We can be the beacon

✒ ONCE upon a time there was a city in England known as the fairest of them all. This city was prosperous through the hard work of its citizens, and it ensured that they all had a decent home, decent work for all able-bodied people, and a good system of healthcare and public transport.

It valued fairness, social justice, and included everyone, rich and poor alike, for all were equal citizens, and all were welcome if they contributed.

This city had had the foresight to put itself at the forefront of innovative industries and of efforts to tackle the urbanised world’s worst problems: its leaders prioritised tackling air pollution, so the city’s children could breathe safely; it provided a network of reliable and affordable rail and buses, working with private partners; it provided a network also of walking and cycling routes, to help people get around easily and healthily; and it invested in people’s skills and abilities, so they could have jobs to support themselves in the industries of the future, which then became the employers of the present.

The number of beggars and homeless people was a fraction of

what it had been in “the bad old days”.

This city did well, and was the envy of them all. Its example was copied around the world, and it played a key role in a global effort to reduce climate heating and pollution.

It showed that you can be prosperous and have social justice and “green growth” – indeed, it showed that this was the only way forward for modern civilised Britain!

A far-fetched scenario? It can be our future reality if we want it to be like this.

We can be that beacon on the hill which inspires others around the land, and beyond.