#2 Reasons to be Cheerful: An Era of Transformation Ahead? Making the 'Impossible' Possible

Sue Goss of Compass on an important change of mindset.

In the wake of a transformative General Election, the cross-party group Compass shares its findings on the positive, practical steps in the right direction already happening at a local level in the UK, and on a national scale abroad – exploring how these small but significant solutions could point the way ahead for an era of change for our country.  In this series of short articles, which first appeared in the July print edition of Byline Times, Compass highlights just some of the work from its ‘New Settlement’ project.

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Shut one eye and peer out into the murky gloom of a world riddled by conflict, runaway climate change, poverty, and polarisation – a country that feels broken, hopeless and miserable. Now shut that eye and open the other one and you’ll see a very different world: one in which hundreds of thousands of creative, energetic people across the UK, against all the odds and despite the system, are building practical solutions, working collaboratively and, through kindness and generosity, making a better society.

Since the pandemic, many civil society organisations, charities, and think tanks have been articulating policies and ideas that build on practical experience and could start to solve some of our serious structural problems in areas such as social care, inequality, and housing. How can we harness their work?

At Compass, we believe that there is enough money to do the things that need to be done – it’s just not being spent in the right places. We believe that there is enough power to make the changes we need – it’s just not in the right hands. There is a clear sense that we can build something better. Something that is not led by politicians, and is not narrow and tribal, but broad, pluralist and open.

Compass’ ‘New Settlement’ project – findings from which we are exclusively publishing for the first time in the pages ahead – has set out to make as many connections as we can, learning from the experience of local projects, creative local councils, research organisations, charitable foundations, coalitions of charities, social and ethical businesses, and policies implemented abroad. 

We have discovered that, at a local level, holistic, sustainable solutions are being developed; and that much of what we are told is ‘impossible’ in the UK, is already accepted practice in other comparable countries. 

We are not proposing grandiose ideas that we have no means of implementing, but what Marc Stears, in his book Out of the Ordinary: How Everyday Life Inspired a Nation and How It Can Again, calls “ordinary hope” – a realistic journey to a better place. 

This reflects a deeper change of mindset. 

Thinking is shifting from a preoccupation with economic growth to concerns around sustainability and balance; from acquiring more ‘things’ to valuing relationships and time; from individualism to community; from short-term selfishness to recognising that, in the long run, we will not survive unless we look after each other. 

We need an economy that really works for us, instead of simply expecting us to work for it. 

We don’t want to be controlled as if we live in a vast machine, but neither do we want the frightening chaos of a ‘winner takes all’ competitiveness. 

We want a better balance between public and private provision and ownership, one that can draw on the advantages of each, and ensure that rewards are spread more evenly and effectively. 

There will always be a role for socially responsible forms of capitalism, but we can also generate innovation through the public sector and social enterprises. 

We no longer expect, or necessarily want, governments to ‘take care’ of everything, but we need them to do what only governments can do, and we want a say in what happens to us. 

We need a government that trusts us to engage in shaping our democracy, and we need the tools to be able to take part as citizens.  

We want the freedom to co-create solutions in our communities and localities, and we want decision-making close to where we live. 

We understand the benefits of collaboration, negotiation, and partnership – finding solutions that work for us all, because this is what works for us already. 

We see around us government systems that assume the worst about people living in poverty, that are punitive, distrustful and often cruel, and yet lax about controlling the cheating and bad behaviour of some of the most powerful in the land. Most humans are motivated by the wish to do good, to behave in a way that is beneficial to others, and to leave a positive legacy. These motivations exist alongside our more selfish instincts. And so we need a society that supports our best and most generous inclinations, achieving wellbeing by being able to help others, alongside developing our own potential and taking care of our loved ones. 

The question is: why have we been led to believe – by the political and media culture that surrounds us – that these things are not possible?  

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Sue Goss is a member of Compass and a former Labour councillor