Labour Party Conference: Mass Localism

Date: 28.09.2010 13:00 - 14:00

Location: Manchester Art Gallery, Lecture Room, Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3JL

A star panel of social innovators met to explore how policy can help entrepreneurs test innovative approaches to public service delivery.

Mass Localism: From the margins to the mainstream

Societal changes mean our public services face ever more complex and constantly evolving challenges. Combine this with a shrinking public purse and the future calls for a radically different approach.

Find out what our panellists thought as they debated how people-powered public services can deliver radical and cost-effective solutions.

Watch the video

Click on the thumbnails below to choose a speaker.

Mass Localism in practice

The panellists started by debating the substance of the rhetoric around localism and were pushed on what this agenda really means in practice.

Steve Reed

Steve Reed made a strong argument for the power of reapportioning government resources to a very local level where they can have far greater impact and effectiveness.

He also called for a "need to find ways to rebalance the relationship between the citizen and the state", making the point that social and community challenges are dynamic.

It's those people who live in the communities, he said, who are far better placed to come up with the solutions to the challenges they face.

Emer Coleman

Emer Coleman pointed out the vital need for a paradigm shift in how we all regard public services.

She argued that "at present we have a broadcast model, whereas what we need is an engagement model".

She continued by pushing for a new space where a genuine dialogue can start between those who deliver services and those that are in receipt of them.

"There is no innovation without the risk of failure", and she called for the confidence to face temporary setbacks if we are to seek out long-term success.

Cliff Prior

Cliff Prior highlighted the fact that in these straitened economic times the only resources we have are people and their ingenuity to come up with radical and effective new ideas.

He passionately made the case for the need to shift from representative to participative democracy and ended with an appeal to recognise "the energy for good that society has".

Speakers

• Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive, NESTA
• Emer Coleman, Assistant Chief Executive, Barnet Council
• Cliff Prior, Chief Excecutive, UnLtd
• Stephen Reed, Leader, Lambeth Council