Liz Kendall, Labour MP for Leicester West, finds the spirit of the Co-operative and Labour movements’ pioneers in the community of Rowley Fields

Before the last General Election, I backed a campaign by residents to keep community services at Manor House, in Rowley Fields. As a result of their efforts, the council reopened the building and agreed to allow members of the community to take over running the services instead.

I recently went to Manor House's first open day and was really proud of what the residents have achieved in such a short space of time.

They are already running exercise classes, lunch clubs for older people and parent and toddler groups.

Their future plans include setting up allotments so people can grow their own food, running adult education classes with Leicester College and providing activities for young people.

There are important lessons that should be learnt from the experience at Manor House.

Putting residents in charge helps make sure services in this part of the West End and Rowley Fields are ones the community wants and needs.

It's not rocket science – local people know best what local people want.

The result is that more people are using Manor House – people of all ages and from all parts of the community.

I think the council should look at extending this model for running community services to other parts of the city.

It is also something Labour should champion nationally.

This means rediscovering our history and roots in self-help and community action.

During the industrial revolution and earlier, ordinary working people came together to form mutuals – co-operatives and friendly societies – organisations that were owned and run by their members for the benefit of one another.

These organisations helped people save or get insurance in case they lost their job, or had an accident at work and gave them opportunities to learn and develop their skills.

Here in Leicester, the Co-operative movement was particularly strong. It remains so to this day.

Its members understand that by helping one another they will also help themselves and that they can achieve more together than they can on their own.

The modern Labour Party was born from this tradition and we then went on to create the welfare state so that the security, opportunity and other benefits provided by mutuals and co-operatives were made available to all.

Labour should once again put self-help and community control at the heart of our agenda and champion the experience of places such as Manor House more widely.

The Conservatives claim they want to do this, through their "Big Society".

Many people think this is just a cover for public service cuts that will leave communities to fend for themselves.

You cannot just roll back the state and expect volunteers to fill the gap.

Local people need proper help and support to take on real power and control. The council is providing funding and staff to help residents at Manor House, both of which are crucial to its success.

Residents in Rowley Fields are blazing a trail at Manor House.

Their efforts are an inspiration – we should back them to the hilt.