Radical changes have taken place in our communities in recent years and the consequent dissipation of the structures and bonds that had previously held them together has had a significant effect on our politics. This phenomenon has been especially evident in working class areas, including my own constituency.
Increasingly, political parties risk finding themselves marooned on a political island, where we talk to each other in a language which only we understand. Alienation has become our biggest enemy. Disillusionment with parties is expressed in the increasing numbers of councillors who are non-partisan and represent local issues, and in the brutal fact that people are keener to evict a contestant from the Big Brother house than to vote for a local councillor.
It is in this context that we should see the Prime Minister’s announcement in his conference speech of ‘the biggest policy consultation ever to have taken place in this country’. A few weeks later, at November’s National Policy forum, I was joined by the Prime Minister, John Prescott and Gordon Brown as Labour launched the Big Conversation.
At that National Policy Forum meeting the Prime Minister launched a document, A Future Fair for All, which outlines some of the challenges facing Britain over the years ahead. The document asks a number of challenging questions, from whether we should lower the voting age to sixteen to the challenges – and opportunities - that arise from an ageing population; from whether we should consider banning smoking in public places to helping people better balance work and family life.
When Labour launched its new policy-making process, Partnership in Power, we said that we would engage thousands more people in policy-making than we ever have before. The Big Conversation takes the principle of maximum involvement on to a new level. This process will offer us much to learn from as we seek to find new ways of campaigning, new ways of building relationships and putting our values across as the values of the communities we serve.
The launch of A Future Fair for All and subsequent discussions on future challenges has provided an excellent launch to the Big Conversation - thousands and thousands of people have responded. However, it is important to emphasise the Big Conversation is more than this one important document. A key function of this consultation will be to enable Labour’s MPs and elected representatives to reach out further into our communities than we have before. Labour has produced a toolkit for MPs and local parties, outlining a range of options of how they can organise an effective engagement on key issues with their community and gain publicity from this.
The role of new technology is also vital in reaching out beyond traditional participants; most response have come in through the website and by people sending in text messages. A number of unions, voluntary sector organisations and campaigners are running links to the website, ensuring maximum traffic to the site.
The Big Conversation has also received a positive response from the trade union movement, particularly those affiliated to the Labour party. Early next year will see ministers visit a number of key workplaces, listening to the views of workers and employers, as well as addressing union meetings. There have also been a number of visits by constituency MPs to local workplaces.
The Big Conversation is a hugely political exercise. Many people view politicians as an alien breed speaking a language different from theirs; they fail to detect any correlation between what politicians say they will do and what actually happens in their street or on their estates, and blame them when services do not improve. Perhaps our greatest challenge - greater even than fulfilling our promises on better public services - is convincing people that we are on their side. The Big Conversation offers all politicians an opportunity to focus on how we can engage our communities in politics - convincing voters that ideas and policies can make a difference to people’s lives. While people care deeply about crime and the quality of their housing, local libraries, hospitals, schools and parks, they do not feel able to change them or gain access to the party politics which could change them.
Between now and March there will be hundreds of Big Conversation events in every region of the country. I would urge all readers of Progress to participate by attending a meeting, filling in a questionnaire, organising an event or visiting the Big Conversation website.