For centuries, working people occupied or created a vast range of collective spaces – from chapels to union halls to working men’s clubs – that supported mutual improvement, political organisation, and popular culture. From the Chartists to the trade unions, to political parties and civic membership bodies, there was an implicit understanding that associational spaces were fundamental to democratic life: not just sites of social interaction, but institutions where people learned to organise, deliberate, govern, and exercise collective power.

With the post-war collapse of these physical institutions across Britain, and the hollowing out of our democratic politics over the last few decades, it’s clear that worker power is more disorganised than ever, and our major institutions find it more difficult to build long-term movements for change.