Jess Craig
@jesscraig.bsky.social
Policy at Power to Change. Talking about communities, social connection, high streets, politics and policy.
Reposted by Jess Craig
Last night we launched our essay collection at @britishacademy.bsky.social with a bumper panel reflecting ideas from @jamestplunkett.bsky.social describing rewilding as a metaphor for civic renewal to @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social imagining how future data centres could be owned by communities.
November 19, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Last night we launched our essay collection at @britishacademy.bsky.social with a bumper panel reflecting ideas from @jamestplunkett.bsky.social describing rewilding as a metaphor for civic renewal to @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social imagining how future data centres could be owned by communities.
Reposted by Jess Craig
1/4 Today we've published our new essay collection. 'From the ground up: Community business & Britain’s next decade' marks a decade of progress for community business and Power to Change and presents bold ideas for a brighter, more connected future: buff.ly/XiNc26W
November 18, 2025 at 5:21 PM
1/4 Today we've published our new essay collection. 'From the ground up: Community business & Britain’s next decade' marks a decade of progress for community business and Power to Change and presents bold ideas for a brighter, more connected future: buff.ly/XiNc26W
The Cloudflare outage currently prevents me from sharing the wonderful new @powertochange.org.uk essay collection we're launching today. BUT if you'd like to get your hands on an old fashioned paper copy come along to our launch event tonight
Info/sign up: powertochange.typeform.com/to/L2W7DYk9?...
Info/sign up: powertochange.typeform.com/to/L2W7DYk9?...
Power to Change essay collection launch event
Please RSVP to our essay collection launch event.
powertochange.typeform.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:42 PM
The Cloudflare outage currently prevents me from sharing the wonderful new @powertochange.org.uk essay collection we're launching today. BUT if you'd like to get your hands on an old fashioned paper copy come along to our launch event tonight
Info/sign up: powertochange.typeform.com/to/L2W7DYk9?...
Info/sign up: powertochange.typeform.com/to/L2W7DYk9?...
Reposted by Jess Craig
I tried to cover a lot of ground here. A few points developing the argument, regarding current government's "Pride in Place" etc: basically I like this stuff, but worry a bit about lack of realism about what they might achieve in isolation.
📖 @npjgarland.bsky.social pens our next 10-year anniversary essay, exploring the history of past regeneration efforts to help guide today’s public policy, and offering three lessons as the government pursues its new Pride of Place agenda.
Read: http://bit.ly/4qoNpXz #PowerToChange10
Read: http://bit.ly/4qoNpXz #PowerToChange10
October 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
I tried to cover a lot of ground here. A few points developing the argument, regarding current government's "Pride in Place" etc: basically I like this stuff, but worry a bit about lack of realism about what they might achieve in isolation.
On Tuesday we launch 'From the ground up: Community business and Britain's next decade' - an essay collection to celebrate 10 yrs of @powertochange.org.uk and look ahead into the future of our communities. Delighted we'll be joined by this excellent panel of guests to share their 2035 vision 👇
⏰ Join our essay collection launch in Westminster to hear leading voices on a decade of community business & what’s next. Chair: @anooshc.bsky.social Panel: @jamestplunkett.bsky.social, @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social, @hetanshah.bsky.social, @patrickhurley.bsky.social & Emily Bolton.✍️👉 buff.ly/pcSxdmp
November 12, 2025 at 1:38 PM
On Tuesday we launch 'From the ground up: Community business and Britain's next decade' - an essay collection to celebrate 10 yrs of @powertochange.org.uk and look ahead into the future of our communities. Delighted we'll be joined by this excellent panel of guests to share their 2035 vision 👇
Reposted by Jess Craig
Wrote something for @powertochange.org.uk about the fact that government policy must include a new category - digital social policy - to address the social impacts of technologies. Tech policy has to be more than cutting-edge innovation and growth www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...
October 2, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Wrote something for @powertochange.org.uk about the fact that government policy must include a new category - digital social policy - to address the social impacts of technologies. Tech policy has to be more than cutting-edge innovation and growth www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...
