If all we need to be is ‘friends’ then why become a member?

By Graham Hall

The debate that is now open amongst strands of the Labour Party is one of US-style primaries to elect PPCs. I’ve heard the argument eloquently argued for at many meetings, most notably those of Prospect.

Again, the John Smith Memorial Lecture by David Miliband featured the same argument. To those who argue for such a system, the logic is obvious. It states that Labour (and all other parties) have dwindling memberships and those memberships don’t always represent their area and thus we end up with parties selecting prospective candidates based on the votes by only a few hundred people in some cases. Logical yes, but every time I hear the argument I keep thinking, ‘why should people be a member of the party when selecting a PPC is one of the few real powers they have left?’

I am extremely dubious about the real merits of a ‘primary’ style of selection for the main reason that the vast majority of people don’t actually vote for a candidate but a party. Labour members don’t pick MPs, we merely vote for our party’s selection. The average person who has no real inclination to join a party will vote with their own feelings on the day, but I honestly don’t think they decide to stick with our go with another party based on the personality of the candidate.

The whole purpose of joining a party is for people to feel like they actually have a say (even if a small one) in the party’s affairs and choices. To merely ask people to register as a ‘friend’ or ‘supporter’ of a party defeats the whole object of being a member. I can hypothetically campaign seven days a week for the party, form a close relationship with my PPC or MP and crucially give my hard-earned money to the party I support.

If somebody else merely has to register support of the party and do nothing else in a financial, emotional or physical way to help the party then I believe it is wrong that they will then have just as much power as myself and other local members when it comes to selecting our candidate.

There has to be more investment in the process than merely registering with a party. And what is to stop a well organised group of people from registering with a party they oppose merely to stop a certain candidate being selected in a safe seat?

I can see the logic in wishing to maximise support for parties, and I really can’t criticise those who wish to expand participation in democracy at a local level. But there has to be a better and fairer way than this. If people aren’t enthused by local affairs then I’m of the strong belief that it is because they actually aren’t that interested in the first place. Letting people who don’t feel the desire to actually become a member of a party to have a say in party affairs is actually un-democratic in my opinion and will harm the already strained relationship between the membership and the Parliamentary Party.

If people care enough then they should show it by becoming a member. Because if I was to have just as much right to vote for my PPC without being a member, I believe I’d have every right to wonder what the point in being a member would actually be!