This year’s EU referendum in the UK and the presidential election in the United States show that on both sides of the Atlantic, many consider politics to be an elite, distant and remote affair to which they cannot relate.

Part of the remedy to this predicament must lie in power being devolved more closely to people in their neighbourhoods. This should include the passage of power down from central government to local authorities, with councillors proven to be more trusted than members of parliament in poll after poll. But it must also mean passing power down further still into communities themselves.