Reposted by Jess Craig
💭 We're reflecting on a busy #LabourConference 2025, where the power of community, and the importance of growth that everyone can see and feel, were central themes.
Here are our 5 key highlights: #Lab25
Here are our 5 key highlights: #Lab25
October 3, 2025 at 5:02 PM
💭 We're reflecting on a busy #LabourConference 2025, where the power of community, and the importance of growth that everyone can see and feel, were central themes.
Here are our 5 key highlights: #Lab25
Here are our 5 key highlights: #Lab25
@powertochange.org.uk last event of Labour conference getting underway! Our community business reception is all about how communities create growth you can see, feel and that everyone benefits from.
September 29, 2025 at 4:48 PM
@powertochange.org.uk last event of Labour conference getting underway! Our community business reception is all about how communities create growth you can see, feel and that everyone benefits from.
@nickplumb.bsky.social (in jazzy headphones) kicks off a Reclaiming Our Regional Economies panel on resisting the rise of the far right with a striking stat that £2.9bn of assets sold by councils in last two years, leading to loss of vital shared spaces for connection.
September 29, 2025 at 1:55 PM
@nickplumb.bsky.social (in jazzy headphones) kicks off a Reclaiming Our Regional Economies panel on resisting the rise of the far right with a striking stat that £2.9bn of assets sold by councils in last two years, leading to loss of vital shared spaces for connection.
Nice to hear @georgiagould.bsky.social speaking on the need for culture change at the centre to enable communities to drive change in their local areas. She says govt can decide the outcomes it wants to see but needs to be flexible on the ‘how’ so places can deliver on the way that works for them.
September 28, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Nice to hear @georgiagould.bsky.social speaking on the need for culture change at the centre to enable communities to drive change in their local areas. She says govt can decide the outcomes it wants to see but needs to be flexible on the ‘how’ so places can deliver on the way that works for them.
Reposted by Jess Craig
@kirstymcneill.bsky.social - bangs the drum for Pride in Place announcements, arguing that they are a radical new form of statecraft.
And sets out a really clear view of how difficult working relationally is, but also how rewarding and meaningful it is.
And sets out a really clear view of how difficult working relationally is, but also how rewarding and meaningful it is.
September 28, 2025 at 12:31 PM
@kirstymcneill.bsky.social - bangs the drum for Pride in Place announcements, arguing that they are a radical new form of statecraft.
And sets out a really clear view of how difficult working relationally is, but also how rewarding and meaningful it is.
And sets out a really clear view of how difficult working relationally is, but also how rewarding and meaningful it is.
Reposted by Jess Craig
Packed room for our first conference event with @joshsimonsmp.bsky.social, @kirstymcneill.bsky.social, @morganj0nes.bsky.social, Andy Jackson @right-here.org and Frances Foley @compassoffice.bsky.social - discussing communitarianism (Beyond Blue Labour)
September 28, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Packed room for our first conference event with @joshsimonsmp.bsky.social, @kirstymcneill.bsky.social, @morganj0nes.bsky.social, Andy Jackson @right-here.org and Frances Foley @compassoffice.bsky.social - discussing communitarianism (Beyond Blue Labour)
Felt right to start Labour conference yesterday with an event with Merseyside community leaders, @coopparty.party.coop and Birkenhead MP (and new MHCLG minister) @allymcgovern.bsky.social talking about how community business drives pride in place, connection and an economy that works for all.
September 28, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Felt right to start Labour conference yesterday with an event with Merseyside community leaders, @coopparty.party.coop and Birkenhead MP (and new MHCLG minister) @allymcgovern.bsky.social talking about how community business drives pride in place, connection and an economy that works for all.
I’ve been reading through govt’s new pride in place strategy. I like this sentiment a lot, but making sure the Pride in Place programme delivers outcomes that are genuinely community led will be its real test.
