Ed Cox is the director of the Institute for Public Policy Research North and chair of the Inspire Church and Community Centre in Manchester. Before that he was an advisor to Hazel Blears MP in her role as communities secretary.
From City Challenge to community organisers, governments have continuously tinkered with programmes aimed at transforming livelihoods. Meanwhile local churches tread a narrow line between protest and provision. Drawing on more than a decade of experience, Ed Cox takes a sideways look at two decades of government attempts to stimulate community action in poor neighbourhoods.
