Report

The people’s pools

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society presents a plan for Labour to build lidos.

Traditionally, institutions such as the local cinema, the library, and the leisure centre or swimming pool made the high street and city centre the heart of local communities. However, as urban centres have declined across much of Britain with the rise of out-of-town supermarkets and online shopping, there has yet to be a coherent answer to the question of what they are for.

This, Greg Rosen argues, makes civic infrastructure more important than ever. Drawing on the Labour-led lido programme of the 1930s as a successful example of municipal socialism that created popular community infrastructure and bolstered Labour’s political credibility, he presents an ambitious plan to use water-sector reforms to require water companies to help finance, design, and deliver new or restored lidos in partnership with local authorities.

Published in June 2026, amid record-breaking temperatures, this pamphlet aims to create tangible community assets, strengthen local democracy and “pride in place,” and give Labour a modern equivalent of one of its most iconic historical achievements