The increasing disengagement from party politics is a worrying sign for Labour, both from a campaigning and democratic point of view. Whilst the national debate around control freakery and apathy rages, we sometimes forget the role local party organisations can play in engaging with and empowering our communities.
Ideally, the Labour Party at local level should be a focused, inclusive and diverse organisation. A greater policy role is needed, looking ahead as well as holding to account our elected representatives. We must have stronger community links, with effective local governance. The local Labour party should be a campaigning party integral to the community and campaigning for change.
Over the last few years many local parties experimented with different ways of organisation. I was involved with the review in Enfield Southgate, which developed quarterly all-member meetings, dividing roles between more people to prevent overloading, and issue groups for focused debate. While there’s no ‘one size fits all’, what is clear is that the party benefits from re-thinking its use of volunteered time and examining how it is most effective.
The National Policy Forum was created as a new way to debate and discuss policy, pulling together larger documents created around consensus. As local activists we need to fully engage with this system, using the model to develop more local links with our communities and to harness the innovation and skills of members. One of the original objectives for the NPF was to allow ideas to develop from the grassroots on the future direction of the party. We need to do more to persuade ourselves of the reality of this and take advantage.
Community links are essential if the party is going to be relevant, truly representative and able to recruit new members. The local Labour party has closed its doors for too long, keeping the community it represents at arms length. Identifying areas needing reform, demonstrating the difference a Labour government makes and being proactive on issues of concern. Most of us join the party to make change, to improve the world around us, and to influence the agenda. We shouldn’t lose sight of this.
The clear identification of ideology needs to be at the heart of our policy making, and Tony Blair’s speech to the LSE recently on this subject should be welcomed. The idea that all politicians are the same and that there’s no difference between Labour and Conservative is the most important of the myth balloons that urgently needs bursting. I do not believe our society to be apathetic, short of ideas and conviction. But finding the effective route to channel those beliefs is neither easy nor apparent.
Of course, local organisation cannot do this alone, and government cannot escape the responsibility it has. This issue is at least on the agenda now and the involvement Charles Clarke intends to have in addressing these concerns is timely and welcome.
New Labour was once described as being a management-focused organisation, as opposed to an ideologically driven organisation. The reality is that the combination of both is what will allow this century to be a progressive century. We must be a diverse party, reflecting and leading the communities we represent and pluralist in approach. And what of spin and media manipulation? Perhaps, we should focus more on telling it how it is – we may surprise ourselves and see that our story is not so bad after all. We must seize the opportunity of a second term Labour government to demonstrate that politics can make a difference – for if we do not, how can we ask others to trust and join us?