Traditional campaigning with a modern membership

By Michael Payne

John Prescott was right this week when he said the Labour Party has to ”stop complaining and get campaigning.” With one of the most reactionary governments in decades and the Liberal Democrats tragically providing cover for their coalition partners on a series of devastating cuts to the public sector – particularly schools (BSF programme) – it is crucial that Labour starts building a movement to fight these policies, which the public never voted for. It is equally crucial that the new leader, their shadow cabinet and the National Executive Committee begin to properly engage our steadily growing membership.

‘Re-engaging our members’ is a cliche thrown around all the time in politics but to do it is never difficult; it’s about providing exciting opportunities, utilising our strength in numbers and harnessing the passion and commitment of our activists-in-waiting. Only a traditional and narrow-minded approach to politics expects only the elected to represent or campaign – history shows that some of the greatest political campaigns ever run have been grassroots movements.

Of the roughly 30,000 new members of the Labour Party since the general election, it is reported that over a third are young members. Engaging our young membership has been a perennial problem for the party and must be tackled now. We must empower these new members and allow them to deliver on our values (after all that is why they signed up) and if we resign ourselves to the old school mail-out once a month approach they will likely respond by leaving the party.

Some would argue that we have vibrant and organised branches of the party in Labour Students and Young Labour. I would agree, but the party must begin to encourage and facilitate real local and national campaigning from its entire young membership as a unified force.

If the leadership candidates are serious about putting Labour back into an election winning state, if they are serious about engaging and further growing our membership and if they are serious about putting the party finances back in a stable state (all three of which are desperately needed) then here are a few suggestions I offer:

1. The Labour Party should ring-fence funding for a full time Youth Officer within the national party (who should also have a seat on the National Executive). The Youth Officer should liaise with and support Young Labour and Labour Students.

2. Each CLP should elect a Youth Delegate to attend the party conference. (If this is deemed untenable due to costs and restrictions on amount of attendees we should explore the open election of a substantial block of Youth Delegates from Young Labour to the Conference.)

3. The Labour Party should recruit a team of campaigning and youth engagement interns (on an annual basis) so that the leadership of the party remains firmly in touch with this crucial group of our membership and so that the party can learn from new and innovative campaigning technology and techniques.

4. The chairs of Young Labour and Labour Students should be invited to speak at the shadow cabinet on matters of significance and importance to young members of society as they are raised in cabinet.

5. Young members should be encouraged to stand for positions of responsibility in CLPs and also as councillors in their local wards. (Elected positions should never be the sole vestige of white, middle-aged men.)

Although this list is not intended as a perfect solution for properly engaging our members, as principles they should at least be seriously considered and discussed more widely.

‘Traditional values in a modern setting’ is still the required approach for the Labour Party, but traditional campaigning with a modern membership is also needed urgently. The sense of achievement and success at a local level can do wonders for a CLP’s morale and profile in the local community.

So let’s stop complaining and start campaigning; this week, for me, it’s parking charges in my local town.