Municipal socialism - focused on building collaborative, inclusive, sustainable, and democratically controlled local economies - has had a long and eventful history within leftwing political thought. But what form should it take in the twenty-first century? This year, TWT Policy Labs will explore several aspects of municipal socialism, helping to democratise the way we make and deliver policy in local spaces around community wealth building, transport, social care and nightlife.
This participatory workshop is the first of two sessions, where participants will hear from experts and collectively discuss different policy areas, before identifying one specific theme which will be the focus of a follow-on policy lab taking place two weeks later.
Matthew Brown is a Labour councillor and leader of Preston City Council
Dr Alessio Kolioulis is a Teaching Fellow at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit (DPU) where he supports the activities of the MSc in Urban Economic Development and editor for engagée Journal and Eterotopia France.
Joe is a Researcher at the Centre for Local Economic Studies. He previously worked for The Democracy Collaborative and has particular interests in political economy, strategy, community wealth building and alternative models of ownership.