Past Events

Speakers include: Rachel Reeves MP, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee Debbie Green, CEO of Coastal Housing and Welsh Ministerial Advisor Karel Williams, Professor, University of Manchester Steve Francis, CEO of Patisserie Valerie and turnaround specialist Norman Pickavance, CEO of Tomorrow’s Company Chair: Miatta Fahnbulleh, CEO of New Economics Foundation How do we take back control of the local economy, and exert influence over the goods and services we rely on everyday? A year has passed since…

Following on from our conference in February of this year, we’ll be exploring the key themes of: devolution; investment in northern business and infrastructure; transport; education; and the rebalancing of the economy, with leading political and business figures and advocates of the Northern Powerhouse strategy.

CLES and Power to Change are pleased to invite you to the launch of our publication: Evolving and Realising the Potential of Anchor Institutions and Community Business. This event is aimed at policy makers and practitioners from anchor institutions, people involved in community businesses, cooperatives and social enterprises, and anybody with a keen interest in democratising the economy and building local wealth! The event will include presentations from Power to Change and CLES setting the wider agenda for the role…

Prosperity and Justice: A Plan for the New Economy. Sharing the findings from the Institute for Public Policy Research’s Commission on Economic Justice, challenging widening inequalities and systemic failings. Brexit; rapid technological change; globalisation; ageing population; and climate change. What can we do in the North East to implement some of the Commission’s recommendations? Sara Bryson Community Organiser for Tyne and Wear Citizens. A 2016 (North East Specialist) Clore Social Leadership Fellow, she served as one of 22 commissioners on…

The debate about the role of the 21st Century New Towns in tackling the nation's housing crisis is once again high on the political agenda. Government has announced that it will deliver five 'New Garden Towns' using New Town Development Corporations (NTDCs); that New Towns will be used to drive growth in the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge Corridor, and has published a consultation on the use of Development Corporations and Land Value Capture to fund infrastructure and housing delivery. The New Towns Act 1946…

The objective of this one-day conference is to: Discuss with local people the Blackpool that they want for themselves, their children and grandchildren, drawing on similar conversations elsewhere in England. Encourage local people to identify what skills, knowledge and insights they bring to helping to create that future. Learn from the priorities that people identify and discuss how progress can be measured over time to help achieve that future – both in terms of outcomes and of the local community…

The Green New Deal has sent shockwaves around the world. The promise of decarbonising the economy whilst guaranteeing good green jobs for all has captured the imagination of policy makers and grassroots movements alike. But what would a green jobs revolution actually look like? How would it benefit workers as well as the environment? Join NEF for a participatory session about building worker power and a green economy. Speakers: Rebecca Long-Bailey MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial…

A reception to discuss new food poverty research Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and the Thomas Coram Research Unit invite you to a reception to share the findings of important new research on food poverty among children, from leading researchers at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education. Hosted by Stephen Timms MP, the reception will hear from the authors of the book and CPAG’s chief executive Alison Garnham and will include a Q & A session. Part…