ABOUT
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BUILD BACK BETTER STATEMENT

As we emerge from this crisis, now is the time to Build Back Better.

To do so we must heed the lessons it has taught:

That as a society, for many years, we did not listen to the scientists about the risks of such a pandemic and were not prepared.

That for decades our health and social care systems were both dangerously under-resourced and in need of reform.

That many key workers in our economy - many of them women, and many not born in this country - are among the least valued and lowest-paid.

That longstanding inequalities in our society have left too many vulnerable.

And that no country can stand alone in the face of common threats.

Yet we can also draw on new sources of hope:

That when faced with a crisis, government can spend wisely, at speed and at scale.  

That care, neighbourliness and mutual support are the threads that bind our communities together.

That clean air and a concern for wellbeing can inspire more sustainable and enjoyable ways of living.

And that by working with other countries we can find common solutions to the gravest problems.

Some have compared this crisis to the Second World War. Then, as now, it was widely agreed that there was no going back.

But #BuildBackBetter must be more than just a slogan. We must answer these profound questions:

  • How to ensure health, social care, housing and other vital public services are properly resourced and able to meet our future needs.
  • How to mend the inequalities in our society so that everyone, no matter their background or race, can live a decent, fulfilling life.
  • How to create secure, well-paid and rewarding jobs for all who want them, particularly for young people.
  • And how not just to build our resilience to future pandemics, but to tackle the climate and environmental emergency already upon us.

Many will have other questions too: like how to create a better democracy, to harness technology for public good, to build a fairer and more cooperative world.

Answering these questions, and more, is a challenge to us all; to governments, businesses, trade unions, civil society and citizens.

But it is a challenge to which, together, we can rise.

With the best of human values, and the determination of politicians and citizens, we can emerge from this crisis a stronger, fairer, greener country.

We must #BuildBackBetter.

