The National Policy Forum process gives our whole membership the potential for active involvement in discussing and shaping our future policy, but, as a party and a movement, we also have a positive duty to bring our members into the process.
Members will be much more enthusiastic and keen to promote Labour’s policies when they can see that their ideas are clearly rooted and embedded in the work of the NPF. We need to demonstrate how some of our policies have worked their way up, from a local policy forum into government policy, and how they have made a real difference to people’s lives.
If we can achieve a more visible, transparent and swift feedup-feedback system to submissions from members, the benefits and flexibility of the policy forum structures will give enormous power and influence to them. Members, who are involved in and have ownership of policy developments, will be keen to press ahead with delivery in their communities.
We must not underestimate the importance of delivery for us as a party in this second term of government. It is a responsibility which we all share. From local activist to Prime Minister, it is vital that we recognise our stake in the successful implementation of change on the ground. We will all be judged on our success or failure at the next election.
In Salford, we are trying to engage the wider community in our policy discussions and we are currently organising a community crime forum. We will be considering the changes to sentencing policy in the criminal justice system. Tackling crime and diverting young people from crime and antisocial behaviour is a top priority for our community. As well as party members, we will be inviting local tenants and residents’ groups, trade union members, members of police liaison panels, the probation service, the police, the youth justice team, NACRO, and magistrates to take part in the debate.
In this way, we can gain information from those actively involved on the ground, which will help us as party members to have a real understanding of how we can deliver improvements for local people. We propose to send our ideas to the Crime and Justice Policy Commission for consideration by the party nationally, but also, crucially, to the local Crime and Disorder Partnership and to our Labour magistrates.
At a time when low turnout is an issue, it is vital that we explore and develop more effective ways of engaging local communities. The Salford example demonstates the potential to empower our membership and the communities in which they live in an active process of policy input.
The policy forum process is not just about stimulating new ideas. It enables us as a party to feed back our ideas and to inform local people about the achievements that we have already made and our proposals for the future. All of us as party members, local councillors, active trade unionists, magistrates, school governors, NHS representatives, and Members of Parliament can play an active part in implementing our policy and building a better future for our communities. If we are working in partnership, both with the government and with those with whom we share everyday life, I believe that the party will be, and be seen to be, a vehicle for change and improvement. This will attract those who share our values across the community and help to sustain us as a progressive and radical party of opportunity, justice and social reform in the years to come.