John Bird

John Bird MBE is an internationally renowned social entrepreneur. He was brought up in an orphanage and served time in a young offenders’ institute in his teens. Having slept rough with London’s homeless, he decided to take action. He found factory work and soon became a skilled printer. Twenty-one years ago, John harnessed his knowledge of the print industry with his social vision and founded The Big Issue – sold by the homeless, for the homeless.
New in Ceasefire, Politics - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 16:27 - 1 Comment
Comment | John Bird: Poverty is not a failure of capitalism, but its backbone

In the two decades since he founded The Big Issue, John Bird has become a major voice on social and political issues. In an exclusive piece for Ceasefire, he articulates the overriding theme of his new book, The Necessity of Poverty, and argues radical change means moving beyond protest, and toward a new collectivism.
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