“Socialists are not concerned solely with material things”

Labour was built on the voluntary tradition: from the trade unions and grassroots socialist groups that founded our party more than a century ago to the thousands of members that remain the lifeblood of our movement today. The strength of our party has always been in our grassroots; our connection to ordinary people’s lives and concerns and our roots in communities across Britain.

That’s why we’re asking LabourList readers to take part in a conversation about civil society today and the future of the voluntary sector.

But what does this mean? When I say I’m Shadow Civil Society Minister the question I often hear is ‘what’s civil society?’ The jargon might be off-putting but the job couldn’t be more important.

Civil society is all of the groups and associations that make our communities stronger – from local sports groups to trade unions and charities. But it’s also the connections we form with people who aren’t our immediate friends and family .

What this means is that if you realise it or not you are almost definitely a part of it. So whether you work for a charity, volunteer at a food bank or coach the local football team in your spare time we want to hear from you. What do you think the next Labour government should  do to support charities and community groups? Where do you think our priorities should lie at a time when money is tight? What are your hopes for the future?

We need to hear as many voices as possible – people who work in big and small organisations, who live in rural and urban areas and those active on a local and national level – to get this right. In particular, we need to hear from those at the grassroots, because it’s from you that so much of the energy and dynamism we need comes from.

The irony of the Big Society, which promised so much, was that it was top-down. Shiny initiatives dreamt up in Whitehall turned out to be at odds what communities wanted or needed. It was an ideology that ignored the inequalities in our country and said all that people needed to thrive was for the state to get out of the way. It’s left many communities to sink while others swim.

Labour knows that people have the answers to their own problems, but we also know that sometimes communities still need support to solve them.

When I think about civil society and the task for the next Labour government it’s this Clement Attlee quote that I remember:

“Socialists are not concerned solely with material things. They do not think of human beings as a herd to be fed and watered and kept in security. They think of them as individuals co-operating together to make a fine collective life. For this reason socialism is a more exacting creed than that of its competitors. It does not demand submission and acquiescence, but active and constant participation in common activities. It demands that every individual shall shoulder his or her responsibilities.”

An effective and healthy civil society sees individuals cooperating and participating together in our collective life. That sums up the thousands of Labour Party members that are governors, councillors and volunteers, giving up their time to contribute to their country and community because they believe they are responsible to others.

I hope as many of you as possible will share your experiences with me.

Lisa Nandy is Shadow Civil Society Minister