Will you make a difference?

Growing up on a council estate in Telford in the 80s, with my Mum and brother as part of a single parent family, I developed a deep sense that Britain should be for the many and not the few. Under Thatcher’s government I was one of those who was meant to fail and families like mine were considered a drain on the state. But I was lucky, I had a parent who had a strong drive to want better for her children and as we grew up she went without so that we didn’t have to. We didn’t fail but we flourished with her support.

I am saddened to see that history is repeating itself under this Tory-led government. Under the Conservatives she is once again considered the scourge of society. A so called ‘skiver’. She is currently receiving employment support allowance and is now being assessed to see if she can be signed off benefits altogether. The worry alone is destroying her. If they find her ‘fit for work’ I don’t know what she will do.

I want to stand up for constituents and improve their lives and I want to be part of a progressive party that looks after all in the UK, not just the top 1%. And one day, I want to be a Member of Parliament, because I want to speak up for the people I grew up with – the people who, too often, don’t have a voice in our political system.

I have lived and worked in the real world and I know what people worry about. There’s a real disillusionment with politics and politicians out there, and that’s partly due to the perceived difference between politicians and the public. I think that the electorate want to see more politicians that they recognise and relate to.

Over two thirds of the Cabinet are millionaires. 55% of MPs (of all Parties) have come from jobs in politics, PR or the media. Only 18%of the cabinet are women. Is it any wonder that the public think politicians are out of touch?

But the Labour Party, unlike the Tories, are doing something about it. Ed Miliband has said he thinks Parliament is “too middle class and doesn’t have that diversity that it needs to have.”  We know that if we want to govern the country, and speak for ‘one nation’, then we need to look like the people we represent.

In September 2012 I started the unionstogether political school, a course designed to help get local trade union reps like me more involved in the Labour Party. The course was aimed at getting more people from outside the professional political class to stand for elected office.

I met so many interesting people on this course – none of them were professional politicians or full-time union officials – they were just working people who had normal jobs – postal workers, plasterers, taxi drivers, care workers, supermarket workers and local government employees. I myself work for a police force as a member of support staff. I’ve never worked in parliament or politics, but I believe in the Labour Party, and this training programme gave me a chance to look at whether I would have what it takes to be an MP.

Politicians can be ‘people like us’. Working people can and should be represented in Parliament.

It’s by encouraging working people, with experiences just like those of the majority of people in this country, to stand for selection that we can start to bridge the gap between the public and politicians.

If Labour are to win the next election, then when voters ask the question ‘will they represent me, are they on my side?’ we need to have candidates that make the electorate say YES. The public are looking for people who they feel they can trust, people who they feel can understand their concerns – and that’s exactly the people who unionstogether has been training over the last year.

The unionstogether political school is a way to encourage people from many differing backgrounds to stand for elected office. It is helping the Labour Party’s aim to make our Party more representative, and it shows that the Labour Party is a party for everyone.

Having more working people in Parliament also encourages our other commitments to having more women, BAME and LGBT MPs. This course had people from so many different backgrounds all ages, differing ethnic backgrounds, gay, lesbian and straight, and it was great to see equal representation of women and men.

Although all different, the one thing that bound us all together was a real commitment to win for Labour, and to ensuring that the Labour Party that we all belong to wins the next election.

I want to represent those without a voice. People like my Mum who are simple numbers to this Tory-led government. The unionstogether training school has shown me that I can stand for selection to be a Labour candidate for Parliament and to fight hard to win for Labour in 2015 and win back the rights of those in society who desperately need a Labour government.

If you want to find out more about the next unionstogether political school please visit: www.unionstogether.org.uk/school