MP joins forces with The Big Issue founder to provide a better tomorrow

As part of The Big Issue’s Today for Tomorrow campaign, on June 30th, 2021 the Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness, Simon Fell participated virtually in the parliamentary launch of Lord Bird’s Facing the Future report, which demonstrate the findings of research conducted by Portland Communications mid-pandemic, in July 2020. 

The research sought to identify how passing legislation like the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill (which was drawn first in the House of Lords ballot and is currently going through Parliament apace), for which Simon Fell is the co-sponsor, would be politically relevant to the current Conservative Government. 

During the session, which was supported by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Future Generations, they gave an introduction alongside the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe, the founder of The Big Issue, Lord Bird.

A Q&A between parliamentarians, the press and the Future Generations Commission (established by the office of Lord Bird to illustrate what the Bill’s provision could look like) then ensued.  

Commission members include a future generations’ ‘expert’ and a young person from each of the four nations of the United Kingdom:   

Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
Roman Krznaric, Philosopher and Author (The Good Ancestor) [England]
Jimmy Paul, Director of Wellbeing Economy Alliance [Scotland]
Aideen McGinley, Deputy Chair of Carnegie UK [Northern Ireland] 

Bleddyn Harris, young person [Wales]
Denisha Killoh, young person [Scotland]
Anita Okunde, young person [England]
Matthew Devine, young person [Northern Ireland] 

Questions centred around the main findings of the report which showed that more than two thirds of the public (69 per cent) want the Government to do more to plan and prepare for long-term threats, rising to three quarters (73 per cent) when looking purely at swing voters. And 61 per cent say that this expectation increases with the length of time a party is in power, presenting an opportunity to build a positive shared legacy that both Government and its people will be remembered for. 

 Commenting, Simon said: 

“I was delighted to participate in the report launch of Facing Our Future as its findings show how important the public find long-term planning, instead of focusing on immediate relief, despite being in a pandemic. ”

"I feel the Bill would provide a clear mechanism to Government to achieve some of their key strategic objectives, which are very much relevant to constituencies like mine, such as levelling up the North, Building Back Better and the net zero carbon target by 2050. The Bill would ensure that we're better prepared in the future for threats such as climate change and pandemics. This is why I decided to co-sponsor the Bill through the House of Commons".

Lord Bird MBE, the founder of The Big Issue, introduced the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill into the House of Lords, as part of his Today for Tomorrow Campaign. 

The Bill seeks to embed long-termism, prevention, and the interests of future generations at the heart of policymaking. It also aims to tackle issues such as the climate crisis, poverty and pandemics, head on, with an ambition to build on the work of the Welsh (legislating in the devolved countries for only matters not yet devolved). 

Lord Bird said: 

“Our report illustrates just how politically viable our mission is: providing an opportunity to the Conservative Government to demonstrate their commitment to Building Back Better by rethinking how we plan for the long-term. 

The pandemic has taught us how important it is to think about the future. We must place the wellbeing of future generations at the heart of policymaking, now”.