Paul Dennett was elected mayor of Salford in May 2016. Dennett, a former councillor whose political hero is the Jewish socialist stalwart and housing crusader Frank Allaun, campaigned for Jeremy Corbyn in both leadership elections, believing a change of direction was not only desirable but necessary for Labour.

Overseeing a budget of £200m, Dennett’s administrative philosophy is that free market capitalism is failing people from all walks of life – but particularly in his poverty-stricken city – and if the government won’t help people then Labour local authorities will step in. Under his leadership, Salford council has been something of a local government inspiration, giving its care workers a 10.7% pay rise, building new libraries, and tackling the housing crisis head-on by building the first council houses in Salford in over 30 years.

With less than a week to go before local elections in cities across England give Labour the chance to take power from Conservatives on councils such as Trafford in Greater Manchester and Wandsworth in London, this is exactly the kind of inspiration Labour campaigners need. While critics of Labour’s current leadership sometimes take a strange sort of comfort in the notion that once those advocating bold change in Britain take power, they will suddenly become “realistic”, understanding that “pragmatism” and stodgy governance is the only navigable way forward, the opposite is true. Candidates including Paul Dennett lose none of their radicalism when they are elected.

Take another example: Preston. Since 2011, Preston city council’s grant has been virtually halved. An austerity budget of £18m has destroyed the city’s social infrastructure, with community work, park maintenance and local community centres falling under the axe. Preston was struggling – and fell into the bottom 20% of the multiple deprivation index.

But under cabinet member Matthew Brown’s cautious but radical economic guidance, the council made good use of a 2013 act that allows public institutions in England to consider the social, economic and environmental impact of their contracting and commissioning. Lucrative contracts, often reserved for multinational firms, were given to local businesses, co-operatives and farmers, with the justification that the social value is greater if produced locally.

The results were positive. Local investment doubled. The local constabulary, small businesses, sixth-form colleges and housing associations all signed up to help reorganise their supply chains to benefit local businesses. This has allowed everything from farmers, family building trades and artists’ co-operatives to thrive in Preston, and in 2016 the city was named as the best place in north-west England to live and work.

Councillors can be the pillars of their communities

You could name hundreds of people up and down the country like Dennett and Brown. From the grafting socialist Mo Hitchcock in Portsmouth to community activist Catherine Donovan in Newcastle, there are scores of prospective Labour councillors dedicated to not merely sitting in a council chamber, but coming up with innovative, radical measures to tackle the fractures in British society.

These are the kinds of activists that we in Momentum intend to train, encourage and develop – not only before they become elected representatives, but after. By doing so, we aim to make sure they do not slip into the demoralisation too easily brought about by the ravages of Tory budget cuts. Participants in training sessions explore the idea of power, where it lies within our communities and councils. They map their local communities and the issues affecting local residents and explore how to run winnable, community-based campaigns. Our network will also teach councillors how to organise – from supporting tenants unions to take on unscrupulous landlords to setting up food co-ops to tackle food poverty. Councillors can be the pillars of their communities, and the focal organising point for protest against the harm this government is doing.

If we are truly going to transform Britain for the many, and not the few, we need a whole new layer of Labour councillors embedded in communities and committed to an overhaul. In the past few years, we have seen that the old politics is increasingly unacceptable to millions of people. Our work is all about ensuring that Labour councillors aren’t waiting for change to arrive from on high, but building socialism from below.

• Beth Foster-Ogg is Momentum’s national training organiser