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Stronger Local Places: Rebuilding the Social Club Movement

11th September 2025

10am to 4pm

The Mildmay Club, London

Sold Out

Join us on 11th September 2025 at The Mildmay Club in London for Stronger Local Places: Rebuilding the Social Club Movement, a one-day conference dedicated to revitalising the legacy and relevance of social clubs across Britain. During the event, communities, policymakers, charities, and funders will explore how existing and new social clubs can address today’s pressing social and economic challenges, and how we can work together to put them back at the heart of our civil society.

Join us on 11th September 2025 at The Mildmay Club in London for Stronger Local Places: Rebuilding the Social Club Movement, a one-day conference dedicated to revitalising the legacy and relevance of social clubs across Britain. During the event, communities, policymakers, charities, and funders will explore how existing and new social clubs can address today’s pressing social and economic challenges, and how we can work together to put them back at the heart of our civil society.

'Social clubs are not just gathering spaces—they are critical lifelines for reducing loneliness and building meaningful connections within communities. To truly unlock their potential, we must prioritise them as part of our national social infrastructure.'

'Social clubs are not just gathering spaces—they are critical lifelines for reducing loneliness and building meaningful connections within communities.'

Kirsty McNeill, MP for Midlothian

Speakers

Kirsty McNeill MP

Scottish Labour and Co-operative MP for Midlothian since 2024, Kirsty McNeill serves as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland. With experience as a campaigner and strategist, she remains dedicated to fairness and community empowerment.

Kirsty McNeill MP

Emily Green

Emily Green serves as Secretary and Management Committee member at the West London Trades Union Club. Recognised as Young Ambassador and Manager of the Year in 2024, she advises the Metropolitan Police's Ealing LGBTQ+ Independent Advisory Group.

Emily Green

Pete Brown

Pete Brown is a respected British author and cultural historian specialising in food, drink, and social history. His notable publication "Clubland" thoroughly explores the significant legacy of working men's clubs in shaping British cultural identity.

Pete Brown

Caitlin Prowle

Caitlin Prowle currently serves as Head of Political Affairs at the Co-operative Party. With a strong background as a Labour activist, she actively champions co-operative values and works consistently to promote economic democracy throughout the United Kingdom.

Caitlin Prowle

Madeleine Jennings

Madeleine Jennings leads External Affairs at Local Trust, where she oversees policy development and stakeholder engagement initiatives. Her work supports community-led regeneration efforts in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, empowering local residents to create positive change.

Madeleine Jennings

Crispin Truman

Crispin Truman OBE currently serves as Director of the Rayne Foundation. With over 25 years of extensive experience in charity leadership roles, he previously led both CPRE and the Churches Conservation Trust with distinction.

Crispin Truman

Laura Moss

Laura Moss is a partner at Wrigleys Solicitors, where she specialises in providing comprehensive legal guidance to charities, social enterprises, and community organisations, with particular expertise in governance structures and appropriate legal frameworks.

Laura Moss

Dave Boyle

Dave Boyle serves as Director of the Community Shares Company, where he has successfully facilitated raising over £22 million in essential funding for community-owned enterprises through innovative share offers, enabling local initiatives to achieve sustainable ownership.

Dave Boyle

Olimpia Burchiellaro

Olimpia, an anthropologist and senior lecturer at the University of Essex, teaches ethnographic methods. She is also on the management committee for The Friends of the Joiners Arms, a co-op opening London's first community-owned queer pub.

Olimpia Burchiellaro

Oliver Holtaway

Oliver Holtaway is co-founder of Popular, a research and advisory practice to help us understand, design, operate and maintain our social infrastructure. He has over a decade's experience as a community ownership researcher and practitioner.

Oliver Holtaway

Jon Lee

Jon supports legal services in social economy sectors including community housing and energy. With 30+ years in ethical finance, he’s also held non-executive roles in sustainability at The Co-operative Bank and Ecology Building Society.

Jon Lee

Tom Campbell

As Membership Secretary, Tom oversees new member applications, membership fees and renewals for Newington Green’s Mildmay Club – you can find him in the bar pretty much every Tuesday doing interviews.

Tom Campbell

Matthew McKeague

Matthew became CEO of the Architectural Heritage Fund in 2017, leading major heritage funding programmes. Formerly at the Churches Conservation Trust, he has broad regeneration experience and serves as a charity trustee and heritage advisor.

Matthew McKeague

Matthew Otridge

Matthew is a trained Community Shares practitioner who has been involved in raising over £3m to support the community ownership of GMVs. Matt provides advice to MVT and support to MVA members seeking to take their venues into community ownership.

Matthew Otridge

Isabel Thomas

Isabel is a PhD candidate at the International Centre for Music Studies in Newcastle. Her research explores the history of working men's clubs in the UK, using various sources to shed light on how cultural policy affects music venues.

Conference programme

10.00 - 10.15 | Opening and welcome

Jonny Gordon-Farleigh – Centre for Democratic Business

10.15 - 10.30 | Plenary

MP Kirsty McNeill – Co-operative & Labour Party for Midlothian

10.30 - 11.15 | A 21st Century Social Club Movement?

Emily Green – West London Trade Union Club

Pete Brown – author of ‘Clubland’

Kirsty McNeill – MP for Midlothian

Caitlin Prowl – Co-operative Party

Chaired by Jonny Gordon-Farleigh

11.30 - 12.30 | The Infrastructure of Connection: Clubs and social capital

Madeleine Jennings – Local Trust

Linda Hien – Power to Change

Crispin Truman – Rayne Foundation

Chaired by Oliver Holtaway

13.30 - 14.30 | The Legal Question: Good club governance in a changing world

Laura Moss – Wrigleys Solicitors

Tom Campbell – Mildmay Club

Dave Boyle – Community Shares Company

Chaired by Jon Lee

14.45 - 15.30 | National Treasures? Clubs as cultural heritage

Olimpia Burchiellaro – University of Essex

Matthew Otridge – Music Venue Trust

Isabel Thomas – International Centre for Music Studies

Chaired by Matthew McKeague

15.30 - 15.45 | Closing remarks

Jonathan Gordon-Farleigh – Centre for Democratic Business

Tickets

£40 – 70 + VAT

We’re asking delegates to contribute a nominal fee towards the cost of the event. Arrivals will be from 9:30am on day and your ticket includes refreshments and lunch.

Click below to register and buy your tickets:

Sold Out

Media Enquiries

If you're a journalist interested in covering this growing movement or would like to explore the stories behind our work, we welcome your questions and interview requests. Please reach out below or via email.

If you're a journalist interested in covering this growing movement or would like to explore the stories behind our work, we welcome your questions and interview requests. Please reach out below or via email.