Weeknotes #7
Every week I do an update of where things are at as far as our work is concerned. The idea is to improve our comms.
This week I’m being a bit more direct.
What I’m thinking is this.
The Red Wall Tories are obviously bricking it that the govt are blowing their chances for the next election. Look at the Rashford row — fuelled in part by Burnham’s outrage. There’s a definite desire on their part to save their arses next time around. Various support groups are beginning to spring up — eg. that left-leaning Tory think tank ‘Onward’, as well as that Tory pressure group led by that Jake Berry MP (can’t think what it’s called now) but they’re all following the same ‘levelling-up’ agenda.
But what they all need is a plan to get re-elected — in time for the next election.
That Jo Gideon has impressed me to be honest. Note — I am completely A-political but Iwas a Labour Member until Blair ruined my trust in politics (and of course the Starmer/Corbyn rubbish has completely turned me off the party going forwards) so I’m certainly not into the Tories and not into politics. But I know that to get what we need, we need to cosy up to those MPs and players, like Jo Gideon who would be able to back us and our ideas, if we could present them coherently enough as a model of regeneration that is ground-up and people-powered by those from one of the most marginalised and overlooked communities going.
Stoke and North Staffs in other words.
If we could cut some sort of deal with her — our job is to rally the troops on the ground….her job is to tell the Red Wall MPs to ‘watch-this-space’ cos a model is on it’s way — then Boris would be snookered AS LONG as we could move the needle to everyone’s benefit before the next election.
Which I think is more than possible. We’re on the verge of an upgrade of this system — think impact investment dashboard for investors and community groups alike (transparent decision making based on common values — in this respect we should be aiming to revise the Social Value Act 2012 to our collective benefit) — AND on the verge of turning our work as a collective into a community wellbeing cause underpinned by the need for a community-based response to our poor mental health, wealth and happiness (see attached).
So the idea of a regeneration model that can be replicated in other areas, once proven to be successful in a place like Stoke and North Staffs, would give us all focus and a new sense of direction that our politicians and business people seem unable to fathom out for themselves.
We need to build a bridge to the new economy, and the pillars that support it must be honed in Stoke and North Staffs.
It needs people like you who know people to play your part and convince them that things are happening — but that they need to happen faster.
With this whole COVID crap and the way the Tories are losing their grip, and this Rashford thing that the London-based Tories have been blind-sided on (too rich to notice) has really rattled the back benchers. Now’s the time to make a move. Via Jo Gideon, and in particular, I think — can she help us make our mark on the new Social Value Act? Isn’t that the ask we should be making of our politicians — back us to redefine what we mean by value, and shift the goals of our local economy from making money to making community.
Let me know if I’m talking shite or making sense please. I appreciate your candour.
P.S. If — and it’s a big IF- if, we can can grow the numbers on that dashboard by 7% week over week, then within three years we’ll hit a tipping point (think collective buying, bargaining, platform coops)
