In this episode our speakers, John Cotton and Rosemary Corcoran and Brian Mahony talk about challenging in-work poverty in Birmingham and rural isolation in Monmouthshire.
John is a Labour councillor in Birmingham and Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, Community Safety and Equalities. He discusses the issue of in-work poverty and his campaign to make the local council redress this and be a model for action. John introduced the Real Living Wage (RLW) for all council staff and 17,000 employees are now paid a RLW. Birmingham City Council has set up a Poverty Truth Commission to listen to those with lived experience of poverty.
Rosemary and Brian are from Friends of the 65 Bus based in Wales. The group was founded to keep the 65 Bus route going. They lobbied councillors and MPs, started a petition and encouraged support by talking to the community about rural isolation and climate change. Today, the bus remains vital for those who are isolated, vulnerable or without a car, but is now increasingly popular with other residents and visitors.
Find out more about our speakers:
John Cotton: https://economicinjustice.org.uk/birmingham-a-tale-of-two-cities/
Friends of the 65 Bus: https://economicinjustice.org.uk/friends-of-the-65-bus/
Keep in touch with us:
Email: economic@journeytojustice.org.uk
Twitter: @JtoJustice
Donate:
Please support us. Every penny donated to Journey to Justice goes towards helping achieve our mission https://localgiving.org/charity/journey-to-justice-london/
The project is a collaboration between Journey to Justice (creator), Rainbow Collective (film and audio producers) and Vanishing Point Creative (web designers and developers). With thanks to all our participants, volunteers, economic injustice advisory group, partners, and funders (Matrix Causes, Garden Court Chambers, MSN Fund, Lipman Miliband Trust, Diana Whitworth CAF Trust, Heitman, Andreas Welter, Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG), donations, artist postcards, and walks).
