by Don Paskini

Earlier this year, London Citizens asked its member organisations to come up with a ‘citizens’ response to the economic crisis’.

Thousands of people were involved in these discussions, and the following priorities were agreed:



1. Deepen and broaden the Living Wage

To ensure our London Citizens member institutions are moving towards being London Living Wage (LLW) employers; to extend the Living Wage campaign to all low-paid sectors nationally; to find out who, in our member institutions, is being paid less than the LLW (currently £7.60 p/hour); to call on the Corporation of London and City institutions to follow the example of councils and businesses across London by paying the LLW, which is the best defence against debt.

2. Introduce cap on interest rates

To call on the Government to curb exploitative lending (usury) through a 20 per cent cap on interest charged on unsecured personal loans by financial institutions (eg credit card companies, store cards, doorstep lending), such as exists in major EU countries; to call on banks to take the lead by introducing low-interest credit cards, etc.

3. Expand local, mutual lending

To call for infrastructural investment by banks and Government in community-based /relational forms of lending, eg credit unions and mutuals, to increase the access to credit of the financially excluded.

4. Educate in financial literacy

To seek sponsors (eg. KPMG and the City of London) to work with London Citizens and partners Moneysavingexpert.com and Credit Action to pilot a financial literacy project in our member schools which will focus on responsible lending and responsible borrowing. If successful, this project to be extended to schools across London and the UK, administered by an independent organisation.

5. Create statutory charter for responsible lending

To call on all political parties to commit to establishing a statutory charter of responsible lending overseen by an established regulatory body, eg OFT or FSA; the charter to include, eg, debt management plans, transparency of charges and criteria for responsible marketing.

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What makes this set of policy proposals unique is not just that so many people were involved in developing them, it is what will happen next. This evening, at the Barbican Centre, London Citizens is holding a Citizens’ Assembly where 2,000 people will witness these proposals being presented to some of the most powerful people in London. Their idea is that change doesn’t just come from thinking up clever new policies, but from organising people to campaign for change. Tonight, we’ll be able to see how well that works in practice.