We took community power to Downing Street 

Sacha Bedding, Campaign Leader of We're Right Here and CEO of The Wharton Trust
Leah Chikamba-Mulando and Sacha Bedding hold a giant-sized version of the open letter in front of Number 10 Downing Street
Leah Chikamba-Mulando and Sacha Bedding hold the open letter outside of Number 10 Downing Street.

Last week, I visited 10 Downing Street, alongside one of the We’re Right Here campaign’s Community Champions – Leah Chikamba-Mulando. We delivered an open letter to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister calling for the government to urgently address the disempowerment felt in our neighbourhoods or risk further civil unrest. Leah and I were really proud to represent our communities as well as the over 350 community leaders and national organisations who signed the letter. 

In Hartlepool, where I live and work, we have seen first-hand what happens when people feel ignored. While it’s been a year since riots shook towns like mine, the frustrations people felt then haven’t gone away.  

People feel alienated, and they’re losing faith in politics to deliver positive change. It’s no surprise to me that in some parts of the country, people are voting for non-traditional parties or not voting at all. 

The government must start addressing the growing sense of powerlessness in our communities by giving local people more control over their places and lives. If not, I’m worried that we’ll see more riots and our communities facing the brunt of this disorder. 

But I don’t just want to raise the alarm. When I visited Downing Street, I spoke to officials about the ways in which community leaders are already working to improve their areas. We’ve transformed abandoned churches, shops, parks, and pubs into community spaces. We’ve co-designed services with councils. We’ve brought people together along lines of division. Just imagine what we’d be capable of if the government rowed in behind us and helped us to reach our potential. 

Leah Chikamba-Mulando and Sacha Bedding hold a giant-sized version of the open letter and knock on Number 10 Downing Street's door

This is why the We’re Right Here campaign is calling for the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to give communities real control over their places, services, and futures. This isn’t about seizing power, it’s about sharing it with local people who know their areas and the needs of the people in their community best. 

When the Prime Minister visited Hartlepool in 2023, he spoke about pushing power beyond town halls and down to the neighbourhood level. Now is the chance to make that vision a reality. 

If we truly want to stop the cracks in our society from turning into deep divides, we need to be willing to be bold and do things differently. We need this Bill to fix the foundations of our democracy and put power back where it belongs – in our hands. 

In recent days, I’ve had the chance to share this message more widely – first with The Mirror alongside another of the campaign’s Community Champions, Josiah Sulc, and then on Times Radio with my local MP, Jonathan Brash.  

The conversation I had at Number 10 was encouraging. It’s great to have the opportunity to be in the rooms where key decisions about the future of our country are made, but it shouldn’t be so rare for people who are driving real change in their communities to have a seat around the table.  It’s time the government started treating us like equal partners in a proper project of national renewal. 

I was really honoured to deliver a message on behalf of so many across the country who believe in this campaign. That message couldn’t be clearer: if the government just gives us the chance, we’ll show them community power. 

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