I am writing to you because, as we approach the one-year anniversary of the riots which rocked communities up and down the country last year, I fear for what is ahead for our country.

As you are acutely aware, the world around us feels increasingly insecure. At a global scale, power is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few powerful individuals and war and conflict are raging. The events may be taking place thousands of miles away, but we feel them here at home. They add to the profound lack of control that many people have been experiencing in their own lives and communities for some time – a problem which is only getting worse.

In a recent survey, 84% of people said they had little or no control over important decisions affecting their areas – and that’s almost a ten percent jump on the proportion who said the same in another survey conducted less than three years ago. Things are spiralling.

Turnout at elections is collapsing. In some areas of the country, councillors are being elected on less than a 15% turnout, throwing the validity of local democracy into question. If – as some studies suggest is already happening – people lose faith in national democracy too, we risk the cracks in our society becoming chasms.

Unless we can address the feelings of alienation and powerlessness which are becoming endemic and close the gap between politics and our communities, I worry that the civil disorder that plagued the streets of my town, Hartlepool, and many others last year will be repeated.

But I am also writing to you because I know that there is an alternative.

Deputy Prime Minister, I think it’s laudable that you’re planning the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster in a generation.

Prime Minister, I know that you support the double devolution agenda, in which power is transferred not just from central to local government but onwards to communities. You told me so when you visited Hartlepool in Spring 2023.

I believe that deeper devolution, enabling decision making at truly local levels, is the key to giving everyone a stake in the future. That’s why I chose to be a part of the We’re Right Here campaign – a movement of local leaders from across the UK who have banded together to advocate for national policy change to unlock the power of our communities.

We run community organisations and neighbourhood groups. We’ve brought disused churches, empty high streets shops, overgrown green spaces, and struggling pubs into community ownership. We’ve worked with our councils to improve local services and ensure local people feel heard. You might say that we’re the people with ‘skin in the game’.

I have asked other leaders of community organisations and groups and supporters of the campaign to put their names to this letter, because we want to speak to you both with one voice. We share a belief that urgent action is needed to fix the foundations of our democracy from the neighbourhood level up and avert further unrest. Together, we are urging you to embark on a devolution policy programme which doesn’t only transfer power to Mayors and councils but puts it where it ultimately belongs – in all of our hands.

We can build a country where everyone can get involved, have their say and work together to improve things locally. This is not about seizing power but sharing it. It’s about redistributing responsibility for making our neighbourhoods the best they can be.

We must be brave enough to do things differently and meaningfully empower people at the most local level. Only then will we restore a sense that this is a country in which everyone’s contribution is respected. Only then will we rekindle the belief that our future is ours to shape.

Give us a chance and we’ll show you what we’re capable of. We’ll give you community power.