I’ve decided to stand for the Progress strategy board elections, voting for which will commence tomorrow. As I am going on holiday for the next two weeks (a formidable election strategy I think you’ll agree) I decided to set my stall out early about why this election, why Progress and why me.
Like many ordinary Labour party members I was truly dismayed at the events that unfolded in June. A coordinated broadside of stinging criticism from the unions’ hierarchy saw Progress labelled ‘neoliberal’, ‘a party within a party’ and ‘North Korean’ among many more beside. The rationale for this most heated of rhetoric was their concern over Progress’ level of influence over the future policy direction of the Labour party. You can, of course, be a proud trade unionist and a member of Progress. Indeed, I am one. Progress responded with dignity. The strength of the organisation was to having listened to these internal concerns, to then respond in a constructive manner that put the interests of the Labour party above its own.
We Labour party members should all be concerned by the attempts to ostracise Progress. To shut down debate purely because you disagree with a strain of thought strikes me as more than a little bit illiberal and counterproductive. It is why I, for one, welcome the inclusion of Class to the Labour thinktank fold. For Labour thinktanks aren’t the enemy, the Conservatives are and always will be. A battle of ideas will make for a stronger Labour party. There is no monopoly on ideals and values; either within our party, or outside it. Ultimately Progress, like Class, is an organisation of thousands of like-minded Labour party and trade union members. Come 2015 we will all strive for a Labour victory.
Progress’ founding aim was ‘to promote a radical and progressive politics for the 21st century’. After a defeat of historic proportions in 2010, the party surely has much to discuss. That Progress be used as a platform to discuss, hone and – hopefully, post-2015 – implement progressive ideals and policies is a must. The publication of The Purple Book, in which six former cabinet ministers, eight members of the present shadow cabinet and an array of Labour modernisers set out their suggestions on how to return the party to power, demonstrated that internal ideas still burn bright. And it is why ProgressOnline and its magazine remain so vital, and why campaigns such as Third Place First are integral to a more formidable Labour party come the next election.
Progress will be at the heart of the debate about the future of the Labour party. It has a remarkable ability to self-generate and is as important now as it was in its conception in the mid 1990s. But the rationale for its forming in 1996 should not be forgotten; for too long the Labour party was a mere footnote in successive chapters of Conservative governance. That’s why we changed. We shouldn’t be ashamed of our past, nor consign it to history – but extract the core tenets that won the party three successive elections.
And finally, why me? Four years ago I was but a humble graduate intern at Progress. Now I seek election to its board. As other candidates have noted, this is an election where the primary campaigning tools are our names. It is daunting. Of course, no individual, institution or ideology is perfect. I don’t believe Progress was ever a faction within the party, but a coalition – and it has the potential to be at the heart of the Labour party once more. I want now, as four years ago, to show I stand with Progress.
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David Talbot is a candidate in the members’ section in the Progress strategy board elections 2012. You can find out more about all the candidates at the dedicated Progress strategy board election microsite