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Upwardly Mobile - Progressive ideas on tackling poverty from a leading Conservative politician SYED KAMALL MEP UPWARDLY MOBILE Progressive ideas on tackling poverty from a leading Conservative politician 1 INTRODUCTION Syed Kamall MEP is the Co-Chairman of the European Conservatives and was raised in London at a time of backgrounds, with different aptitudes and Reformists Group. During his time in the European Parliament Syed has socialism. The Labour Party seemed different ambitions. People’s individual been a champion for fighting poverty. This booklet - a collection of speeches Iback then to be sympathetic to the needs and aptitudes can be best met and and articles - looks at his work for his London region constituency and more Ichallenges faced by immigrant families nurtured by multiple service providers widely to explore ideas to tackle poverty in practical and progressive ways such as mine, but I came to realise that offering choice. Perhaps that is why some throughout the EU and beyond. Labour politicians took the support of of the most effective work that I see in people like us for granted: their political education (and in fighting poverty) is often advantage lay in keeping British society done by people and charities which do not divided along class or racial lines. rely on the patronage of the state for their survival. TABLE OF CONTENTS My parents used to tell me that there was no limit to what you can achieve if you believe Many social enterprises are tackling social Routes out of Poverty 4 in yourself, believe in God and work hard. ills today more or just as effectively as the Those left behind 6 So, I was drawn to the idea that people of any state, because the people running such background could be upwardly mobile and enterprises are free to let their creativity My visit to a place called Hope 7 make a success of themselves if they worked and ingenuity flourish. The Big Society hard. It was this progressive politics which was an idea that many commentators Access to credit 9 drove my decision, in my early twenties, to found baffling at the time that it was first Don’t demonise payday lenders 11 join the Conservative Party led by Margaret suggested by David Cameron. But he Thatcher, the daughter of a grocer. was right to challenge their fundamental Friendly lending 12 suppositions about the role of the state. Grass roots solutions 16 Education and hard work are the means by which people achieve their ambitions. My kind of progressive Conservatism is one Look to local business 18 Some of the best education in Britain today which cares for people by being radical is provided by independent institutions. rather than by changing nothing. It is There is no case for the state to monopolise about not being afraid to try new solutions, Conservatives and the Big Society 20 the education of its citizens, any more about not being afraid to fail, and not being than for the state to monopolise afraid to try again. Let the state continue Rediscovering Mises and social cooperation 22 feeding or clothing them. to act as a safety net, but we should also Overcoming barriers to volunteering 26 Like all these necessities, let the private and voluntary sectors play education is too their part in finding solutions to social Groundhog Day for the Conservatives’ big society 29 important to be left in challenges. By rolling back the state, we roll There is power in a union 30 the hands of the state. forward society. How the Conservative Party can deliver for everyone 32 Education is not Londoners are better off in almost every Conservative renaissance and renewal 34 an easy art, and it way compared to the London of my is certainly not an childhood. Yet, forty years on, the ghost Eyes, ears and helping hands 36 exact science. You of socialism chillingly pervades a Labour cannot have a one- Party which is once again falling back on size-fits-all education identity politics and envy to try to divide Towards a Progressive Conservatism 40 for different people, and rule the country. from different The quiet revolution at Brixton prison 42 The challenge for Conservatives is to be the Grammar Schools – a winning formula 44 change that we want to see. Before asking what our country can do for us, or even Why should we support apprenticeships? Because they work 46 asking ourselves what we can do for our The EU’s shocking lack of racial diversity 48 country, we should start by asking what we can do for our neighbour. Crowdfunding for Public Finance 49 Syed Kamall MEP To fix London’s housing problem we must think big 52 October 2018 Syed Kamall MEP Upwardly Mobile - Progressive ideas on tackling poverty from a leading Conservative politician ROUTES OUT OF POVERTY syedkamall.co.uk 4 5 Syed Kamall MEP Upwardly Mobile - Progressive ideas on tackling poverty from a leading Conservative politician As the leader of the third largest of the eight pan- European political groups in the European Parliament, I had the opportunity to meet with Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres. We discussed not just the dry economics of global poverty but how living in poverty makes people feel, and what can be done to Since the days of Dick Whittington, combat social alienation and London has always been a place promote inclusiveness. After that people come in the hope of a the meeting I issued a short better life. But not everyone ends statement on the subject. up like him. People find themselves on the streets for a variety of reasons but no-one chooses to live there. Numerous charities do incredible work to help people MY VISIT TO A PLACE into secure accommodation and back into a more productive life. I THOSE LEFT BEHIND wrote this article after visiting the CALLED HOPE Hope Centre in Acton. Meeting the Secretary General of the United Nations, 17 May 2017 Huffington Post 14/3/17 t’s not just about lifting people out of poverty but helping people who feel left behind. ppropriately enough, they call it the six years, while both state and voluntary This is one of the challenges I discussed with Secretary General of the United Nations, Hope Centre. responses to homelessness are too often IAntónio Guterres today. A predicated by a response to crisis instead of I AIt is situated in some modest rooms at Acton prevention. He and I share concerns that while globalization and market changes are inevitable, we Baptist Church in London and the people all need to look out for the very poorest as well as people in our communities who see involved are modest by nature too; but their The study focuses on the need to break dramatic changes in their circumstances. We need more community-led solutions to find hearts are huge and the work that goes on cycles. The cycles that lead individuals new opportunities or reskill as early as possible. • there should be a source of great pride. to return to the streets when attempts to house them fail through lack of support. The Hope Centre is tackling the devastating The cycles that mean people experiencing Little did I know that, within a month of this statement, London problem of homelessness through homelessness in childhood are far more would face its biggest civilian loss of life since the Second World War, in the form of the Grenfell fire. The tragedy brought into community action. The service there offers likely to be homeless as adults. sharp relief the sense that there was a whole community living in direct practical help, backed up with longer- North Kensington that had been left behind by the state authorities. term advice, guidance and mentoring to help The Hope Centre focuses on the need to Numerous voluntary sector bodies came to their rescue in the people find and keep a roof over their head. break cycles too. The initiative was set up days that followed. The challenge that remains for politicians is to by a wonderful woman called Amanda reconnect with the people whose voices went unheard for too long It is a living, working example of many of Cadogan who saw that local support for and to find solutions which work at a grassroots level. the issues and potential solutions detailed homeless people was lacking and wanted to in the Centre for Social Justice’s (CSJ) recent make a difference. policy report on homelessness. As she and her team showed me around the The report highlights the sharp increase centre, Amanda told me that she felt that in rough sleeping by over 130 per cent in there were a lot of unrecognised gaps in the syedkamall.co.uk 6 7 Syed Kamall MEP Upwardly Mobile - Progressive ideas on tackling poverty from a leading Conservative politician system which allowed individuals to slip have a choice and they choose crime then through the safety net. they should pay and not society. For those in crisis and on the streets the I believe in personal responsibility, not only It is easy for middle class politicians on a regular centre provides the refuge and the practical for one’s own actions but for the well-being salary to forget how difficult assistance they need. They can shower, get of those in need. I am passionate about it is for people who have a low clean clothes and have some food. tackling poverty through championing or irregular income to access But Amanda spoke of the need to work with community-led local solutions rather than credit which many of us take people in the community before they get relying on the state to always step in.