The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is landmark legislation.
Amid increasing disillusionment among the public that our system isn't working, rewiring the foundations of our governance is urgent work.
How power is shared, where decisions get taken and whether people feel influence are underlying questions that dominate our age. When they are ignored or answered badly, the legitimacy of our democracy takes another step in its decline.
Now legislation will not only enshrine power relocated from Westminster to the regions, but also take steps to embed community empowerment.
Legislation is essential but can only take us so far. Great catalysts for change will also be the mindset, culture and genuine collaboration councils and partners drive in a system that encourages working outwards collectively, rather than up the governance hierarchy individually.
For us at New Local, long-standing advocates of both localism and community power, this dual purpose is welcome. Resetting the relationship between citizen and state requires power redistributed from the top down and grassroots energy enabled from the ground up.
But beyond these linear descriptors, the real promise is to create effective local systems that are powered by, and responsive to, communities themselves. This is less about shunting control from national to local institutions. It is more about enabling place-based ways of working built on shared data, pooled budgets and active, ongoing community participation.
Regarding the legislation itself, there will be cynics who roll their eyes. Isn't this just delegation? Or critics who say it isn't going far enough. What about fiscal devo? And there are folk mired in reorganisation who simply don't have time to do either.
But unpicking our centralised state is a long-term endeavour.
Legislation is essential but can only take us so far. Great catalysts for change will also be the mindset, culture and genuine collaboration councils and partners drive in a system that encourages working outwards collectively, rather than up the governance hierarchy individually.
This is a crucial milestone on a long journey.
Jessica Studdert is chief executive of New Local
