GC, BLP, EC, CLP – do you know what all these acronyms stand for? Probably yes, but that’s because the majority of us have attended meetings of the above on our journey to becoming fully paid-up, leaflet-distributing Labour party activists.
We Labour party members want to change the world – as long as we can minute how we do this and then discuss these minutes in three consecutive meetings lasting three hours. Of course, I am being a little unfair, but it pays to take a lighthearted look at Labour party meetings and why some of us keep going back for more.
A familiar scene unfolds at most BLP or GC get-togethers. I am sure every local party has its compulsory characters, ranging from ‘manic motion man’ who aims to put down a record number of motions a year, to the ‘this is the ways it’s always been’ woman who warns that if there is any deviation at all the world will fall in. Then, of course, there is always the ‘token young person’ coming along to their first party meeting and being met at the door with looks ranging from suspicion to wonder to lust.
I think it’s admirable that people give up their evenings to spend time with fellow-minded left-leaning thinkers discussing the ills of society and how to remedy them. Except that this isn’t always the case. Sometimes you end up discussing procedure for hours, or have the ‘how many members have left the party in the last quarter’ discussion, which so many attendees seem to take great pleasure in having. Or the never-ending discussion on how to raise branch funds, which always seems to end in various promises to host dinners or garden parties that never see the light.
Of course, this is unfair. Like any organisation, the Labour party needs meetings to organise itself. However, it can feel as if we spend more time navel-gazing and talking to ourselves than to potential voters and supporters. The challenge for us all is to find a happy medium between holding meetings and holding street stalls. Between discussing graffiti and actually doing something about it. Between complaining about having no young members versus going out and trying to recruit them.
However, it would be sad to abandon our meeting traditions and all the fun and frustration that goes with them. I like the raffles, the coffee breaks and the sense of community – and I even occasionally enjoy reading the crazy motions that pop up from the man in the cardigan and the woolly hat. In a world of constant change, a bit of consistency isn’t always a bad thing.