People are being priced out of democracy – let’s have a right to paid time off for public duties

There’s never been a level playing field in our democracy. Too much of our system has been designed by people in power, so they can keep hold of that power. As the modern world changes, the divide between those with power and the ability to access our institutions is growing. The fact is that if you want to engage in making the world around you better or have a say in what happens in your local area, you have to do it on your own time and your own dime – no matter who benefits.

In a world gripped by insecure work, business models built on agency labour and zero-hours contracts, where private sector employers refuse to even speak to trade unions and our public sector workers are continually asked to do more for less, there is little space in people’s busy and fluid lives to engage, have a say, or drive change.

This isn’t just confined to what people would see as traditional “working class” jobs. The pervasive hand of privatisation and casualisation is rife across the economy. Just this week, I have joined lab technicians, lecturers, librarians, administrators and academics out on strike because their work is increasingly precarious and their workload overwhelming.

People are being priced out of having a say. We all suffer as a result. When people say ‘’politics is not for me’’, you can see their point – it’s not set up to be, there’s an obstacle course in the way and that’s even after you’ve become engaged, which is a barrier in the first place. How many good people do we lose because it’s either too hard or out of touch with people’s everyday lives?

This is one part of a growing democratic crisis. If we want people to have a say and be in control of their own lives, local institutions and services, we have to blow the doors off our democracy and let people know they have the absolute right to have a say. No longer should it be a privilege reserved for those who can afford it or who can physically attend a meeting.

We must enshrine in law protection from dismissal and the right to paid time off for public duties. That would span not only councillors, but positions such as school governors and independent prison monitoring boards or, when a Labour government creates them, representatives on the boards of our nationalised utilities and new mutual organisations (and of course we’d encourage devolved nations to do the same).

Why should Amazon workers miss out on being a school governor because they can’t have time off their shift? Why should a care worker miss out on being a town councillor because her employer won’t allow her to finish an hour early? They shouldn’t. People participating in their own communities and having a say over their own lives is worth that investment.

If elected as Labour’s deputy leader, I’ll work across our movement, with unions and employers – including SMEs to ensure it works for them – and will have a Bill ready to present to parliament at the first possible opportunity.

But if we’re honest, we have to address this as a party too. Local people see the Labour Party conference come to town but stand on the outside looking in because they can’t afford a pass. Selections cost thousands of pounds now we have a mass membership party. PPCs who didn’t win are left without jobs and with big debts because they had to give up work to fight their seats.

We have thousands of Labour activists who volunteer – in everything from food banks to football teams – but in doing so lose precious family time or paid hours at work. Many voters think being a councillor is a full-time job, when we know for most people it’s alongside full-time work and often juggling family commitments too.

We have to be better at recognising that as a movement, better at saying ‘thank you’, but most importantly better at supporting that activity so it’s not just aligned to Labour, but mainstream within it. You can see ideas in my Manifesto for a Movement here.