Building a party without barriers

By Marie Birchall

I joined the Labour Party precisely because I believed in its ambition of being a party for the many, not the few. But during the 12 years of my membership, I’ve come to realise that there is no magic bullet to ensuring our party is the most diverse and representative that it can be. All-women shortlists, constituency twinning, informal mentoring schemes – progress, yes, but not enough. To face the challenges that lie ahead, I believe that we need the strongest possible connections with the communities we serve – the most open and inclusive structures we can muster – and, most importantly, we need to ensure that everybody’s voice can be heard.

And so it was with immense interest that I wrote up the happenings of Young Labour’s fringe event at 2009 annual conference. In terms of challenging the party status-quo in order to encourage more diversity, the session – entitled Building a Party Without Barriers – certainly gave me food for thought. From discussions around the administrative and financial support the party could give to a new generation of equalities activists, to exploring shadowing and mentoring schemes at all levels in the party, no stone was left unturned. Other interesting suggestions included leadership quotas, diversifying selection procedures, allowing non-members to submit applications for candidacy and delivering welcoming information packs and events for new members.

With the winning combination of a new leader on the horizon and a plethora of young activists committed to equality and brimming with ideas, we cannot waste this opportunity to influence positive change and build the diversity of our party. So we’re inviting everyone in Young Labour to have their say on this important debate and to tell us how you think that we can Build A Party Without Barriers.

Whether responding as an individual, or getting together to discuss this in small groups, please send your comments and ideas. You can also post your ideas onto our Facebook page or Tweet us using the #partywithoutbarriers hashtag. Young Labour’s Equalities Committee will compile as many as we can to present to our new leader in September. Let’s get talking.