A chance to serve?

Political activism shouldn’t just mean going to clp meetings, says Liam Byrne. Why not get involved in one of the many bodies that govern our lives locally?

All of us joined the Labour Party for different reasons. But we have one thing in common. We all want to make a contribution to changing the country and planet that we share. All of us have, written in us somewhere, the words of John Smith when he said, a chance to serve. That is all we ask. So we were right to be worried at the news that the number of Labour members had dropped from 311,000 to 280,000 or 48 members per constituency. What that told us is that fewer people see the Labour Party as a means to make a difference. But activism in Britain is not dead, as some would believe. Activism is alive and well. The problem is that too few people who want to change their communities and their country see their local Labour Party as the platform on which to stand. Our challenge now is to renew our party, to re-create it as the first port of call for people who want to affect the direction of the world. That means nothing less than reorganising our structures, our networks, our training and the pattern of our activities to support those action-orientated people who feel the injustice that stills lives in Britain today and are prepared to do something about it. What some members of the Labour Party have forgotten is that our frontline is still governed locally by health authorities, primary care trusts, NHS trusts, schools, colleges, universities, learning and skills councils, regional development agencies, councils, police authorities, magistrates courts, housing associations and arts councils. CLPs are excellent local party parliaments brilliant at connecting activists to the business of winning council seats and to parliamentary representatives and our vital sister organisations. But they are utterly useless at channelling, or even educating, individual members, who joined because they wanted to change things, to the burgeoning opportunities to serve and lead the 36,285 institutions that spend £25 million every hour of the working day on the issues that Labour was elected to sort out. In fact, some 401,445 councillors, governors, board members, quangocrats and JPs look after around £154 billion (£383,614 each), try 95 percent of crimes, and appoint thousands of our frontline public servants. And this excludes new government initiatives like the New Deal for Communities Partnerships and health action zones. Yet how many CLPs educate new members about how to become a school governor, never mind anything more esoteric, like how to win a place on a regional development agency (whose boards members each account for, on average, £14,285,000), or become a primary care trust board member, or a lay representative on a police authority? Too many CLPs are prepared to attack ministers and councillors on health, education and crime, yet do nothing themselves to affect the frontline. Indeed, how many CLPs make sure that Labour school and college governors, LSC board members and members of university courts come together on a regular basis to talk about transforming post-16 education participation rates, or the fact that in London 25 percent of people have a degree, yet in the north-east only one in ten enjoy the same privilege? Very few. And indeed, where are the structures for ensuring that Labour secretaries of state have the opportunity to tell local governors about their analysis of the issues? Some, of course, will say that the boards of our local public sector must not, under any circumstances, become tainted with accusations of politicisation. This argument ignores at least two facts. The first is that local spending bodies all operate a due process for appointing members. They do not simply take anyone, despite appearances in some parts of the world. And second, board members whether Labour or not have an overriding obligation to serve and advise in the best interest of the institution they govern. They should not put party advantage first. Party members who are governors or board members can t and don t leave professionalism at the door of a meeting. So, where do we start? I would suggest we start on the ground, and with this in mind, Progress has provided a potted guide to how you can serve and change your community.

Liam Byrne is co-founder of an IT business and an associate fellow of the Social Market Foundation

02 Sep 2002 00:00

 

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