You are here: Home » Archives »

We need to stop patronising and open up to younger members – a guide for CLPs

April 18, 2009 12:03 pm

Author:

Share this Article

By Estelle Hart / @estellehartBatton

Since joining the party at 15 my fellow members have asked me the same question at meeting after meeting: where are all the other young members? Without fail before I can point out that it’s 8.30 on a Friday night as I write this and most people have a better social life than me I hear some variation on these classics:

“Young people don’t care about the big picture, they are interested in single issues”.

“Young people don’t care about anything”.

“We’ve got plenty of young people here” – this one is accompanied with a gesture towards groups of 40 year olds.

We need to wake up and smell the coffee (fairtrade of course) and realise that continually ignoring the real reasons young people don’t get involved in the party will mean a party where CLPs with high youth involvement are held up as shining examples not the norm and more and more local parties become talking shops.

I have some suggestions for those CLPs where 90% of young members on the membership list never come to meetings and those who do spend most of their time looking terrified.

1. Hold all member meetings and don’t hold them on Friday nights
The process of getting to attend your first constituency wide meeting is daunting and to then find a meeting held at the end of a long week (usually in a cold room), would you really want to go back? A meeting at a sensible time where everyone can contribute and we can put or collectivist principle into practice. Yes please.

2. Change things up a bit, discuss something new
Whilst it’s probably a lot of fun to discuss what you’ve discussed at the last 20 meetings why not discuss what the party’s approach to renewable energy should be? Why not have a serious discussion about campaigning or fundraising? As well as involving new members and getting new ideas you might even surprise yourself.

3. Stop making the first young member you see the youth officer
If I want to be on the executive I will decide what to run for.

4. Stop talking about young people only being interested in single issues
As a trade unionist people don’t say I’m only interested in the “single issue of workers rights”. As a feminist I don’t get told the Labour Party maybe isn’t for me because women’s liberation is the reserve of pressure groups. So why because I’m young do I get told I’m not interested in the big picture. Just having an interest in something doesn’t mean I don’t have any other interests.

5. Ask your members what they want
I know what I’d like to see CLPs do but all officers and all activists have a responsibility to make sure that our party structures whether locally or nationally are always delivering for our members.

Related posts:

  1. Guido Fawkes’ racist comments have to stop – and Iain Dale must stop linking to him NOW!
  2. Risk on renewal – our CLPs need to reorganise around new voices or they will fail our movement
  3. Have you seen Gordon Brown’s message to Labour members?
  4. Clarion call for open debate
  5. Stop the BNP marching

Comments are closed

Latest

  • Europe Featured You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    By Douglas Alexander

    Europe is not often the issue which comes top of people’s concerns on the doorstep. Nor do opinion polls suggest that Europe is a priority for voters when compared to issues like the economy or jobs. But you can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe. This week saw over a hundred Conservative MPs rebel and vote against their own Queens Speech. They were angry that it hadn’t included a bill which would [...]

    Read more →
  • News Seats and Selections Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft has been selected by Lewisham Deptford CLP as the party’s candidate for 2015 at a selection meeting this afternoon. Here’s a brief biography: Vicky grew up in the North West in a single parent household, and was the first person in her family to go to university. She has held many positions in the party including Chair of Labour Students, has sat on the National Policy Forum and is currently a local councillor and is Chair of Lewisham [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Labour’s future schools policy: why accountability matters

    Labour’s future schools policy: why accountability matters

    By Mike Ion

    Stephen Twigg, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary is one of the more thoughtful and pragmatic individuals to hold this vitally important brief for some time. To his credit Stephen has been out and about these past two years listening to pupils, teachers, parents and governors and finding out more about the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. In addition Stephen has been looking closely at some local, regional, national and international programmes that have had a demonstrable impact in raising [...]

    Read more →
  • News Seats and Selections Falkirk selection process suspended by the party

    Falkirk selection process suspended by the party

    The Labour Party have this afternoon suspended the selection process for Falkirk, after concerns were raised about “membership recruitment”. We understand that Ed Miliband was “keen to act swiftly” as the selection process was due to formally begin on Sunday. An officer of the party – yet to be confirmed – will investigate. A Labour spokesperson told us this afternoon: “We have suspended the start of the selection process of the Falkirk parliamentary seat. Concerns have been raised about membership [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Seats and Selections Unions Working Class MPs – the end of a era?

    Working Class MPs – the end of a era?

    By Paul Wheeler

    It is interesting to see that the Labour Party is returning to the vexed issue of its parliamentary selection process. The changes may be well and good.  But maybe we should be asking a bigger question – are we  witnessing the end of working class representation in Parliament? When the Labour Party was first founded it was more simple. Then the explicit  aim was to secure working class representation, and specifically organised labour, in Parliament. Inevitably it became more complicated [...]

    Read more →