We mapped local election turnout against the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and found that turnout is lowest in our most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. As a Locality member, based in a ward where only 790 people voted last time around, told us:
"There just isn’t a belief things will change."
However, in “Power Partners”, we show how community organisations are providing a story of hope, bucking the trend of political disengagement. They are reaching thousands through workshops, services and events; running community assemblies; creating neighbourhood plans; developing democratic governance models.
As another of our members working in a particularly low turnout ward put it:
“We believe that through showing our voices do matter, people can come to understand they do have power.”
As we head into a general election, we believe this provides a powerful lesson for politicians. We need to get behind these local engagement efforts, so we can begin to turn the tide of low expectations and low participation.
We can do this by introducing a Community Power Act. This groundbreaking piece of legislation is the key demand of the We’re Right Here campaign and the Locality manifesto. It would put real power in local people’s hands. In particular, the Act would establish Community Covenants, power sharing agreements between local authorities and local communities. These would support the community-led initiatives that are already in the process of deepening our local democracy, providing the fair policy wind they need to maximise their impact.
