Westminster think tank to open Yorkshire office

The Centre for Social Justice, set up by Iain Duncan Smith in 2004, has helped shape British policy-making over the past two decades and is now expanding with regional offices for its CSJ Foundation.

Recent Centre for Social Justice polling revealed Yorkshire and the Humber as the region most convinced that Britain is broken, with 85 per cent of those polled in Yorkshire thinking so, compared with the national average of 75 per cent.

The CSJ has launched a report investigating the root causes of poverty and disadvantage in the UK and offering long-term solutions for change.

The think tanks said that in order to inform and shape that report, it is hosting “Big

Listen” events across regions, starting in Yorkshire today at the Royal Armories in Leeds, with over 60 charities set to attend.

It said it will gather evidence from these events attended by community foundations; government agencies; local businesses, local MPs, and charities, in time to take the proposals to the Government in February 2024.

Nathan Gamester, Managing Director of the CSJ Foundation, told The Yorkshire Post: "We're opening an office in Yorkshire to make sure frontline voices from across the region are heard loud and clear by national decision-makers."

"Yorkshire is a vibrant and optimistic region with huge potential, but it also contains areas of disadvantage. We will work with organisations across the region to highlight key issues and find solutions to support the most disadvantaged.

"It was a privilege to bring together more than 50 grassroots charities from across Yorkshire as well as political figures like Kim Leadbeater MP to discuss the key issues facing the region. We are excited to continue this work through our Yorkshire regional office, and to further our mission to connect the backstreets of Britain with corridors of power.

"The CSJ believes in learning from brilliant frontline organisations who are leading the fight against poverty. We are fortunate to work with organisations such as Tempus Novo in Leeds, Community Links in Sheffield, and Lighthouse in Hull, who do amazing work within their communities. National policymakers can learn a lot from these organisations.”