Rowan Williams
Master
Magdalene College, Cambridge University
Frances O'Grady
General Secretary
Trades Union Congress (TUC)
Dame Carolyn Fairbairn
Director General
Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
David Walker
Bishop of Manchester
Ndidi Okezie
CEO
UK Youth
Dr Adam Marshall
Director General
British Chambers of Commerce
Kevin Watkins
CEO
Save the Children
Polly Neate
CEO
Shelter
Frances  Morris*
Director
Tate Modern
Jennifer Herrera
CEO
The Good Business Foundation
Emma Revie
CEO
Trussell Trust
Laura Janner-Klausner
Senior Rabbi
Reform Judaism
Vicky Browning
CEO
ACEVO
Lord John Bird
Founder
Big Issue
Lord Bob Kerslake
Former Head of Civil Service
John Sauven
Director
Greenpeace
Rose Hudson-Wilkin
Bishop of Dover
Dave Prentis
General Secretary
Unison
Professor Maggie Rae
President
Faculty of Public Health
Lord Victor Adebowale
Chair
Social Enterprise UK
Craig Bennett
CEO
The Wildlife Trusts
Fadi Itani
CEO
Muslim Charities Forum
Danny Sriskandarajah
CEO
Oxfam
Miatta Fahnbulleh
CEO
New Economics Foundation
Neal Lawson
Director
Compass
Len McCluskey
General Secretary
Unite
Professor Richard Wilkinson *
Author
The Spirit Level
Jonathan Werran*
CEO
Localis
Peter Holbrook
CEO
Social Enterprise UK
Carys Roberts
Director
Institute for Public Policy Research
Nick Lowles
CEO
Hope Not Hate
Fiona Weir*
CEO
Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust
Sarah Munro
Director
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
Olivia Graham*
Bishop of Reading
Stephanie Draper
CEO
BOND
Sarah Davidson
CEO
Carnegie UK Trust
Kathy Evans
CEO
Children England
Imandeep Kaur
Director
Civic Square
James Perry*
Co-Chair/Co-Founder
Cook/B Corps
Miriam Turner & Hugh Knowles
Co CEOs
Friends of the Earth
Celia McKeon
CEO
JRCT
Matt Leach
CEO
Local Trust
Tony Armstrong
CEO
Locality
Anna Feuchtwang
CEO
National Children's Bureau
Moira Sinclair
CEO
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Professor Wendy Burn
President
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Mike Cherry OBE
National Chair
Federation of Small Businesses
Dame Julie Mellor
Chair
Demos/The Young Foundation
Aaron Goldstein
Chair
Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors
Dave Ward
General Secretary
Communication Workers Union
Fatima Ibrahim
Co Exec Director
Green New Deal UK
John Phillips
Acting General Secretary
GMB Union
Mary Bousted & Kevin Courtney
General Secretaries
National Education Union
Harun Khan
Secretary General
Muslim Council of Britain
Qari Muhammad Asim MBE*
Chair
Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board
Christine Allen
Director
CAFOD
Kate Raworth
Author
Doughnut Economics
Adam Frankenburg*
Adam Lent
Director
New Local Government Network
Adam Marshall
General Director
British Chambers of Commerce
Adeela Warley
CEO
CharityComms
Alan Wheatley*
Alethea Warrington
Campaigns Manager
We are Possible
Alex Fox
CEO
Shared Lives
Alexander Penson
Member
XR Scientists
Ali Harris
CEO
Equally Ours
Alice Roberts*
Alice Ross*
Founder and Digital Storyteller
Act Activate Access
Amy Luck
Campaigns Officer
Planet A
Amy Pryor*
Technical Director
Thames Estuary Partnership and Coastal Partnerships Network
Andrew Harrop
General Secretary
Fabian Society
Andrew Simms
Co-Director
New Weather Institute and The Rapid Transition Alliance
Angela Fell
Managing Director
Ripen
Angela Small*
Sustainability Development Practitioner
University of Leeds
Ann Finlayson*
Anna Drew
Director of Communications
Diocese of Canterbury
Anna Moore*
Consultant
Barts Health NHS Trust
Anne Fox
CEO
Clinks
Antonia Jennings
Economic Change Unit
Anthony Barnett
Co-Founder
openDemocracy
Ariel Friedlander*
Member of the Rabbinic Conference
Arike Oke
Managing Director
Black Cultural Archives
Barry Knight*
Secretary to the Trustees
Centris
Ben Carpenter
CEO
Social Value UK
Ben Stollery
Co-Organiser
Alter Narratives
Benjamin Taylor*
Adviser
The Public Service Transformation Academy
Beverley Skeggs*
Distinguished Professor
Lancaster University
Bill McGuire*
Professor of Geophysical & Climate Hazards
University College London
Bill Roberts
Coordinator
