Ed Miliband at the Labour Party Conference and why ‘resilient idealism’ needs more than a speech – Peace Direct

A systemic problem

Ed Miliband stressed that this government will no longer be silent about injustice. However, what we have seen in Palestine is not one specific failure of justice, it is a result of how international systems are built. A system that leaves a minority group – detached from the realities of war – with the majority of power. For decades, we have said that a just and sustainable peace can only be built by people within their communities on their own terms.

REDEPAZ 2026 – Pathways to Peace

People living through conflict have knowledge and solutions that international systems routinely overlook. From Emergency Response Rooms feeding thousands in Sudan, to giving young people alternatives to armed groups in Colombia, our partners have found solutions that work. What they need now is not merely recognition, but a genuine say in the policy that affects them.

International solidarity that continues to exclude the people it seeks to help is not solidarity. If the UK government wants to be the leader it claims to be, it needs to shift power, not just attention, to those who have the knowledge to lead, starting with who shapes the policy that governs their lives.

Peace Works

We know that peace works. In a recent report, along with 10 other organisations, we shared how the UK government can renew its ambition to support sustainable peace in an increasingly volatile world. Changing the ‘status quo’ requires a forward-thinking approach, but that thinking has already begun.

As Kit Dorey, UK Advocacy & Policy Manager, put it: “The only logical solution to countering conflict is to invest in peace. Peace works, we’ve seen how essential local communities are to building it. It’s time the UK government understood the same.”

We have to champion local peacebuilding with actions, not just words. Peace provides the foundation for global security, improved global health, strong economies, and more. This idealistic world is possible, but it needs to be more than aspiration. It needs local people in the room – and the UK government needs to listen.