There's some hope for ordinary people in the People's Assembly. Elspeth, a lay preacher from Merthyr, present at the meeting, asked the room "Where are all the existing community groups of Cardiff? Why don't we ever see in our meetings those actually struggling to make ends meet? Where are the black women's groups, the community centres, the refugees, the wider community?"She had a timely point for everyone who considers themselves an activist today.
The room agreed that more could be done and that we had a responsibility to invite people to the meeting, without expectation that they are in a trade union or ready to join a socialist party. It got better. The proposal for a Cardiff and the Vale People's Assembly was rejected, as this would have made it difficult for single parents, anyone on low income, and those without means of transport to get to. This was a rare sign of different-from-the-usual 'centralisation' that we expect from most of the left.

