before we’ve thrown in the towel and we have collectively thrown in the towel, we’ve always checked in with Grapevine. And they just say: take a break. Have a breather. It’s that person-centred approach. Recognising that doing this work, completely unpaid and voluntary, is hard.”
The report, launched in May, offers writing and research on:
- The shift towards a politics rooted in everyday life and place, away from technocratic approaches
- Why more power and trust must be placed in the hands of our communities
- Policies and processes for sharing power with communities can open up a whole new way of solving our nation’s problems.
Read it now — including Siân, Kaz and Tim’s Coventry stories in full — by clicking this link to launch the report in a new window.
About the Nation of Neighbours programme
Nation of Neighbours is a programme led by UCL Policy Lab and Demos, in partnership with Lloyds Bank Foundation. Co-created with grassroot community organisations, it aims to set out a fresh narrative for national renewal, showing how trusted community groups, rooted in people’s lives, hold the key to reconnecting citizens and rebuilding Britain from the ground up.
Behind the programme is a coalition of partners who support rebuilding the country one step at a time. They include Grapevine’s CEO Clare Wightman.