Community Wealth Building

The Labour Group on Dundee City Council has been calling for the council to adopt a Community Wealth Building approach for some time now.

We were pleased that the council recently agreed to adopt that Community Wealth Building approach which we had been calling for.  The Labour and Co-operative Group of Councillors have been clear in our support for a Community Wealth Building approach.

 

We have witnessed the great work which is being done by our colleagues in Preston and North Ayrshire leading the way with this model in the UK.

 

This has to be about transforming the economy.  This should not be about a press release or a photo call this should be about being actually ambitious for our city rather than ourselves and making a real change.

 

The report tabled to councillors talks about two Dundee’s.  All of the investment and economic policy of the council will be a failure if something is not done to ensure that investment brings benefits to local people.

 

I do have to say that we have been here before.  We have shown a concern for the ethics of businesses.  For example, many councillors voted for a strong policy against blacklisting and then when given the chance to make a difference the same councillors voted to have contracts placed with blacklisters like at the V & A.  I say to colleagues if you do not want to change how the economy works in this city then they should have voted against this policy.

 

The Labour and Co-operative Group group will be supportive of this policy and ambitious to push it as far as we can.

 

For this policy to be a success we need other anchor institutions to play a role.  Too often our universities, the NHS and College have not looked like they are moving in the same direction.  An example, would be the recent pension dispute at Dundee University, which is still not sorted.

 

The report does not give the impression of strong buy-in from other partners and I hope that we will see that change over time.

 

As an elected Co-operative councillor, I particularly welcome the commitment to a more democratic economy.  It is clear that promoting an economy as Dundee has done where we engage with companies who take money out of the economy of this city and even sometimes export their profits to tax havens does not help people in Dundee.  I hope that there will be a real investment in learning about alternative economic models which will allow people to set up businesses and prosper in Dundee and keep the wealth created in this community.

 

I want to see Dundee at the heart of a Community Wealth Building movement in this country.  We need to be ambitious, and we need to accept that the current economic model has not worked well for far too many people in this city or for the city itself.  We support a Community Wealth Building approach and we look forward to future reports to Dundee City Council and much more importantly actions which show that Community Wealth Building is making a difference.