Getting Involved in Labour
Some personal reflections on joining the Labour Party
Over the past 12 months I’ve been increasingly involved in my local Labour Party. Prior to this, I had assumed that local politics was a tedious and ultimately pointless arena, populated mostly by eccentrics and politics-nerds (in hindsight, I’m not sure why I didn’t see this as even more reason for joining).
Over the past year I have found myself proved wrong on all counts.
How soon is now?
I first decided to get more involved in the Labour Party just over a year ago. The 2017 General Election had just been called, and me and a friend were on our way back from a friend’s 30th birthday party. We were both already Labour Party members, and were both privately in despair at the party’s outlook. At that point in the election cycle people were predicting the death of Labour, the death of left-wing politics, and the (almost literal) death of Jeremy Corbyn.
As we spoke in the back of that taxi, we were both very much in denial. Strangely, desperately, we were communicating on a level of pure spin, trying to fool ourselves as much as each other.
“You know, this General Election might actually go well for Labour,” he ventured.
“I think people are more ready than ever to hear a new politics: one that actually speaks to their needs,” I offered.
“The annihilation of all we hold to be good and pure in society is Actually a Good Thing,” we both concluded, in unison
Long story short, in that taxi we both whipped each other up into such a state of at least mild excitement that we vowed that now was the chance to actually do something, to get involved in the party and do some door-knocking.
“If not now, then when?” he said.
To this day I’m not sure whether he was referring to the political climate or the existential-crisis brought on by our friend turning 30, but either way it was the kick I needed to get more active in campaigning for Labour.
On the doorstep
Door-knocking that Summer was fantastic: not only did I have a unique opportunity to get out into my local area, talk to neighbours and hear their concerns, but I felt connected to the national sense of growing optimism that emerged throughout the 6 weeks leading up to the election. As the Tory campaign bumbled along, and as Labour grassroots campaign went from strength to strength, it was at times almost euphoric. Meeting activists after work in the sunshine for door-knocking, it felt like I was part of a movement — and that something truly special was happening in British politics.
That excitement has only grown. There is still the sense that Labour are a government-in-waiting, and that the political discourse has been changed, perhaps irreversibly. There is a real chance to put pressure on this Conservative government: to reject austerity; to agitate for meaningful change; and to campaign for concrete policy changes.
What’s more, the party that is emerging from this activism is exactly the kind of Labour Party that Jeremy Corbyn wants to foster. He has repeatedly called for a more open, democratic party, one lead by the grassroots, with the widest sense of participation possible. This is politics as a social movement: politics as representative of the society and people it impacts, and one that is responsive to its membership anyone who wishes to get involved.
Now is now
Change feels possible, and it is coming. Politics is back. And it’s good again. The time to get involved really is now.
If you are thinking of getting involved, do so! Local elections are coming up on May 3rd, and decisive Labour victories across the country will heap more pressure on Theresa May and her cruel, incompetent government.
So, if you can help out with door-knocking, leafletting, or anything else — please do get in touch with your branch organisers to see how you can get involved.
It is vitally important that we make sure Labour members and supporters actually get out to vote on polling day — so please do make sure May 3rd is in your diaries. And, while you’re at it, why not test the limits of you non-political friendships by making sure everyone you know is ready to vote. If they are Labour voters.
You can find out more about our manifesto and what’s going on in Hornsey and Wood Green on our new website.
