Goodwill to all – in all the ways we can

Tis the season…

I was really pleased to go to the launch of LabourList’s new pamphlet written by an inspiring group of candidates. Having read it, I feel the future is in good hands. I have hope – something I have been struggling with lately. I strongly recommend you all read it.

At the launch event, one of the speakers – forgive me I can’t remember who – said something that seems so obvious and uncontroversial I was surprised at what a strong note it struck in me, But the phrase has lingered ever since: “we aren’t good just because we’re Labour”.

The Labour Party has been an enormous force for good in this country and we have an absolute right to take pleasure in our pride in that. From the creation and rescue of the NHS  to the establishment of the minimum wage, from the decriminalisation of homosexuality to the Equalities Act, we have changed society for the better, and we have a right to celebrate that.

But belonging to a Party with such triumphs (and yes, a few disasters too) comes at a price. We cannot and must not rest on our laurels. Labour is a force for good in our country and our communities – but this doesn’t happen automatically. It happens because we make it happen. We make Labour what it is. We are responsible for it’s triumphs and it’s disasters. We are the ones who can advocate for more of the former while desperately trying to help us avoid the latter.

But what I found truly inspiring about our candidates is that they understand that just being on the left does not make you a force for good. We have to be a catalyst for change too.

Yes this change must be systemic. We will not make our country better by only changing our individual communities. We need vital change across the piece and only genuine, lasting change in how our economy and society is managed will do that. a redistribution of power from the top to the bottom, a change it the way scrutiny works in every area of society and a renewed focus on equality at central government level will be vital.

But what is also true is that nobody’s life was ever changed by the mere act of delivering a leaflet. We need to be out there changing our communities for the better in order to be able to better advocate for them; in order to learn from them what works; in order to stay connected to people and to the politics of change.

My more technocratic friends (of whom I have many) despair of the move to community organising in Labour believing it takes people away from politics – from the big and tough choices we need to be fighting and advocating for. That it is – at best – a distraction and – at worst – displacement activity. A way to use our energy to stop us having the tough conversations about how we govern in a time when money is tight.

I don’t buy this narrative. I think that proving we can make changes in our communities is the best way of bringing people into our national conversation. And even if it weren’t making positive and tangible differences to people’s lives is a good thing. It doesn’t distract or divert people from politics. It’s just a different way of doing it.

We are not better than Tories just because we’re Labour. Our beliefs do not make us morally superior. Thinking that they do is a lazy fallacy that stops us from making the changes we need to – to our own Party and to the country. We need to not just campaign for our values but to live them too. Every day.