Future Leader Stories: Kathryn Perera

The Movement for Change: starting from scratch in a non-Labour constituency

I decided to train with the Movement for Change during the Labour leadership contest. I was interested in the idea of reforming the culture of the Labour Party – of creating a living, breathing movement that once again sat at the heart of our communities. That idea still excites me. I believe that Ed Miliband’s intention to weave community organising into the fabric of Labour politics has the potential to shift our culture radically.

I saw the beginnings of that shift in Aylesbury, where I worked as a Labour Party activist. The local Party is a rump of people who are desperate for an alternative voice in an area dominated by cosy Lib Dem-Conservative alliances. The town itself is crying out for organised leadership to oppose the ‘business as usual’ model which has become entrenched. Yet we realised that before Aylesbury Labour Party could begin the task of engaging with the community in a meaningful way, first we needed to forge a common identity – a shared purpose – within our CLP. Some of our members attended the Movement for Change training. Others started to organise one-to-ones and meet each other on a more meaningful basis. Soon a series of house meetings will start, to give smaller groups a space to build the relationships which underpin a thriving CLP. Through that process, I’ve learned about what motivates my fellow activists as individuals and why we believe the Labour Party has a role to play in bringing about local change.

The change in Aylesbury Labour Party is nascent and we are still feeling our way. But slowly, steadily, a different sort of local Party is revealing itself. It is a Party which devotes more time to local issues than it does to bureaucracy, which sets aside time at meetings for discussions of policy that are revealing and honest. I recognise that the process is a long one, yet with increased membership and new voices emerging I believe that we have the beginnings of a local Party which is of the people in our community, rather than simply for them. A quiet but fundamental shift.

The wider question for the Labour Party is how to harness the teachings a movement which is not focused narrowly on quick electoral scores. While voter ID runs the risk of creating relationships which are a mile wide and an inch deep, the Movement for Change flips that method on its head. Its principles challenge Labour activists to discover that true electoral strength will only arise out of meaningful relationships which bind us to our communities. In Aylesbury, we are only just beginning to feel that change.

Kathryn Perera

Future Leader Stories: Furqan Naeem

I decided to join the Movement for Change after hearing how David Miliband pledged to go back to the grassroots and focus on bringing people together from different communities in order to make a real impact and difference on the ground. At first, I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical as I was never convinced that such a change in politics and community involvement could be achieved simply by people coming together and getting organised. Having received the training and going out myself, starting a campaign with a handful of individuals and seeing it being repeated right across the country, it has certainly altered my perception on achieving grassroots political change. Using the Movement for Change training, I conducted some 1-2-1 meetings with people in my community. After holding a House Meeting with a few of those individuals, we decided to raise awareness of the growing number of homeless people in our city of Manchester and how we can come together to listen to the vulnerable and, from there, kick start the process of change.

As it was the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims around the globe, we decided to come to Manchester city centre to share the experience of the opening of the fast with the homeless. We got in contact with the homeless shelters and spoke to homeless individuals, making them aware that their local community would like to share their food from home with them. We had a great turnout and the perceptions of Muslims, not just on the part of the homeless people we fed but also of the wider community, changed significantly from one of hostility to one of trust. The community recognised the growing concern with poverty in our city and that we must come together to make the change that is so desperately needed. The event was titled “Flashmob Iftaar” (“iftaar” means the ‘opening of the fast’ in Arabic) and was not lead by any organisation but merely a handful of young Muslim individuals along with other members of society. Picking up on our Facebook page, various other people across the UK recognised this and showed their interest in taking part. Thursday 26^th August saw 7 great cities participating in their own Flashmob Iftaar and starting the process of change within their own communities.

This included people in Manchester, London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Cardiff, Leicester and Slough.

I hope to see this campaign expanding to even more areas across the UK to help promote social harmony among the different groups in our communities, whilst at the same time fighting off any negative and harmful perceptions that result in social divide.

Movement for Change has started to make changes in communities like mine in Manchester by training people like me how to work with people to run campaigns like the Flashmob Iftaar. If the training is spread throughout the country, we can all begin taking action on the issues that matter to us and making change in our communities.

Furqan Naeem