Transition Long Ashton
Bob Rhodes*
Director
Lives Through Friends CIC
Brendan Martin
Director
Buurtzorg Britain and Ireland
Brig Oubridge*
Extinction Rebellion Salisbury
Cara Naden*
Caroline Cass*
Caroline Jones
Public Campaigns Coordinator
Campaign Against Arms Trade
Caroline Macfarland
Director
Common Vision
Caron Bradshaw
CEO
Charity Finance Group
Cat Hobbs
Director and Founder
We Own It
Catherine Hale*
Lead Researcher / Project Manager
Chronic Illness Inclusion Project
Chris Turner
Executive Director
B Lab UK
Chris Watson
Founder
Self Directed Futures
Christopher Grummett
Head of News
CBI
Christos Katsioulis*
Director
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung London
Claire Cumberlidge*
Claire James
Campaigns Coordinator
Campaign Against Climate Change
Claire Read*
Clare Tarling*
Clive Tuck*
Fellow
Coop for Welfare Reform
Colin Hines
Convenor
Green New Deal
Dan Corry
CEO
New Philanthropy Capital
Dan Gregory
Director
Social Enterprise
Danielle Walker-Palmour*
Director
Friends Provident Foundation
David Blanchflower
Professor of Economics
Dartmouth College
David Hillman
Director
Robin Hood Tax Campaign
David Inward*
David Robinson
Chair
The Relationships Project
David Thomas
CEO
Social Value UK
David Towell*
Director
Centre for Inclusive Futures
Debbie Young-Somers*
Rabbi
Deborah Kahn-Harris
Principal
Leo Baeck College, London
Deborah Tomkins
Co-Chair
Green Christian
Deirdre Duff
Climate Campaigner
Medact
Diana Hope*
Diarmaid McDonald
Lead Organiser
Just Treatment
Dorothy Guerrero
Head of Policy
Global Justice Now
Dr Jonathan Gross*
King's College London
Duncan Shrubsole
Director of Policy, Communications and Research
Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales
Eduardo Franco*
President
Semilla Socioenvironmental Foundation
Eleanor Horton*
Eleni Jones
Managing Director
Guardians of the Arches
Elizabeth Çetin*
Director
The Thread Policy Research Centre
Elizabeth Elliot*
Editor at Large
Conde Nast
Elli Tikvah Sarah
Rabbi
Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue
Ellie Harrison*
Artist / Activist
Emilia Melville
Director
Zero Waste
Emily Benson
Director of Engagement
Green Economy Coalition
Emma Thomas
CEO
Young Minds
Eri Mountbatten-O'Malley*
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Centre for Welfare Reform
Eva Watkinson
Head of Campaigns
Jubilee Debt Campaign
Fabian Sbrovosky*
Rabbi
Finola O'Neill*
GP Partner - Black Torrington
NHS
Fiona Williams*
Professor
University of Leeds
Francesca Klug
LSE
Freya Sierhuis*
Extinction Rebellion York
Gail Gibbons
CEO
Sheffield Futures
Genevieve Margrett
Communications Manager
Albert
Georgina Carr
CEO
Neurological Alliance
Gershon Silins*
Rabbi
West London Synagogue
Gordon Peters*
Chair
Haringey Over 50s
Graham Jones*
Chair
Burngreave Clean Air Campaign
Professor Guy Standing*
Author of Battling the Five Giants: Basic Income Now
Halina Ward*
Hanli Buber*
Key Account Director
BTS
Hannah Martin
Co-Executive Director
Green New Deal
Harry Holmes
Communications Team Member
UK Youth Climate Coalition
Harun Khan
General Secretary
Muslim Council of Britain
Heather Maling*
Community Physiotherapist
Community Catalysts
Helen Frerk*
Community Engagement
LegalWise
Helen Mee*
Charity Services Manager
The Clare Foundation
Henrietta Moore
Founder and Director
Institute for Global Prosperity
Howard Cooper*
Psychotherapist and Author
Howard Reed*
Director
Landman Economics
Hugo Dixon*
Director
CommonGround
Ian Hodson
National President
BFAWU
Ian Kearns*
Director
Social Liberal Forum
Irenie Ekkeshis*
Co-Founder
New Citizenship Project
Isla Scott*
Divest Strathclyde
Jackie Longworth
Chair
Fair Play SW, The Women's Equality Network
Jackie Tabick*
Rabbi
Convener Beit Din Reform Judaism
James Chan*
James Copestake
Director
Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath
James Miller
Campaigner
UK Youth for Nature
Jamie Sims*
Extinction Rebellion York
Jana Mills
Executive Director
Small Axe
Jane Wilson*
Janet Thorne*
CEO
Reach Volunteering
Janie Oliver
Executive Director
The Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility
