Over the past few months, London Young Labour members have joined the thousands of activists across the country working our socks off for a Labour fourth term. Much of our work is concentrated on supporting key marginal seats, descending en masse onto an unsuspecting constituency and making as many contacts as possible in an afternoon. We don’t just campaign for young candidates, although we do support our members who are running in local elections, but what we do bring to the doorstep is a fresh perspective on politics.
Young party activists are a pretty diverse bunch. From arch-Blairites to quasi-Trots, we represent not only a wide variety of opinions, but also of background, gender, race and sexual orientation. At a time when many people are disillusioned with politics in the wake of the expenses scandal, the prospect of a visit from the local MP isn’t particularly appealing. On the other hand, talking to a young, engaged person, who seems fairly normal (apart from their worrying interest in spending all their free time knocking on strangers’ doors) and who wants to know their opinions, can make a big difference.
Young activists aren’t so tainted by the fallout from expenses – we tend not to be elected representatives. Plus we don’t rely so much on scaremongering about the Tories’ past record; most of us were more interested in Barbies or football stickers when the Conservatives were last in power. Instead, we want to look forward and present a positive vision of what Labour will do in a fourth term.
As well as campaigning in key marginals, we’re also taking part in the Young Labour first-time voters project – using our activists to talk to young people in key seats across the country. I’ve been surprised at just how responsive young voters are when spoken to by somebody their own age. While many of them don’t identify as party political, we’re able to have conversations with them about the issues that matter to young people – they’re issues that matter to us, too.
As the opinion polls show a narrowing gap between Labour and the Conservatives, we see more and more positive reactions from voters on the doorstep. Every time we go out, we meet people whose lives have been changed for the better by a Labour government. For every retired, one-armed sergeant major watering his begonias and voting National Front, we’ll meet a young mum whose MP helped her get a council flat when she had nowhere else to turn to. For every bleary-eyed student stumbling to the door at midday in his boxers, we’ll talk to a first-time voter who has never been asked what he thinks before and who’s brimming with ideas. For every unfriendly brush-off and door-slam, there’s someone who can’t get out of the house much, but who really wants a postal vote to support their Labour candidate.
And every so often, we’ll come across somebody who, after a brief chat on the doorstep, says, “You know what? I want to help.” And that’s what makes me believe that we can win.
Photo: Labour Youth Party 2010