"We should be the people not just campaigning at elections but campaigning in every town, every city and every village for the things that matter to people there – because that’s the best way we have of reconnecting with people."
These were Ed Miliband’s words at a recent question and answer session at the Labour Party Conference and it is these sorts of views that made me support Ed in the recent Labour leadership election. The Movement for Change training has given me the versatile skills to make this rhetoric a reality.
After attending the training I have realised the importance and power of relationships both within and outside of an institution. The Labour Party has lost its covenant with the people; it has lost the public relationship that is imperative to win elections but more importantly to be the real party of the people. The public does not trust in the Labour Party like it used to and this can only be cured by creating a better relationship between the Labour Party and our communities.
As an institution we have been more worried about the spelling of names in the minutes than the stories and experiences which hold us together. The Labour Party was born out of civil society and now it needs to move back into communities, away from the overly-bureaucratic institution it has become. The party has to trust its membership again but that trust needs to be reciprocated with a hunger from local parties, to work together and build relational power throughout the community.
This change has already begun. Movement for Change, in a very short space of time, has achieved a huge amount; training 1000 people in the skills of community organising in four months. However it will take much longer to reorganise the party into a movement again. That is why I think it must be taken forward within the Labour movement.
We need a party built on the strength of our relationships with each other, rather than being focused solely on bureaucratic tasks. This does not mean moving to the Left; it means moving back into the communities where Labour Party was born. It means being a party of action for local people in local areas, not just a meeting point for its members.
Sam Murphy
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