Why I rejoined the Labour Party

By Lisa Ansell / @LisaAnsell

Like many people, I thought the Labour victory in 1997 was an occasion for rejoicing. I was 19, and had only ever lived in a Britain run by the Conservative Party. The first election I took part in was the one that brought change, and I unquestioningly believed that change could only be positive. To be fair, in 1997, that was pretty much the case.

In many ways Labour delivered. The area I live in was regenerated beyond expectation. People were lifted out of the trap that had kept them in poverty – and were able to work, to take pride in the fact that they earned money. I worked in a Job Centre when tax credits and the minimum wage were introduced. Being able to tell families they were guaranteed to bring home a living income, regardless of the job they took, hollowed out our claimant list.

At the same time I watched a credit bubble unfold. A basic understanding of economics meant that when my house price doubled in four years, I worried. When I saw friends releasing capital from assets that were clearly overvalued, I worried. When I realised the sheer amount of capital released into our economy, and watched Gordon Brown base growth figures on it, I worried. When our personal debt level exceeded our GDP, I knew we were in trouble. When I saw those people lifted out of poverty by tax credits, being invited to join this boom, I knew who would pay when it bust.

I watched as the party who shared my political values became a conservative party, with difference defined only by a willingness to use the illusory gains their economic policies brought, to invest in the British public.

I watched as Labour’s endlessly aggressive foreign policy and so-called “war on terror” created chasms at home and abroad – cheered on by the Conservative Party. I watched CCTV proliferate, and Islamaphobia and authoritarianism change the culture of cities I worked in. Even in a closely fought election, Labour passed a bill governing our digital economy, which shafted the British people in favour of a few corporate interests.

I swore I would never vote Labour again. Yet here I am, a fully paid up member of the Labour Party. This is why.

I agreed with some of the Liberal Democrats’ policies. I agreed with their dissent on the Iraq war, and I agreed with their progressive agenda. I thought I could support a party policy by policy, and didn’t necessarily have to agree with their underpinning ideology. But the ideology of a party is what tells voters what their policies will be, tells voters where they will go. While I was approving of the cultural aspects of liberalism, I neglected to consider its economic manifestation. I failed to realise how much common ground they had with the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats apparently have ideals, they are not mine.

You cannot support a party just because of their current policies. It has been pointed out to me that Labour is a much broader church than the Liberal Democrats. A progressive agenda is all very well, but I believe in social justice, I believe in equality, and I believe in collective responsibility. I also believe that neo-liberal economic policies are coming to fruition, and we need to assess what that means for us. From where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look good.

A political party is not its leaders, it is its members. It is a democratic body of people, organising to represent themselves in our political process. And this country needs a healthy Labour Party.

Tony Blair’s ‘reign’ was in large part a disgrace, and never again will I allow partisan belief to blind me to the actions of the people who represent me. So here’s the deal. I join the Labour {arty. I will support, I will campaign, and I will do what needs to be done to be part of an effective opposition to the shower currently sitting on the front bench.

But the biggest contribution I will make to my party is to demand that this party is accountable to me. I won’t accept with unquestioning loyalty policies I know are harmful. A healthy democratic Labour Party is necessary if we have any hope of getting out of this economic storm with our society intact.

There are many who feel that politics is pointless at the moment. But regardless of how the Liberal Democrats have behaved in government, ‘Cleggmania’ still gives me hope. ‘Cleggmania’ was not about Nick Clegg. People were excited because they felt they had a choice, a real choice. People showed they had been waiting a long time for that.

The values Labour should be guided by have never been more necessary. The people lifted out of poverty by tax credits, and who were sucked into the credit boom, are about to be dropped back into poverty. With debt.

Politics comes from the grassroots, and the British population have never been more in need of representation, or more willing to get involved. I am rejoining the Labour Party, because I am one of those people. Whatever my views may be on some of the leadership candidates, I cannot complain that the Labour Party has abandoned me, if I abandon it. Rather than waiting for Labour to re-evaluate its own policies, I am here to be part of that.

If I want a party to represent the people I care about, I need to take some responsibility for that.

I can’t do that if I am just sat at the sidelines whinging. So here I am.