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ISSUE 1568 // 24th april - 30th april
PAGE 9
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‘Social clubs should be part of national infrastructure’ The next government should consider reviving working class social and welfare clubs as part of key national infrastructure needed for ‘left behind communities’, says Labour PPC Kirsty McNeill. In an essay for the Social Market Foundation, Kirsty McNeill, the Scottish Labour and Co-operative candidate for Midlothian, has put forth an ambitious plan to reverse the decline of social clubs in workingclass communities. “Working class social and welfare clubs are the beating heart of our communities and deserve the same standing in public policy as other bits of key
infrastructure”, McNeill said. Social clubs, such as Working Men’s Clubs and miners welfare clubs, are places where people congregate to enjoy shared activities and events. They are generally run as either member-owned co-operatives or membership-based charities, meaning they are run by the community. Social clubs have been under pressure for decades, and are fast declining. Fifty years ago, the Club & Institute Union (CIU), the central co-op supporting clubs, used to issue more than seven million membership cards a year. That figure is now one million and
declining year-on-year. With the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis worsening socialising levels and prompting a connection and loneliness epidemic, it is vital that social clubs are revived to reignite the sense of “security of knowing we are part of a wider network of respect and fellow feeling”, McNeill said. Existing clubs perform multiple functions for communities, and crucially at low or no cost to attendees. As heating bills spiralled, 2.5 million visits were paid to “warm hubs” and organisers found that “people came for the warmth but stayed for the welcome.” There is also high public
support for places where different communities and generations can “meet and mix” to help social cohesion, and they are a strong indicator of community health. An ambitious new plan for clubs should be part of the Labour Party’s offer to left behind communities, given that working class clubs are at “the heart of Labour heritage”, McNeill said. McNeill urges the next government to revive clubs by offering the ones that are falling into disuse or disrepair for ‘community right to buy’. This could be underpinned by the UK-wide Community Ownership Fund which has already
supported the purchase of community assets in each of the nations, McNeill said. In her essay for the SMF, McNeill sets out her 21st Century Clubs’ Charter, with a call for the government to: • Use its convening power to catalyse private funding. • Work with broadcasters to offer better TV sport deals. • Create new apprenticeships. • Streamline training and support. • Explore channelling existing funds into clubs The full blog can be read at The blog is published at www.smf. co.uk/commentary_ podcasts/club-togetherconnection-crisis/
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