September 26, 2025 at 10:12 AM
I’ve been reading through govt’s new pride in place strategy. I like this sentiment a lot, but making sure the Pride in Place programme delivers outcomes that are genuinely community led will be its real test.
Reposted by Jess Craig
1/4 | Our @powertochange.org.uk response to today's announcement.
Today’s Pride in Place announcement should be applauded. In targeting investment at the hyper-local level, the government has shown that it understands...
Today’s Pride in Place announcement should be applauded. In targeting investment at the hyper-local level, the government has shown that it understands...
Starmer gambles on ‘levelling up’-style initiative to tackle Reform threat
Deprived communities to be given tens of millions to patch up derelict shops, pubs and libraries and ‘restore pride’
www.theguardian.com
September 25, 2025 at 5:02 PM
1/4 | Our @powertochange.org.uk response to today's announcement.
Today’s Pride in Place announcement should be applauded. In targeting investment at the hyper-local level, the government has shown that it understands...
Today’s Pride in Place announcement should be applauded. In targeting investment at the hyper-local level, the government has shown that it understands...
Happy conference season to those who participate. I'm heading to Labour conference this weekend and Conservative conference next weekend - please get in touch if you'd like to get coffee (I'll be needing lots of it)
September 22, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Happy conference season to those who participate. I'm heading to Labour conference this weekend and Conservative conference next weekend - please get in touch if you'd like to get coffee (I'll be needing lots of it)
Reposted by Jess Craig
I'll be at Labour conference in a couple of weeks with @lucysym.bsky.social @jesscraig.bsky.social and Tim.
And we're doing things a bit differently. We have not one, not two, but 7 community business leaders joining us - to help burst the conference bubble.
And we're doing things a bit differently. We have not one, not two, but 7 community business leaders joining us - to help burst the conference bubble.
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]
🎤 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]
Party conferences 2025: bringing community business into the room - Power to Change
Find out how we’re backing community business at Labour, Liberal Democrat, and Conservative Party conferences in September and October 2025.
buff.ly
September 10, 2025 at 5:34 PM
I'll be at Labour conference in a couple of weeks with @lucysym.bsky.social @jesscraig.bsky.social and Tim.
And we're doing things a bit differently. We have not one, not two, but 7 community business leaders joining us - to help burst the conference bubble.
And we're doing things a bit differently. We have not one, not two, but 7 community business leaders joining us - to help burst the conference bubble.
MPs are back in Westminster today and so are @right-here.org - launching their Museum of Broken Dreams, charting some of the many ambitious community projects that have been stymied by a lack of support, investment, trust that communities can deliver what their places need.
September 1, 2025 at 4:42 PM
MPs are back in Westminster today and so are @right-here.org - launching their Museum of Broken Dreams, charting some of the many ambitious community projects that have been stymied by a lack of support, investment, trust that communities can deliver what their places need.
Reposted by Jess Craig
📝 @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
A must-read for policy makers and changemakers. 👇
ow.ly/v1bf50WAAtL
August 14, 2025 at 7:39 AM
📝 @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
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...
Properly inspiring piece from Erika Rushton of @kindredlcr.bsky.social for @powertochange.org.uk 10 year collection.
www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...
The economy has left the building
What happens when people excluded from the economy are trusted to redesign it? In Liverpool City Region, they built one that works for them. This next essay in our 10-year anniversary campaign explore...
www.powertochange.org.uk
August 12, 2025 at 12:22 PM
"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...
Properly inspiring piece from Erika Rushton of @kindredlcr.bsky.social for @powertochange.org.uk 10 year collection.
www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...
Reposted by Jess Craig
‘“How do we roll that out to every community.”
This is precisely the wrong instinct.
We must shift to a new question: how do we enable each community to lead and deliver the change it needs?’
This is precisely the wrong instinct.
We must shift to a new question: how do we enable each community to lead and deliver the change it needs?’
'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...
