Labour's plan to revitalise high streets is good - now it has to make sure people hear about it | Morgan Jones

"The government has launched its Pride in Place strategy, which sees significant investment in disadvantaged communities across the country. It is also, says the newly minted housing, communities and local government secretary, Steve Reed, putting working families in control of their lives and their neighbourhood. This follows the English Devolution and Community Empowerment bill, which ploughs a similar furrow, legislating for, among other things, communities' right to buy and ensuring sports venues are automatically listed as assets of community value."

"It's not all about the fastest-growing GDP in the G7: the strategy starts by asserting that the government's measures of success cannot just be shifts in national statistics but must include change that people see and feel in their local community. Labour MPs are praising the direct investment the fund will bring to their communities. The funding allocations have been decided by, among other things, the index of multiple deprivation and the lesser-known community needs index, which measures quality of available services."

"When communicating the policy to their constituents and local media, they are generally leading with the cash amount being funnelled into their areas, as well they should. Money is what makes things real: policies about duties and responsibilities that cost nothing are cheap in all senses of the word. People working in what might be understood as the progressive communitarian space (including organisations such as Power to Change, the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods, Locality and the Co-oper"

The Pride in Place strategy directs significant investment to disadvantaged communities and aims to put working families in control of their neighbourhoods. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill grants communities rights including a right to buy and automatic listing of sports venues as assets of community value. The policy prioritizes tangible local improvements such as repairing boarded-up shops, reopening youth clubs and restoring parks. Success metrics will include visible community change as well as national economic indicators. Funding allocations use the index of multiple deprivation and a community needs index measuring service quality. Local MPs emphasize the cash allocations when communicating with constituents.

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