IN 2013, the year we founded Acorn UK, I realised I had spent 10 years as a dedicated political activist with virtually nothing from my activity in this country that I could point to as a success — and I wasn’t happy with that.

Coming from Britain’s anarchist scene, I was politically active in the anti-capitalist movement of the early 2000s and later trade unionism, then spent several years living in Mexico participating in the social movement in Oaxaca and in solidarity work with the Zapatistas.

But back in my home city of Bristol, despite the rampant poverty caused by years of cuts and austerity measures, we weren’t seeing the kind of organised class conflict we expected and desired. It was time to try something new.

Some us had been involved in renegade, rule-breaking, anarchist-inspired pilot scheme called Liberty & Solidarity which had taken such a ruthless approach to “keeping only what works” that it had eventually ditched anarchism for a kind of “pure syndicalism” before rationalising the organisation itself out of existence too.

But we had learned a lot; by attempting to practice anarcho-syndicalism in the community, we had come into contact with “the organiser model” from the US, and we had seen remarkable success using its methods. We knew community organising could be the second front of the class struggle, and we were certain we had found the tools to open fire.

There were community groups out there already, yes. But we weren’t seeing much in the way of practical outcomes from organisations that on the surface might have appeared similar to Acorn. We weren’t seeing that direct confrontation with targets that we felt — and have since proven — is a necessary part of both getting the practical wins on the issues, but equally or more importantly, essential to building up the confidence and participation of our members that leads them to take true ownership of the organisation.