The Co-op Party has produced a new polling report on the state of Britain – which finds that people fear the country is in decline, but still have pride in their communities.
Joe Fortune (pictured), general secretary of the Party, says the poll findings – produced in partnership with Hope Not Hate – send a message to politicians “to meet them where they are by delivering real power to communities, and giving people the tools and trust to shape their own futures”.
The report explores how people across Britain feel about their country and their communities – and the results, adds Fortune, “are striking”.
“When people look at the national picture, the mood is bleak,” he says. “The most common word people now associate with Britain is “declining”, and 70% of people say they feel ignored by politicians. But at the local level, it’s a different story. People still believe in their communities – and in each other.”
The survey finds that:
- A clear majority of people are proud of where they live
- 60% say their neighbourhood is peaceful and friendly
- Two-thirds say the path to rebuilding trust is better public services
- And 65% support giving more power to local government and local people
“What this tells us is simple,” said Fortune. “People haven’t given up.”
But the study does uncover fears for the state of the UK. Afer ‘declining’, the words respondents most identified with Britain are weak, directionless, soft touch, concerned, downtrodden, uncaring, pessimistic, angry and fearful.
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And voters are split when it comes to the source of the malaise. Reform voters mostly blame immigration and appeasement of minorities – and, along with Tory voters , lack of work ethic or respect for authority.
Those on the left, meanwhile, point the finger at Brexit and climate change.
The feelings of decline apply at local as well as national level, with 40% of respondents saying the number of community organisations in their area has declined. “Austerity and cuts to both local government and to the voluntary sector has had a clear impact on communities,” says the report.
There is little faith in local democracy as a route to power, the report adds, which “may also speak to a desire for alternative, more direct forms of power and local decision-making”.
Such desire of local autonomy is perhaps reflected in the survival of community spirit identified in the report – with most people proud of where they live.
“This sense of pride really matters,” the report argues, “and should be the foundation for a rebuilding of trust. People who are proud of and invested in their community are more likely to engage in local activities, make use of existing shared spaces and take responsibility for the general wellbeing of their local area.”
This calls for a mix of practical infrastructure and strong public services with “a social fabric that binds a community together”.
With the Co-op Party’s sister organisation, Labour, still looking to define its government in the eyes of the public, and floundering in the polls, the report is just one of many highlighting a constructive way forward. Recent comments by prime minister Keir Starmer on immigration, warning that Britain risks becoming “an island of strangers” prompted unease among a many Labour supporters.
The Co-op Party, in its report, warns against a simple shift to the right and calls for more devolved power.
“Communities are not passive recipients of policy,” it says, “they are active networks of people with the knowledge, motivation and lived experience to shape the future of their places. What they need is the tools, resources and decision-making power to do so.
“Despote all this, politics too often still focuses on national solutions. In the aftermath of a difficult set of local and mayoral elections for Labour, ther have been and will continue to be loud voices for a shift to the right on issues like immigration, an echoing of Reform UK’s messaging.”
While immigration is a “a salient issue,” the report warns: “Shifting to the right on immigration ignores the underlying reasons why people hold those concerns: fears about economic security and strained public services, hopes for safe and cohesive communities and fairness in the welfare system.
“Aligning with Reform on immigration would fail to recognise the fundamental finding of this report: what people crave is tangible progress in their community.”
Instead the report wants the government to tackle the lack of trust in mainstream politics with a hyper-focus on communities, sending “a clear signal to voters that Labour wants to do politics differently”.
As such, it calls for devolution to be built on with a comprehensive communities strategy, backed by investment, with more power handed down via Community Right to Buy and encouragement of community ownership of local infrastructure like libraries, parks and pubs. The development of co-ops and community businesses should also be encouraged, it adds.
