Lib Dem doubters: We need to engage, not patronise

By Mark Tointon

It is tempting to imagine a whole host of disenfranchised members of the Liberal Democratic Party beating a path to Labour in one mass Damascene conversion, but that only serves to patronise a body of people who deserve better. If they were principled enough to join a political party and subsequently principled enough to leave, it is reasonable to expect that many will look long and hard at any other party before they again commit.

There are potentially hundreds of thousands of disillusioned others, who might not have been members of the Lib Dem Party, but who voted for them nevertheless; many of these will be ‘lost supporters’, gradually turned off by the New Labour project and now alienated once again.

Therefore, I think that it would be naive to assume that, just because many Lib Dems feel betrayed and some of those have joined Labour, others will be instinctively inclined to do the same. It is a patronising assumption, implying that they have no other choice if they want their voice to be heard. After all, Labour isn’t the only party alternative – and total political disengagement is another option.

I suspect that many of the targeted Lib Dems would be antagonised by the proposed leaflet that has been produced for circulation to CLPs, which relies on Clegg-and-Tory bashing for its impact. It’s not a very positive or upbeat call to action is it, especially given that Labour is by necessity going to endure significant cathartic soul-searching of its own post-election?

A long, long time ago I came across a quote that has served me well in business:

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got; if it isn’t working, do something different.”

Interestingly, there are parallels with Einstein’s definition of insanity:

“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

In light of these notions, perhaps Labour can offer a more uplifting message to those prospective members whom it wishes to attract – a message that is different from what is now being referred to as the ‘old’ politics. All of these people will have talents upon which Labour can capitalise, so how can it best be demonstrated that their involvement is welcome?

A starter for ten from a newbie, myself recently joined (I don’t write this kind of prose for a living, so consider these a work in progress):

* “Become part of our long-overdue re-connection with grassroots Labour supporters.”

* “Help us build on our shared values, re-invigorating Labour and re-creating a movement with common purpose.”

“Campaign with us to help make Labour a genuine left-of-centre force, strong in opposition and striving for re-election.”

Not exactly in the same league as “Your country needs you!”, but perhaps small steps in the right direction … and not a ‘New’, ‘Next’ or ‘Progressive’ in sight.

Aspiring to recruit vast numbers of new members is all well and good, but if everyone is serious about renewal, shouldn’t we be revising the language used – especially in that leaflet – to more positively engage with those we collectively hope will become part of that renewal?