Lord Simon Woolley: Taking social capitalism to the next level

AN underprivileged background can be the catalyst to making a difference in the world.

And Lord Simon Woolley is the perfect example of how one's early years could result in a life of activism that sees actual change.

Lord Woolley is among the most eminent figures in the racial justice movement in the UK. He currently sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords as Lord Simon Woolley of Woodford.

"You store it in and it comes out decades later," said the principal of Homerton College, University of Cambridge, in an interview with The Vibes.

Lord Woolley is in Malaysia as a guest of PETRA Group chairman Datuk (Dr) Vinod Sekhar, to meet business leaders and entrepreneurs, and further the discussion on social capitalism.

Beyond his appointment in the upper house of Parliament, Lord Woolley boasts a distinguished and enviable career as a social justice and race equality champion.

In 1996, he launched Operation Black Vote, an internationally renowned NGO that works with minority communities in the UK.

As the founder and director of Operation Black Vote, he managed to increase civic awareness and engagement among Black and minority communities by running voter registration drives, mentoring programs, and lobbying politicians.

His efforts over the last 25 years have directly contributed to increased participation of minorities in general elections.

However, as a teenager, he never planned to enter politics or activism.

During the interview, he recalls early instances within his childhood that would spark his activism years later.  

“It seeped in. I would be watching TV, and it was Dr Martin Luther King, and the Montgomery marches, black men and women being hosed down and bitten by dogs and police with their truncheons and batons.

"I’d see black people just trying to stand on two feet, crying and the police with their truncheons just bashing people that looked like me.

"You feel helpless just watching. But you store it. And then it comes out. It came out some decades later,” Lord Woolley said.

Despite the glittering achievements, things were not always set in stone for him. Fostered, then adopted as a young child to white parents, he grew up on a council estate in Leicester and left school without any A-Levels. Prior to his involvement in politics, he worked as a car mechanic for three years before moving to London to seek his fortune.

“When you're a kid, you don't know about the wider world, all you know is where you live, and that you want to play. So, you don't really think ‘oh, I'm poor.’ You know other people have more, particularly beyond the council estate, but you don't think that you are disadvantaged. You're just a kid, trying to find your way.

"Only now looking back, I can say with context, that we were poor, and had little money. But the disadvantage of not being privileged and not having all the opportunities, we made up for with our own energy and we had to learn that capacity, not just to survive, but to thrive,” he commented.

In 2019, he was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, following which he was elevated and made the Baron Woodford and a life peer for his dedication to race equality. 

He was elected principal of Homerton College in March 2021, becoming the first black man to lead an Oxbridge college.

Lord Woolley remarked that cultural exchanges and learning have played a big role in his own life, and hopes to create that opportunity through his position as a principal.  

“One of the greatest learnings you can have is to experience different cultures and places, to go outside of your comfort zone. I never realised until I was in Guatemala that not every country, not every place in the world has a tap to turn on hot water and, in some places, there was no running water.

"When I was in El Salvador, I was washing my clothes in the river. That was a real revelation. And you start to see a world of inequality, of beauty. But you see a world beyond St. Matthews, or even London.”

On his visit to Malaysia, Lord Woolley hopes that his and Vinod's exchange of ideas with business leaders will help galvanise a new way of doing business. 

"Vinod is a social capitalist and runs his companies based on those principles and beliefs. He now wants to see social capitalism discussed and debated on the world stage, through the Good Capitalism Forum, with its focus on ethical ambition."

As an Oxbridge principal, Lord Woolley hopes to “bring interesting ideas and people from Malaysia to the college, and that is in part of my visit to Malaysia and the PETRA Group."

Part of the shared interest and goals between the college and PETRA Group is the promotion of social capitalism, which is rooted in the belief of greater economic equality between people.

The Good Capitalism Forum, as part of the Sekhar Institute, advocates for a bottom-up approach towards poverty alleviation, rather than the more traditional capitalist model in which profits are retained by a small majority of entrepreneurs.  

“I have always been for social and racial justice, so this fitted with that thinking,” Lord Woolley commented. As a member of the executive board of GCF, he believes that Good Capitalism “is about doing business the right way in an inclusive and non-exploitative manner. If businesses are fairer, the world becomes fairer. The tenets that make business fairer are values, ethics, morals, decency, but along with that creativity, a sense of belonging, agility, and collectivity. We should bring these qualities together and show models of that where employers are fair to their workers.”

Meanwhile, Vinod said PETRA Group is thrilled to have Lord Woolley to champion the causes and principles of social capitalism.

"His own life experiences and activism makes him a leader who can further the dialogue on social capitalism," Vinod said.

He explained that at the heart of social capitalism is the requirement that everyone has a roof over their head, enough food, access to medical services and education.

"Through the Good Capitalism Forum, we hope to make significant progress on all these agendas and Lord Woolley is the perfect champion for this endeavour,” Vinod added. – The Vibes, August 28, 2022

* Listen to the full interview with Lord Simon Woolley on Beyond Breakfast with Shazmin Shamsuddin on Monday