The leaders who make things happen: lessons in governing from community business - Power to Change
Community businesses drive change where it matters most—locally. From leading Power to Change to advising Number 10, Vidhya Alakeson knows more than most th ...
www.powertochange.org.uk
July 24, 2025 at 7:56 AM
‘“How do we roll that out to every community.”
This is precisely the wrong instinct.
We must shift to a new question: how do we enable each community to lead and deliver the change it needs?’
This is precisely the wrong instinct.
We must shift to a new question: how do we enable each community to lead and deliver the change it needs?’
A fascinating essay from the unique vantage point of Vidhya Alakeson, Deputy Chief of Staff to the PM and former CEO of @powertochange.org.uk for our 10 year anniversary essay collection.
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. In our latest essay, Vidhya reflects how we can transform places by backing locally rooted solutions to social change. 👇👇
buff.ly/3v8DVwD
buff.ly/3v8DVwD
July 23, 2025 at 5:40 PM
A fascinating essay from the unique vantage point of Vidhya Alakeson, Deputy Chief of Staff to the PM and former CEO of @powertochange.org.uk for our 10 year anniversary essay collection.
Reposted by Jess Craig
This is great, and digs into all the nuances of the relationship between community space and populism.
Yes, declining social infrastructure is linked to rising support for right-wing populism parties (as @powertochange.org.uk and others have shown).
BUT...
Yes, declining social infrastructure is linked to rising support for right-wing populism parties (as @powertochange.org.uk and others have shown).
BUT...
From pubs to populism: what the decline of community space means for democracy
Rosa Marks explores how rebuilding social & cultural infrastructure can help reverse the UK’s slide into distrust, division & populist politics?
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/social-...
@britishacademy.bsky.social
Rosa Marks explores how rebuilding social & cultural infrastructure can help reverse the UK’s slide into distrust, division & populist politics?
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/social-...
@britishacademy.bsky.social
July 23, 2025 at 2:39 PM
This is great, and digs into all the nuances of the relationship between community space and populism.
Yes, declining social infrastructure is linked to rising support for right-wing populism parties (as @powertochange.org.uk and others have shown).
BUT...
Yes, declining social infrastructure is linked to rising support for right-wing populism parties (as @powertochange.org.uk and others have shown).
BUT...
Reposted by Jess Craig
Agree, the diagnosis is broadly right.
The trick is how to achieve a combination of (a) quick material improvements (e.g. to the public realm) that people notice and associate with politics listening and making a difference. But at the same time…. 1/n
The trick is how to achieve a combination of (a) quick material improvements (e.g. to the public realm) that people notice and associate with politics listening and making a difference. But at the same time…. 1/n
Starmer and Rayner have sounded the alarm over a social fabric that is 'fraying at the edges' and concern this translates into disorder. Rayner's analysis and prescription isn't new but is, for the most part, right. The briefing is putting a lot in faith in the Plan for Neighbourhoods as a response.
July 23, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Agree, the diagnosis is broadly right.
The trick is how to achieve a combination of (a) quick material improvements (e.g. to the public realm) that people notice and associate with politics listening and making a difference. But at the same time…. 1/n
The trick is how to achieve a combination of (a) quick material improvements (e.g. to the public realm) that people notice and associate with politics listening and making a difference. But at the same time…. 1/n
Seven years ago the community in Chelmsley Wood said if someone's going to make money in our neighbourhood running a chippy, why not us? Great to join @richardparkerwm.bsky.social and the Co-op Party for a community-powered chippy at the lovely Three Trees Community Centre in sunny Solihull.
Today we visited the UK’s only community-owned fish and chips with Co-operative Mayor Richard Parker.
This business proves community ownership isn’t just for cafes or retailers - it can power any business on the high street. 🐟
July 4, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Seven years ago the community in Chelmsley Wood said if someone's going to make money in our neighbourhood running a chippy, why not us? Great to join @richardparkerwm.bsky.social and the Co-op Party for a community-powered chippy at the lovely Three Trees Community Centre in sunny Solihull.