Janine Ward*
Jewels of Hope
Jasmijn Hofman*
YCANI
Jay Ginn*
Associate
Centre for Aging and Gender, University of Surrey
Jennifer Nadel
Co-Founder
Compassion in Politics
Jenny Hodgson
Executive Director
Global Fund for Community Foundations
Jeremy Oppenheim
Founder and Senior Partner
SYSTEMIQ
Jeremy Till*
Head
Central Saint Martins
Jess Carrington*
Jess McQuail
Director
Just Fair
Jesse Griffiths
CEO
Finance Innovation Lab
Jo Chamberlain
National Environment Officer
Church of England
Joe Earle
CEO
Economy
Joe Ryle
Campaign Officer
4 Day Week UK Campaign
John Hume
CEO
People's Health Trust
Jon Alexander
Co-Founder
New Citizenship Project
Jonathan Romain*
Rabbi
Maidenhead Synagogue
Jonathan Bland*
Managing Director
Social Business International / E3M
Jonathon Porritt*
Co-Founder
Forum for the Future
Josh Ryan-Collins*
Head of Finance and Macroeconomics
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Joyce Bullivant*
Coordinator
Timewalk Project
Juan Mira*
Coordinator
Emerger Socioenvironmental Fund Colombia
Juan Carlos Gutiérrez*
Legal Representative
Fundación Alma
Julia Unwin
Chair
Civil Society Futures
Julie Randles
CEO
Power2
Justin Thacker
National Coordinator
Church Action for Tax Justice
Kate Chate*
Kate Garbers
Director
Unseen
Kate Hampton
CEO
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Kate Hudson
General Secretary
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Kate Metcalf
Co-Director
Women's Environmental Network (WEN)
Kate Paradine
CEO
Women in Prison
Kate Pickett*
Professor of Epidermiology
University of York
Kath Vardi*
Rabbi
North West Surrey Synagogue
Katharine Wale*
Katrina Billings
Administrator
Bristol Clean Air Alliance
Keith Baker
Researcher
The Energy Poverty Research Initiative / Common Weal
Kieran Breen
CEO
Leicestershire Cares
Kunle Olulode
Director
Voice4Change England
Laura C Zanetti Domingues
Commando Jugendstil
Laura Williams
Project Manager
Carbon Coop
Leila Usmani*
Project Development Worker
Independent / Race Alliance Wales
Lila Haris*
Liz Leach-Murphy*
Founder
Imagineer and the National Brokered Network
Liz Zeidler
CEO
Centre for Thriving Places
Lucy Findlay*
Managing Director
Social Enterprise Mark CIC
Lukas Hardt*
PhD Researcher
University of Leeds
Luke Hildyard
Executive Director
High Pay Centre
Manuel Cortes
General Secretary
TSSA
Margaret Jacobi*
Rabbi
Birmingham Progressive Synagogue
Marie Davies*
Operations Manager
Credu Cymru
Mark Cridge
CEO
My Society
Markus Vähälä*
CEO
Citizen Network Coop
Martin Farrell*
Founder and Director
get2thepoint
Martin McTague
Policy Director
Federation of Small Businesses
Martin Yarnit*
Co-Founder
Talk Shop
Mary-Ann Stephenson
Director
The Women's Budget Group
Matt Hawkins
Co-Director
Compassion in Politics
Mat Lawrence
Director
Common Wealth
Matthew Fulton-McAlister
Regional Officer
NASUWT
Matthew Lockwood*
Senior Lecturer
University of Sussex
Matthew Mckeague*
CEO
The Architectural Heritage Fund
Matthew Walker
Chair
Place Shapers
Max Mahmoud Wardeh*
Founder
Open Connective
Maxine Webb*
May Boeve
Executive Director
350.org
Mia Watanabe
Campaigner
Feedback
Michael Chessum
National Organiser
Another Europe is Possible
Michael Jacobs
Executive Chair
Economic Change Unit
Michael Landy*
Artist
Michael Weatherhead
Organisation and Projects Leader
Wellbeing Economy Alliance
Mike Buckley
Director
Campaign Central
Milena Buchs*
Associate Professor
University of Leeds
Minnie Rahman
Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager
Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
Miriam Berger
Rabbi
Finchley Reform Synagogue
Molly Scott-Cato*
Economist
Mubin Haq*
CEO
Standard Life Foundation
Naomi Goldman*
Rabbi
Natasha Bradshaw*
Neil McInroy
CEO
Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES)
Nicholas Shaxson*
Author and Journalist
Nick Murry
Chair
Zero Chippenham
Nicky Bull
Chair
Operation Noah
Nicole Katsioulis*
Director - London office
Friedrich-Ebert Foundation
Pam Rosling
Chair of Trustees
Sustainable Dorset/Dorset Agenda 21
Paul Allen
Knowledge and Outreach Coordinator
Centre of Alternative Technology
Paul Hackett
