S01:E01
Scotland has become the first country in the world to write community wealth building into law. Neil McInroy — Global Lead for Community Wealth Building at The Democracy Collaborative, and previously chief executive of CLES — explains what that actually means: who holds wealth in a place, how to make more of it stay, and the five pillars the approach works through, from fair work and public procurement to community finance, land, and inclusive ownership.
He traces the idea from Cleveland’s Evergreen Cooperatives to the Preston model and on to the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Act 2026 — and is candid about the limits: what a framework can and can’t do against data centres and footloose capital, why the legislation caused a pause as much as a surge, and why, on his account, none of it works without an organised movement underneath it.
About Neil McInroy
Neil McInroy is Global Lead for Community Wealth Building at The Democracy Collaborative, the US-based research organisation that originated the term, where he supports inclusive-ownership strategies and systemic economic reform in the US and internationally. He spent around two decades as Chief Executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) in Manchester, where he helped pioneer community wealth building in Britain, including the Preston model. He has advised the Scottish Government on community wealth building and chairs the Economic Development Association Scotland (EDAS).
Further reading
The Democracy Collaborative — community wealth building
The Democracy Collaborative on the Scottish law — “A World First“
Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Act 2026 — full text, legislation.gov.uk
Scottish Government — community wealth building policy
Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) — cles.org.uk
Chapters
00:00 Understanding Community Wealth Building
04:00 Five Pillars of Community Wealth Building
07:20 Global Expansion of Community Wealth Building
10:44 The Preston Model and Its Success
13:05 Catalysts for Uptake of Community Wealth Building
16:35 Addressing Modern Economic Challenges
18:24 The Evolution of Community Wealth Building
21:33 Community Wealth Building in the face of AI and Data Centres
25:35 Understanding Community Wealth Building and Lessons Learnt
31:12 Building community and becoming activist citizens 32:46 The Need for Real System Change
36:40 Comparison with other alternative economic frameworks
37:32 Engaging with the Marginalised
40:59 Future Prospects for Community Wealth Building
44:50 Being conscious of the needs of the people within a community
47:28 The future of Community Wealth Building
51:09 Is the Scottish CWB Act getting the attention it deserves
53:43 Can the embracing of CWB be expedited
Listen & watch
▶️ Video: https://youtu.be/ofpnimWFoEc
