Since the general election the Labour party has stated that thousands of new members have joined. It is fantastic news. All Labour party activists will know that the membership (especially activists) has been rapidly decreasing in recent years. Even since I joined the Labour party aged 15, those able and willing to volunteer has continued to fall. We can all cite the reasons for this decline but before the general election political membership problems seemed chronic.

However, a new rush of members, most of whom are understandably disgusted with the ConDem government and excited by the chance to choose the next Labour leader (and hopefully next prime minister) have flooded to the party.

This is a small window of opportunity for the Labour party. We need to take it.

Why? Firstly, the shock and horror of the ConDem government’s cuts will fade over time. If they are in fact using the Canadian model for budget reduction they will slash soon and slash hard, using their honeymoon, steady the ship and by 2015 public spending cuts may be in the past.

So, what can we do now? We must prepare for the future, but we must not forget the present. This leadership election is vitally important to the future of the Labour party, but we must not lose sight of the fact that our primary responsibility in opposition is to hold the government to account. We must show the many people who are being hurt everyday by the ConDems’ cuts that we are the home of progressive opposition.

We must break down barriers to joining the Labour party. We need to ask Labour supporters on the doorstep if they would like to join the party. And have membership forms right there and then. We need to give options and details for joining the Labour party on all our materials. We need to tackle the awfully high membership fee. Joining the Labour party, or any political party, is daunting. Let’s make signing up easier. Not hope they will have a sudden realisation, head online and join.

Secondly, we have a short timeframe to engage these new members. How do we turn members into activists? You pay your fee, you get your membership card but how much person-to-person support is there? Attending a meeting with a dozen people who you do not know, many talking about CLPs, BLPs, conference motions and the minutes of the last meeting, can be both soul destroying and disengaging.

People join the Labour party to help change the world, hoping to help bring positive change to their community or at least hoping to be met by warm smiles and interesting debate. Often, they soon find themselves turned off from the party, and that’s if they have the confidence or purpose to come along to their first meeting in the first place, in a pub they’ve never been too, or a meeting room in a building they do not know.

We need to reach out; we need to seek out our people and help them in, not wait for them to arrive. This is not only at a national level but also at a branch and constituency party level. We must inspire our members to believe in the Labour party, how they can help the party but also how the Labour party can be a great, engaging and warm place for them too. This will help lift all the pressure off our overworked volunteers and make the job of getting our message out easier.

Labour may not have another opportunity to grow its roots. We must gain more members, and gain more activists. New members need to believe that the Labour party is a warm and welcoming place. Change can be effected, most of all, if we value whatever help our new members are willing and able to give.

If we get that right, the future for the Labour party is exciting.