When Reform UK took control of Derbyshire county council in May, one small community resisted the surge. KEITH VENABLES describes how unions, activists and anti-hate groups built a grassroots campaign that might just be a model for the rest of the country....
The rise of the far right and Reform UK make this a dangerous moment for the country, according to the anti-extremism group. But all is not lost if communities have ways to reconnect and make their voices heard. MATTHEW BROWN reports....
Durham is known worldwide for its 900-year-old cathedral. But there is another historic building in the north-east city that holds a special place in the hearts of local people, one being reborn as a hub of heritage and hope for the county’s stricken communities. MARY STRATFORD explains....
A new book on Durham Coalfield communities is a timely testament to working class resilience, says MARY HULL, bringing together evocative tales of ‘marras’, meetings, strikes and marches as well as banners, brass bands and allotments. ...
As a church minister, CHRIS WILSON at least knows “the boss” is OK, although “the middle management can be a real problem”. Clergy need trade unions as much as any other workers, he says....
The success of Sheffield Renewables has shown how attitudes to energy policy can be changed with local engagement and a co-operative business model that offers much more than profit. DAVE BERRY explains....
The Co-operative Party has teamed up with the Labour Climate and Environment Forum to launch a new report on “the role that community-owned energy in playing in building climate consensus at a local level”....
Compass and the Co-operative Party have both launched new initiatives in recent weeks aimed at understanding and tackling the rise of the far right....
CHRIS OLEWICZ calls for a revival of the consumer co-operatives that once formed a vital pillar of the Labour movement and could play a crucial role in our crisis-riddled times....
CHRISTOPHER OLEWICZ celebrates the arrival of a new addition to the co-operative movement, one based on the same vision and principles as the 19th pioneers. A ‘new Rochdale’ is within our grasp, he says. ...
CHRISTOPHER OLEWICZ examines an inside account of Preston Council’s much-hailed ‘model’ for local development, and casts his mind back to the 1980s when his own local authority tried to resist the march of Thatcherism with bottom-up regeneration and municipal enterprise....
Ed Carlisle is a project manager with Leeds-based charity Together for Peace and one of the organisers of the Leeds Summat Gathering which took place in November last year – strapline ‘Get Connected, Be Inspired, Join in Action for Change’. He talked to BARRY WINTER about the aims and objectives of the initiative, the American...