📣 This year at #LabourConference, we're joined by 7 community business leaders from across Liverpool & the country putting voices of communities at the centre of political debate. 👋 Meet them here: buff.ly/TIJ0uzj 🥧 Join us all at our drinks reception: buff.ly/0oYQG6i

@lucysym.bsky.social is at @libdems.org.uk conference, reporting talk of the English Devo & Community Empowerment Bill, which we’ve been calling to be strengthened so it lives up to its name. We know local decline matters when people head to the polls. Read more in 'Shuttered Front': buff.ly/8JgsEbu

We’re heading to Labour, Lib Dem & Conservative party conferences this autumn — and we’re bringing community business into the room. 🎤 Want a community business leader to speak at your event? Let us know. ☕ Fancy a coffee with our team? Email @lucysym.bsky.social [email protected]

🗣️On Tues @nickplumb.bsky.social gave evidence to Business & Trade Committee on the future of the high street. Asked by @liambyrnemp.bsky.social if it’s in terminal decline, he said no, but the retail-only model is over. We need vibrant, mixed-use spaces with community at the heart, like Sparks.

🚨 Today, our Chief Executive, Tim Davies-Pugh, is speaking at the National #TrustLeaders CEO Conference 2025, hosted by Forum Strategy. He’s sharing insights on how academy trust leaders can build trust, share power & lead with purpose — rooted in community: buff.ly/wUO9X0X

Fringe Event: 10 days out from Labour conference and you need to line up a good place to grab a pie: powertochange.typeform.com/to/DAkE176K 🫧 Burst the conference bubble and join @chriscurtis94.bsky.social, @marieosborne.bsky.social to talk about growth that reaches into our everyday life

We know community business works to create thriving places. This month's story visits Grimsby, a town associated with decline, but where there's a coordinated effort to start & grow community businesses, helping to restore pride in the community: buff.ly/094MG2j

Today @nickplumb.bsky.social gave evidence at the Public Bill Committee for the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill. Here's how we want to see the Bill improved: 🎥 The Community Right to Buy must be backed by robust funding—both revenue & capital.

🏆 Know a brilliant community business in the West Midlands? Nominate them—or yourself—for the Community Business of the Year award as part of the Social Economy Drive:

In 2024, the UK lost nearly 13,500 shops & hospitality venues – an average of 37 per day. 🗣️ @nickplumb.bsky.social spoke to @bigissue.com on the battle for independent business in our places and spaces: "homogenisation kills local character"... buff.ly/CVICsMg

Did you join our recent online briefing on high street regeneration and community ownership? Take a deep dive into the latest developments and upcoming shifts in policy - and what this means for community-led action on the high street. 👉 Watch here: buff.ly/Tnkn9uD 👉 Learn more: buff.ly/00zOFS9

💡West Midlands Combined Authority & @mayorwestmids.bsky.social have a bold vision to double the size of the social economy. 💡The week-long Social Economy Drive in November celebrates the power and potential of the social economy. We’re proud to be working in partnership to support this movement.

What could be achieved if only communities were trusted? From transforming derelict buildings into youth hubs, to grassroots green spaces blooming in the heart of urban estates — take a look at stories of community-led projects that could have transformed Britain 👉 arcg.is/0K9SvG1 @right-here.org

If anyone is interested sitting back, relaxing, and looking back over the last four years of politics and community - as a break from today's drama - here are said reflections. medium.com/@joshwesterl...

