果冻影院

鈥�'Citizens UK, tonight we have been respectful and respected. The work continues, but for now - I declare this assembly closed.鈥�

This is how Eliza, a student at La Sainte Union secondary school, closed the Citizens UK general election assembly on 1 July, three days before the general election. For 90 minutes, over 2,000 people had gathered at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster to put their manifesto for change to representatives from the Labour Party, the Conservative Party and the Lib Dems.

When the challenges facing the country are so large, and so complex, it鈥檚 perhaps not surprising that this election has been short on the possibility of hope. Indeed, accepting his new mandate on the steps of Downing Street, the Prime Minister, acknowledged a 鈥渨eariness in the heart of a nation, the draining away of the hope鈥�the belief in a better future that we need to move forward together鈥�. Political leaders know that grand promises have been made too often and quickly broken. And so it made what was shared in the grand space of Central Hall even more special. We heard about a more grounded, personal kind of hope- an 鈥榦rdinary hope鈥� - a hope worked on by many hands. As one of the co-chairs, Grace Akinyemi, from Divine Assembly Ministries in Essex put it: 鈥淭onight is about our collective agenda鈥�.

The 2,000 people didn鈥檛 just turn up because they saw an event advertised on Facebook. They are all linked to civic institutions that are members of a local Citizens UK alliance, whether that be a faith group, school, university, LGBTQ+ organisation, migrant collective, or community radio station. In many cases, it has taken years for members of these institutions to trust each other enough to be able to work together and to focus on their common concerns and values, rather than issues that separate them. This enables communities not just to humanise each other, which is valuable in its own right, but to build the power needed to influence the people who are making decisions about their lives.

Upon this foundation, the Citizens UK Manifesto was developed. For over a year, people had been having conversations at coffee mornings or over samosas late into the evening 鈥� over 10,000 conversations in fact. They asked each other what change they wanted to see, and used their answers to develop a manifesto that was based on the stories and lives of everyday people across the UK. Each issue was meticulously discussed to assess the impact it would have and how possible it was to make it happen. And so, rather than passively receiving the political parties鈥� manifestos, they could develop their own ideas for changing their lives and the lives of people in their communities. As Grace put it 鈥渟ome of these issues will directly affect our own lives, for the other issues, we care because our neighbour鈥檚 struggle is our struggle.鈥�

At the assembly, each representative from a political party had to respond to this manifesto and faced detailed questions on their party鈥檚 policies towards it. One moment in particular stood out. Nkem, a careworker from East London, shared her story:

I don鈥檛 get paid the real living wage as a care worker so I have to spend more time at work, taking me away from my family. To make matters worse, even though I鈥檝e been in the UK twenty years, I am not yet a citizen. I have to spend thousands of pounds on Home Office fees and I鈥檓 denied public funds like child benefit. We work hard, we don鈥檛 get enough, and then it gets taken off us.

Nkem then talked about the organising she had done in her church and union, and asked Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party, now Deputy Prime Minister, to ensure that careworkers聽are paid at least the Real Living Wage. Angela Rayner looked Nkem directly in the eyes and said the next government 鈥渨ill treat you with the respect and pay you the amount that you absolutely deserve鈥�. She promised to 鈥渇ight every day鈥� for careworkers to get a Real Living Wage and pledged to work with Citizens UK, saying 鈥測ou know what matters in life, what really matters,鈥� and 鈥測ou know what needs to happen to bring about change鈥�.

This is what Eliza meant by being respected: politicians treating people as human beings, taking their concerns seriously and recognising them as partners in creating change. Indeed this respect was a two-way street. There was no booing or heckling of political representatives, even when there were clear disagreements. There was an understanding that politicians have a tough job and do an important public service and are essential for changing the lives of people in the room. This doesn鈥檛 mean that they should be pandered to. In fact, holding politicians to account is a deep form of respect.

With the Labour party winning such a large majority, it's even more important that our politicians learn the lessons of the Citizens UK assembly: to treat everyday people and their communities with respect, to listen to their stories and concerns, and to see them as partners in change.

In the Citizens Assembly the prime minister has a blueprint for how we can all 鈥渏oin this government of service in the mission of national renewal鈥� and how the government can heal a lack of trust in our politics through action not words. Through organising and building power, communities can establish genuine relationships of mutual respect with each other and political leaders, offering hope that real change can be achieved and rebuilding our democracy in the process.

James Blatchley-Asfa is the Assistant Director of Citizens UK.