London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

London effort to create better jobs, equitable economy ready for unveiling

London effort to create better jobs, equitable economy ready for unveiling

A group of London social and economic organizations has begun studying ways to create well paying jobs that keep more money in the city - and spread it around.

The group will be going public with their ideas Tuesday at Innovation Works, at a free discussion featuring a city social enterprise leader and a co-author of a book on democratic economies.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to be the public and citizens who need to support the types of policies and politicians who are going to make this happen,” said Michael Courey, co-ordinator of the London Poverty Research Centre at King’s University College.

“It’s both about increasing the imagination of the possibilities in our city and also increasing the support for these types of activities in the city.”

The research centre is a member of the Inclusive Economy Working Group, a loose collection of organizations that have been meeting since January to explore solutions to the precarious work situation in London.

A study by the poverty research centre found almost half of London workers have jobs that are precarious or vulnerable, such as short-term, contract positions with low wages and few benefits.

Meanwhile, the city and region are struggling with a low employment rate among working age people, an issued explored in a recent London Free Press series, Face it: Jobs.

A mayor’s task force is trying to match more workers with more job openings, but economists say the problem is a lack of good jobs more than a lack of willing workers.

The inclusive economy group is focusing on a basic question: “How do we look at the economy and economic development in a way that’s going to benefit a broader segment of the population?” Courey said.

The group, which includes Libro Credit Union, the London Economic Development Corp. and several large community organizations, has identified three tasks.

    Understand and advocate for a living wage in London. “What is the wage that families can live on in the city and how do we encourage employers to think about that?” Courey said.
    Ensure large public investments from all levels of government, include purchasing and work policies that benefit the city and its residents.
    Help build and retain local small and medium-sized businesses and the employment they offer. That might include worker co-operatives or other “democratic ownership,” including for businesses run by baby boomers that are in danger of closing as their owners retire.

No one is suggesting city leaders stop trying to attract global companies to London, Courey said.

“We can agree there’s work to be done in that area, but there’s also promising work to be done in local economic development. It’s the whole notion of rooting capital to place. When you root capital to place, it’s much less likely to just leave on a whim,” he said.

The event will feature Ted Howard, co-author of The Making of a Democratic Economy, an exploration of how economies benefiting more people are being created around the world.

Also speaking is Michelle Baldwin, of Pillar Nonprofit Network, “one of the key leaders of social enterprise sector, thinking through how do we create an economy that puts people, planet, and profit together,” Courey said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×