Wishing our fantastic Policy Manager @joshwesterling.bsky.social all the best in pastures new (we won't spoil the surprise!). Have a read of some of Josh's great work at Power to Change here: Reports & thinking: buff.ly/tTN75do Community power: buff.ly/wm2PFEW @right-here.org: buff.ly/2SM28H6

Have you caught up on our latest newsletter? Read the latest stories and essays from community businesses and thought leaders as part of our 10-year anniversary campaign, and discover how we're testing methods of neighbourhood governance 👇 buff.ly/GVIT4WA

When people feel proud of where they live, trust grows. Community empowerment can be an antidote to riots, populism & the void between people and politics. We spoke to @morganj0nes.bsky.social about the English Devo & Community Empowerment Bill. Read in @newstatesman.com 👇 buff.ly/57OgOvM

'A demonstration that our lived experience of exclusion from money makes us experts in the change needed for a fairer, more prosperous economy' @powertochange.org.uk on what happens when people shut out of an economy are trusted to build one for themselves.

🐝@🌹'25 Fringe Announced – Holding on to HOPE: How to Build Community Britain Partnered with @hopenothate.org.uk, @powertochange.org.uk and joined by @roswynnejones.bsky.social and Alex Norris MP, we'll be discussing how co-operation and community ownership can be crucial tools in fighting division.

Excited to be joining Labour conference with a delegation of seven community business leaders this year. If you’re after a panelist who’s really been there + done it, or just fancy a chat with someone working on the ground in their community, drop me a message full fringe events schedule 👇

We’re heading to Labour, Lib Dem & Conservative party conferences this autumn — and we’re bringing community business into the room. 🎤 Want a community business leader to speak at your event? Let us know. ☕ Fancy a coffee with our team? Email @lucysym.bsky.social [email protected]

I've been watching the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill 2nd reading debate. My main takeaway is that currently there is not enough substance in the Bill on community empowerment - particularly in the context of local government reorganisation - for the rhetoric to hold up.

🧱 “A museum shouldn’t be the final resting place for community dreams.” Hannah Sloggett from Nudge Community Builders in Plymouth speaks to the MJ about what’s at stake if we don’t seize the moment offered by the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill. Read article: buff.ly/p25pt3x

Last week, Power to Change, policy experts and practitioners, explored recent and future policy shifts impacting high street regeneration and community ownership. Want to learn more about what this means for you? 👉 Watch the online briefing here: buff.ly/Tnkn9uD

We're at the Museum of Broken Dreams in Westminster with @right-here.org, seeing what could be achieved if only communities were trusted. Take a look at the stories of community-led projects that could have transformed Britain 👉 arcg.is/0K9SvG1 @lucysym.bsky.social

The Museum of Broken Dreams opens today in Parliament. An exhibition of community-led projects that could have transformed Britain. The Museum reveals the depth of wasted potential in our country & makes the case for more #CommunityPower. View the exhibition: arcg.is/0K9SvG1

🏘️ Join Make CIC & Future Yard CIC for a day of conversation on housing & high streets. This event brings together doers, experts, policymakers & community voices to shape the conversation. 📆 26 Sept, Birkenhead

From leading Power to Change to advising Number 10, Vidhya Alakeson knows more than most that it’s time politics caught up—not with programmes, but with people. Vidhya reflects how we can transform places by backing locally rooted solutions to social change. 👇👇

🎉 We’re celebrating a decade of backing community business by bringing you a programme stories, essays, and events setting out a community-powered future. 📚 Explore: buff.ly/yyNjVQS #PowerToChange10

Curious about how this works in practice? Hear directly from community and council members in Market Drayton about what it's like to share power and decision-making: www.right-here.org/community-co... @right-here.org

🌱 Have you heard of community covenants? These neighbourhood-level power-sharing agreements bring communities together with local authorities as equal partners to allocate resources & make decisions about their local area. Read more about our covenant in Market Drayton: buff.ly/0zbNz1t

We’re heading to Labour, Lib Dem & Conservative party conferences this autumn — and we’re bringing community business into the room. 🎤 Want a community business leader to speak at your event? Let us know. ☕ Fancy a coffee with our team? Email @lucysym.bsky.social [email protected]

Help show MPs what could be achieved if local people had more power to shape their futures. 💔 The Museum of Broken Dreams opens in September in Parliament, sharing stories of community-led projects blocked by red tape & bureaucracy. Invite your MP with this email: buff.ly/9JwULb9 @right-here.org

💔 The Museum of Broken Dreams opens in Parliament this September, sharing stories of community-led projects blocked by red tape and bureaucracy. 🎟️ Invite your MP to experience the lost potential in our communities. Use the email template: buff.ly/9JwULb9 @right-here.org

The Power to Change team has included Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Kindred as a case study in its report, Lessons in Local Growth. Read all about it and the lessons we've learned on our growth journey on Power to Change’s blog here: www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...

