CommonSpace columnist Richard McGinley says Jeremy Corbyn has a big task on his hands to change the attitude of the Labour party towards the grassroots
IN a fit of social conscience, my eldest son has joined the Labour party.
I’ve no problem with that. Had he joined the Conservatives I would have had to book into one of those practical parenting classes to find out where I went wrong.
Along with his membership card, there comes a booklet: “Making the most of your membership.”
You should read it. It’s hilarious. Instead of outlining core values, or even hinting at policies, the booklet tells how you can volunteer to help campaign. It offers classes on how you can learn to campaign and asks you to post pictures of your campaign, but nowhere does it tell you about the issues you should be campaigning on.
There’s that machine again. In one end and out the other with the shirt and tie on, completely unable to think for yourself for fear of ‘de-selection’.
It does have a few paragraphs on the history of the party, but founder Keir Hardie doesn’t merit a mention, nor do any of the party greats. It’s almost as though they would prefer to forget about what they actually are, and who they are supposed to represent.
The unions get a whole page, but none are specifically mentioned, nor are there any helpful phone numbers or websites to get you joined up. There is, however, a mention for the Co-op, the Fabian Society, the Black, Asian and Ethinic Minority Society, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender campaign group.
No Transport and General, no Communications union, no nothing for the working man, supposedly the whole reason for the existence of the party. But hang on, you can meet up with like minded young Labour supporters. They all go to Glastonbury together.
Alright, so this membership booklet is aimed at the 15-27 age group. Or, as the party should really call them, the future. Yet it refuses to honour its past and ignores the fundamental reason for its existence.
As a youngster, though, still unaware that sooner or later life will kick you in the teeth and drag you down into a sort of reluctant admission that nothing you do will change anything anyway, you can ignore all that and decide to ride that enthusiasm into the world of politics.
You really want to change the world, or at the very least improve it for those who cannot do it for themselves.
Don’t worry, the party can help: “Some people like to say that politicians are all the same, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We encourage people from all backgrounds and life experiences to consider joining our next generation of Labour politicians. This may be as a community leader, councillor, (sic) or even as a candidate for Member of Parliament. “
“We provide people who may have very little political experience the training and confidence to run an effective selection campaign.”
Corbyn may well have taken over, and may well have a few ideas of his own on how to change things, but until the grass roots of the party move away from this ridiculous idea of the manufactured politician nothing will change.
There’s that machine again. In one end and out the other with the shirt and tie on, completely unable to think for yourself for fear of ‘de-selection’.
You’ll get your ideas from the think tank, and your morals from the press. Effectively, you will have become the very person you set out to remove from ruling class. You won’t change anything. They will change you, as they happily outline in their booklet.
Except, unlike in days gone by, it will actually happen before you work your way up the greasy pole.
Corbyn may well have taken over, and may well have a few ideas of his own on how to change things, but until the grass roots of the party move away from this ridiculous idea of the manufactured politician holding views that are decided by focus groups and opinion polls, nothing will change, and the once great institution that is the Labour party will continue to slide into obscurity.
It will be remembered as a nice idea, but once the leaders became politicians they forgot what it was like to be an ordinary man, and therefore lost the ability to represent him.
Picture courtesy of Jonathan Rolande