Thank you so much Jonny for the invite to speak with you again.

And I can’t tell you how emotional it is to be at Redhills.

Because the important thing about this place is not its beauty. Or its age.

It’s something I was reminded about when Jonny and I went to visit the Clubs and Institutes Union committee at their headquarters last week.

Someone said something about their club and why it was different to a pub, or a charity centre – the things with which clubs are most often confused.

He said the thing about a club is we do it ourselves.

We do it ourselves.

And that’s the spirit of Redhills too.

A place where people came together to determine their own priorities, on their own terms.

And that’s what the clubs movement can be again – a theatre of everyday power for ordinary people.

When I spoke at this conference last year, I said there were three reasons why clubs are so special.

Firstly, that clubs create a sense of belonging – because when we join a club it’s not just that we belong to it, it’s that it belongs to us. It’s our place – we are of it, and it is of us.

Secondly, that clubs generate meaningful connection – because they are places we form relationships rather than merely have encounters, because we see the same people again and again.

And thirdly, that clubs help cultivate a democratic habit of mind. Because when we want to make a change to our shared space, we have to persuade all the other people with whom we share it – and that forces us to think about the needs and interests of other people because we all have the same stake and say.

Last year I was pretty explicit in what I thought my job was as a speaker.

It was to convince the people who’d come along because they were ‘clubs curious’ to become ‘club nuts’. It was to help get funders and policymakers to see what the people who run clubs are doing every day of the week to change communities and change lives.

And here’s the good news – the argument has been won.

As Jonny has just laid out, the work of 21st Century Social Clubs goes from strength to strength. The movement is attracting attention, attracting funding and attracting partners.

Over in the world of policy there are a few things I wanted to share that I think should make us all very proud too.

The All Party Parliamentary Group has been re-established – which means we will have MPs from different parties and different places working together to advocate to government for what clubs need.

And when they do so they will be pushing at an open door, because the government has formally recognised the importance of social clubs.

When our £5 billion Pride in Place strategy was launched we were very explicit about what made it different to other growth and regeneration money that’s come before. Firstly that local people should be in the driving seat and secondly that social clubs should be consulted on how the money should be spent, because they are existing, democratic, community institutions.

And this isn’t just a tick box exercise either. The Government will only approve spending if community groups, including social clubs, have a say in how the money is spent.

This is how we ensure that power is redistributed so that money can be used by people to transform the places they love, for the people they love.

Social clubs were part of the fabric of this policy, as we understood what has been put aside in policy circles for too long but is so obvious to the communities in receipt of this money: shared spaces that the community have a stake in have been, and will always remain, the best driver to reinvigorate our neighbourhoods.

Think back to one of Andy Burnham’s first announcements as PM. That a 20% cut would happen on rates for pubs AND CLUBS.

On the day of the announcement, the BBC ran a headline including clubs on the same pedestal as pubs. We were right up there, because this is a government that already understands our value.

That’s in no small part because of the work of so many in this room and beyond who have kept their doors open through uncertain times.

And honestly, I don’t think it’s an accident that Andy centred clubs in one of his first major policies. Because of course his own journey to Downing Street began in Stubshaw Cross club, the headquarters of his by-election campaign.

His politics is rooted in the very kind of reciprocity and participation that these places have in bucket loads.

He knows this movement. Is of this movement. And I feel very confident that he will always have this movement’s back.

Andy knew I was coming here today and as I arrived this morning I got a message he wanted me to read to you:

“I was really pleased to learn about the 21st Century Social Clubs campaign because this movement – our movement – is absolutely key to bringing back hope. You know better than anyone that our clubs are where we go when we need to do the things that make life worth living: have a drink, have a dance, have a laugh. Stubshaw Cross Social Club is where my journey to Number 10 began and it’s where my mind returns to when I’ve got a tough decision to make. Making life better for members there is the test for me. I know making things better for your fellow members is what motivates you too so I want to thank you for everything you’re doing. Have a brilliant day and all best wishes for the work to come.”

And of course, it’s not just Andy. The public too is squarely behind our goals.

Indeed, ‘places to meet’ is the number one thing people in low-income neighbourhoods say would improve their areas.

So I think we should be proud. We should be confident. And we should be demanding.

Proud of what we have achieved together in this last year.

Confident of what we can achieve together in the year to come.

And demanding about seeking the support we need for our clubs to thrive – not just as 21st century institutions, but for as long as people need to belong, need to connect, and need to do it ourselves.