What kind of community do you want to live in? How can we create a future where communities are in the lead? Read our rationale for having spaces to meet in our communities. 👇 buff.ly/v3vJwqQ

@coopcouncils.bsky.social's case study pack showcases local gov working with communities to take on challenges. From Lewes’ cultural economy, to tackling gender-based violence in Manchester, to Greenwich’s Co-operative Commission, discover councils getting creative & community-led

📝 ‪@jesscraig.bsky.social from @powertochange.org.uk shares how government and combined authorities can unlock inclusive growth by backing the social economy. A must-read for policy makers and changemakers. 👇 ow.ly/v1bf50WAAtL

"Kindred isn’t radical. It costs far more to exclude people than to include them; far more to drip-feed poverty than to fund potential." Properly inspiring piece from Erika Rushton of @kindredlcr.bsky.social for @powertochange.org.uk 10 year collection. www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...

NEWSLETTER 🗞️ | We're testing how to put local people in the driving seat, where they can make decisions on equal footing with authorities. Read about it, plus the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities in the community business world 👇 buff.ly/GVIT4WA

What happens when people excluded from the economy are trusted to redesign it? In Liverpool City Region, they built one that works for them. The next essay in our 10th anniversary collection visits Kindred: a community-designed system where money flows differently & wealth is shared.#PowerToChange10

“How do we enable each community to lead & deliver the change it needs?“ This is the new question that Vidhya Alakeson, Deputy Chief of Staff to the PM, calls on the government to ask. Social change comes from backing local leaders. @powertochange.org.uk www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...

This month's story sees how October Books, an independent, radical neighbourhood bookshop & cooperative community hub in Southampton, has been a hub of ideas, connection & resilience for decades. Read how they've become a high street fixture: www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and... #PowertoChange10

💼 The government’s Small Business Strategy is out—but truly does it back all small businesses? @jesscraig.bsky.social breaks it down in our latest blog 👇 www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...

'Too often, government is looking for one answer to a problem that it can scale; the perfect pilot that can make a difference everywhere. It still sees change as an industrial process.' Electric blog from Vidhya Alakeson, Deputy Chief of Staff to the PM www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...

POLICY BRIEFING 📅 | Are you a community business working on renewing your high street and taking on community assets? Join Power to Change and policy experts on 27 August for an online session on recent and future policy shifts, and what this means for you. 👉 Sign up: buff.ly/Zfytsj8

@nickplumb.bsky.social @jesscraig.bsky.social have been in #Newcastle visiting community businesses providing creative spaces & somewhere to meet & mix. All this helps build more trusting, vibrant & cohesive places. Chilli Studios 👉 buff.ly/N7Ansm3 @starandshadow.bsky.social 👉 buff.ly/nQN5MBw

🏙️ Is your community working to renew your high street and take on assets for local benefit? 📝 What policies might be available to help you? Find out at @powertochange.org.uk's online session on August 27th: www.powertochange.org.uk/event/policy...

Our brand-new quarterly Pulse Survey keeps our finger on the pulse – what are community businesses’ prospects, priorities & views on govt right now & over time? We've just sent the second round out today. Do respond if you see it in your inbox, or catch up on what we learnt here 👇 🧵

One of the reasons we @powertochange.org.uk have argued you can't separate out growth, empowerment and cohesion agendas. We need a coordinated approach in places where connection and trust is weakest.