Director
The Smith Institute
Paul Mason
Author
Author of Postcapitalism
Paul Parker
Recording Clerk
Quakers in Britain
Paul Sweeney*
Peter Coville*
Activist
Peter Holland*
Peter Jenkinson*
Peter Lewis
CEO
Chartered Institute of Fundraising
Peter Lipman
Director
Anthropocene Actions
Peter Tatchell
Director
Peter Tatchell Foundation
Philip Turner*
Rabia Abrar
Communications Lead
Wellbeing Economy Alliance
Rachel Berger
Chair
Climate Friendly Bradford on Avon
Rachel Whale
CEO
Koreo
Rebecca Hall*
Doctor
NHS
Reinhard Huss
Chair
UBI Lab Leeds
Rene Pfertzel*
Rabbi
Kingston Liberal Synagogue
Renee Slater*
Shirehampton Climate Emergency Group
Rhidian Hughes
CEO
Voluntary Organisations Disability Group
Richard Dixon
Director
Friends of the Earth Scotland
Richard High
Board Member
Basic Income UK
Richard Jacobi*
Rabbi
East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue
Richard Murphy*
Director
Tax Research LLP
Richard Smith
Chair
UK Health Alliance on Climate Change
Richard Wakeford*
Champion for Rural Futures
Ruralstrategy
Rick Henderson
CEO
Homeless Link
Rita Chadha
CEO
Small Charities Coalition
Rob Kay*
Paperclip C.N.
Robert Palmer
Executive Director
Tax Justice UK
Robert Phillips
Partner
Jericho Chambers
Robin McAlpine
Director
Common Weal
Robin Osterley
CEO
Charity Retail Association
Russell Gunson
Director
IPPR Scotland
Ruth Davison
CEO
Comic Relief
Ruth London
Fuel Poverty Action
Sally Uren
CEO
Forum for the Future
Sally Zlotowitz*
Director of Public Health and Prevention
Psychologists for Social Change
Sandra McLeod*
Volunteer
Sustainable Hackney
Sandy Stevens
Centre for Alternative Technology
Sarah Clarke
Spokesperson / Policy and Communications Manager
Unlock Democracy
Sarah Holmes
Director
Imagineer
Sarah Munro
Director
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
Sarah Woolley
General Secretary
BFAWU
Sarah-Jayne Clifton
Director
Jubilee Debt Campaign
Scott Tully*
Glasgow Calls Out Polluters
Shane Conner*
Shanon Shah
Interim Network Coordinator
Faith for the Climate
Shelagh Wright*
Independent
Sian Ashby*
Doctor / International Representative
Sian Croose*
Sian Lockwood
CEO
Community Catalysts CIC
Simon Duffy
Director
Centre for Welfare Reform
Simon Hannah
Joint Branch Secretary
Lambeth UNISON
Simon Parker*
Corporate Director of Strategy
London Borough of Redbridge
Stephanie Riches
Coordinator
People's Powerhouse
Stephen Clark
Chair
Your Voice in Health & Social Care
Stephen Pittam*
Steve Lapsley
National Committee Member
Open Labour
Stewart Lansley*
Visiting Fellow
University of Bristol
Stuart Melvin
Co-Founder
Workforce
Stuart White*
Associate Professor in Politics
University of Oxford
Sue Goss*
Doctor
Sue Konzelmann
Director, Postgraduate Programmes in Corporate Governance and Business Ethics
Birkbeck University of London
Sue Tibballs*
CEO
Sheila McKechnie Foundation
Susan Himmelweit*
Emeritus Professer of Economics
Women's Budget Group
Susan Kellett*
Sylvia Rothschild*
Rabbi
Tamar Singer
UK Student Climate Network
Tabitha Morton
CEO
More United
Tchiyiwe Chihana*
Gender and Development Specialist
UBI Lab Network
Tess Woolfenden
Policy and Campaigns Officer
Health Poverty Action
Tessy Britton
CEO
Participatory City Foundation
Tim Hughes
Director
Involve
Tim Jackson*
Director
University of Surrey
Tim Lang*
Professor of Food Policy
Centre for Food Policy, City, University of London
Tim O'Riordan*
Professor Emeritus
University of East Anglia
Tina Rothery
Co-Founder
Nanas UK
Tom Bigg*
Director of Strategy and Leaning
IIED
Tom de Grunwald*
Founder
Forward Democracy
Trevor Chinn*
Industrial Adviser
CVC
Vivienne Hayes
CEO
Women's Resource Centre
Wanda Bodnar*
Project Officer
Thames Estuary Partnership
Wanda Wyporska
Executive Director
The Equality Trust
Wendy Carter
Head of Communications and Marketing
Co-operatives UK
William James
Extinction Rebellion York
Zahra Ravenscroft*
Senior Marine Officer
Environment Agency
Zoe Arnold
Project Manager
Students Organising for Sustainability
Zoe Jacobs
Cantor
Finchley Reform Synagogue
Zoe Steley*

*Personal capacity

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