The Sharkstoppers campaign shows that community organising works

Yesterday, Ed Miliband announced the Labour Party’s new policies on payday lending and credit unions. The message was clear: when in government, “we would cap the cost of credit, halt the spread of payday lenders on our high streets and force them to fund the credit unions that can offer a real alternative.” It is an announcement welcomed by many in the Labour movement, but perhaps none more so than leaders and activists from Movement for Change who yesterday met with Ed in a south London Credit Union, and have been involved in the sharkstoppers campaign for fair credit since 2011.

Along with Stella Creasy, Harriet Harman, and Catherine McKinnell, he talked at length with activists about their experience of being in debt and campaigning for change, and thanked them for their hard work.

Among those Ed met were graduates from our intensive training weekend, Steve and Natalie. Both were victims of the payday lending industry, both taking initial loans for less than £500, and both ended paying back thousands. “I want to challenge the stereotype of the person who takes out a payday loan”, said Natalie. Steve shared a powerful story of moving from shame, to anger, to action. “I got involved with Movement for Change and went on their training weekend in community organising: they  helped me realise my power and find my voice to stand up to these legal loan sharks, and share my story to bring more people out of feeling that shame”.

Across the UK, Movement for Change works with people to build power through lasting relationships, and to take action on things they care about. This ranges from bus timetables to women’s safety to the living wage. But the financial crash, followed by the coalition’s policy of austerity, meant that the number of people turning to payday lenders shot up. Areas we were organising in saw their High Streets become overrun by legal loansharks, and wanted to do something about it. What started in Walthamstow with our Vice Chair Stella Creasy, soon became a national movement.

• In Newcastle, following the Wonga NUFC sponsorship deal, activists came together to help recapitalise the credit union so it could double the number of payday loans it offers.
• In Southampton, sharkstoppers struck an innovative ‘Two for One’ deal with the local credit union; for every two new savers recruited through their campaign, the credit union will make available one extra payday loan available.
• In Swansea, young mums who have been dragged into debt by payday lenders have negotiated with a major regional paper to secure free advertising and feature pieces for the credit union.
• In Cumbria, following two large actions, activists are entering into negotiations with the council and the credit union.
• And yesterday in Edinburgh, Movement for Change Chair Kez Dugdale MSP announced the latest in the list of achievements for the Debtbusters campaign:  Capital Credit Union will now offer short term payday loans in Edinburgh.

All of these local wins have truly been of the Labour movement: the TUC, Unison, the Co-operative Party, CLPs, local councillors, MPs, Unite, and community groups from across civil society have come together to work with Movement for Change on fighting for fair credit. And these campaigns have made a real difference at a local level: there are people across the country that have increased access to fair credit through credit unions, and the advertising of payday lending has been curbed.

Once power was built up in individual communities across the UK, our leaders then developed a national campaign based on their experiences, with three clear strands. The first is fighting for a cap on the cost of credit now, and ensuring that Labour follows up on this commitment when in Government. The second is to establish clear lines of reporting for people feeling harassed and intimidated by payday lenders, and establishing adequate reprisal for the companies involved. Thirdly, we need to fight for access to fair credit by ensuring banks follow through on the Treasury request for lending transparency, and by supporting credit unions. At Labour Party conference this year we made big steps towards these aims, and yesterday’s announcement was welcome and significant progress.

Yes, as ever, there is more to do. Harassment of those in debt by their lenders is a criminal offence, yet there has not been a single conviction. All too often it is difficult, confusing, and stressful to report, and disheartening when no action is taken. A levy on payday lenders to fund credit unions is fantastic, but a few million in an industry worth billions will not result in the dramatic change we need to see: a thriving, viable, and sustainable community based alternative to legal loan sharks.

But, aside from the progress in our campaign objectives, we are seeing a real success of community organising. Individuals who felt angry about an issue, but powerless to act, have been trained and developed by Movement for Change to build lasting relationships and have a real impact. People from all across the UK are reassessing what it means to be active in public life, and what their role in that could be. They are doing something which many of them would never have thought possible: they are getting excited about politics, and exploring the difference it makes in their lives. None more so than Steve, who yesterday turned to me and said:

 “last year I felt totally out of place at a Labour Party meeting, and kept quiet. And now I’ve just told Ed Miliband what needs to change!”

You can read more about Steve’s story, and what it was like to meet Ed, here.