Campaigners write to MPs with calls to 'build back better' in Mansfield and Ashfield

The letter asks the MPs to write to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak demanding that we build a better society and economy post-pandemic.

It calls for action that safeguards people’s wellbeing, jobs and futures and asks for a pay rise for key workers as well as a comprehensive Green New Deal programme.

So far, the letter has been signed by a variety of groups such as local businesses, councillors and health groups - the latter of which have been on the front line against Covid-19.

Arranjit Rangi, from Build Back Better Ashfield and Mansfield, has asked the MPs to ‘listen to what people are saying and what people want.'

He said: “There was a survey that we did and only nine per cent of people wanted things to go back to normal.

“There is an appetite for change and I think that it would be really great if the MPs could sit down with us and talk through how we are going to get back on the right track and go forward to a future that we all want.”

The Build Back Better movement is made up of organisations and groups such as teachers, healthcare workers and students who are fighting for change and a coronavirus recovery plan that benefits everyone in the community.

Build Back Better campaigners want an investment-led deal that protects public services, tackles inequality in communities, provides secure well-paid jobs and creates a shockproof economy which can fight the climate crisis.

Nationally the group have had a wide range of people sign up to the register that aims to bring change – including a football club, the ex-Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the CBI and health groups such as MEDAPT and Nurses United.

Arranjit Rangi added: “We saw a lot of people during the peak of the virus who had to work from home and they really enjoyed spending more time with their family.

"It’s about rebuilding and restructuring the way we live to reflect on what people want but also to recognise key workers and give them a pay rise and safeguard their futures.”

He added: “We’d like the government to respond by implementing policies that go hand in hand with what we are saying.

“We’d also like them to sit down with local groups, especially MPs and work with their councils to see how they can help respond to this pandemic.”

Build Back Better – Ashfield and Mansfield will be handing the letter to Lee Anderson MP and Ben Bradley MP at Ben Bradley's office on August 27.

For more information about the campaign group visit www.buildbackbetteruk.org.