David Miliband, through his Movement for Change, has identified people who are passionate to change their communities and then paid to train them in community organising.
Our guest writer is Jonathan Cox, of the College of Community Organising, part of David Miliband’s Movement for Change
Many senior figures in the Labour Party have responded to the election defeat by calling for reforms to our structure, for more local campaigning, and to make the Party a living, breathing movement, to complement the electoral machine. No-one doubts that Labour can learn from the success of the model of community organising that has been pioneered by London Citizens and CITIZENS UK.
But so far, only one candidate has understood that the most enduring legacy of community organising is not the winning of the campaign, but the development of people as local community leaders.
That is why David Miliband, through his Movement for Change, has not imposed an issue from above and then sent activists a campaign letter and press release with identikit instructions for action.
Instead, David has identified people who are passionate to change their communities and then paid to train them in community organising so that the 1,000 people enrolled in the Movement for Change’s Future Leaders programme are equipped to take action with their local Party on the most pressing issue in their area.
Having undergone the training himself, David understands one of the central tenets of community organising: that to build a movement you have to put the development of people before policies. So the answer to the rejuvenation of the Labour Party’s grassroots is not to adopt other organisations’ campaigns and turn them into Labour campaigns, but to invest in the development of our members and harness their desire to tackle local issues.
The Movement for Change is training people on a housing development on Tyneside to work with the local Labour Party to get the developer to tarmac their road after three years of delay and obfuscation.
We have trained young leaders in Manchester to work with a local councillor and residents and on their estate to identify worthwhile and winnable issues. And, we have developed leaders in Norwich to organise a campaign against the harsh Conservative Council cuts to street lighting. The Movement for Change is working with people right across the country to organise and win campaigns on local issues – people who will gain skills and experiences that will far outlast the length of the campaign.
And, if you are really to put people before policies in the Labour Party, then we must do more to move towards a less bureaucratic and more relational culture.
Over the past few months I have asked almost everyone I have trained why it is they joined the Labour Party. Not a single person has told me that they joined to pass resolutions at GC or approve the minutes of the last meeting. I have heard some amazing stories that really help to understand people’s motivation to be Labour and provided a basis for collective action – but precious little time is devoted to such relational activity in our Party meetings.
If we are to be a Movement for Change we have to be able to understand and relate to fellow members in our constituency. It is very difficult to do this unless we invest time in getting to know them – and the best way to do this is through the 1-2-1 meeting, which we train all our Future Leaders to do. Our Future Leaders are already seeing that taking the time to meet other individual members and understand their concerns can transform the ability of a local party to act effectively as well as ensuring that it meets the needs and desires of its members.
Putting people before policies is both radical and counter-cultural. It requires a party leadership that respects and trusts its membership to take autonomous action to address local injustices and make the Labour Party relevant to local communities, whether we are in government or opposition, either nationally or locally.
We rightly treasure our traditions and institutions, and a relational culture cannot spring up overnight, but unless we change to our focus from policies to people the Labour Party will not become the movement for change we know it needs to be.
65 Responses to “David Miliband is the man to rejuvenate Labour’s grassroots”
Liz McShane
Anon – just out of sheer curiosity, does your political mood/compass depend on which day of the week it is or what the weather is like…?
Anon E Mouse
Liz – I’ve just been reading over some of our correspondence over the months and I have been absolutely consistent about the Labour Party. I so wish they were different but hey.
I do admit, despite not voting Lib Dem at the GE, I do like Clegg. That makes me a non partisan, non tribal, open minded floating voter. Yourself?
Anon E Mouse
Chris – Just noticed this; “Tell me the point of Labour without just seeing it as an anti-government collection of middle class public schoolboys who have never done a real job.” Care to explain that one as well?
Well what if I want to vote for someone from the working class who has done a factory job, seen how his colleagues are being treated and vows to run for office to better the lot of others in his position. Who do I vote for? It should be Labour. It’s not though.
Whenever Labour criticised the Tories for being toffs I post this list I compiled of the last Labour government and their educational backgrounds.
(The most important is currently the leader Harriet Harman being educated at the same school as the Tory chancellor)
Posted to LFF on 11/12/09:
Ed Balls (Morley and Outwood) Hugh Bayley (City of York) Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) Bob Blizzard (Waveney) Chris Bryant (Rhondda) Stephen Byers (North Tyneside) Charles Clarke (Norwich South) Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) Jim Cousins (Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central) Alistair Darling (Edinburgh South West) Quentin Davies (Grantham and Stamford) Louise Ellman (Liverpool Riverside) Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central) Barry Gardiner (Brent North) Linda Gilroy (Plymouth Sutton) Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe and Sale East) Peter Hain (Neath) Patrick Hall (Bedford and Kempston) Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East) Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) John Healey (Wentworth) Margaret Hodge (Barking) Geoff Hoon (Ashfield) Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley) Tessa Jowell (Dulwich and West Norwood) Sally Keeble (Northampton North) Ruth Kelly (Bolton West) Jim Knight (South Dorset) Ivan Lewis (South Bury) Martin Linton (Battersea) Ian Lucas (Wrexham) Denis MacShane (Rotherham) Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) Judy Mallaber (Amber Valley) John Mann (Bassetlaw) Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South West) Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) Bob Marshall-Andrews (Medway) Michael Meacher (Oldham West and Royton) Chris Mole (Ipswich) Julie Morgan (Cardiff North) Doug Naysmith (Bristol North West) Nick Palmer (Broxtowe) Gordon Prentice (Pendle) James Purnell (Stalybridge and Hyde) Nick Raynsford (Greenwich and Woolwich) Geoffrey Robinson (Coventry North West) Andrew Slaughter (Ealing, Acton and Shepherd’s Bush) John Spellar (Warley) Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West) Howard Stoate (Dartford) Gavin Strang (Edinburgh East) Mark Todd (South Derbyshire) Kitty Ussher (Burnley) Keith Vaz (Leicester East) Malcolm Wicks (Croydon North) Michael Wills (Swindon North) Rosie Winterton (Doncaster Central) Shaun Woodward (St Helens South)
And another 105 who went to the grammar schools that Labour hate so much.
Is that a suitable explanation for you Chris?
Remember Labour lost the election for a reason…
Liz McShane
Anon – surely it’s where these MPs send their kids. I don’t think they probably had a choice or debate with their parents about which school they were sent to. Things may be different today…!
The one that probably does come under the spotlight is Diane Abbot.
Liz McShane
Anon – I have some good & long standing Lib Dem friends who are frankly shocked and disgusted by their party going in to coalition with the Tories and see Clegg & Cameron as one and the same.
You know that I am a Labour loyalist through & through and still keep the faith!