Email sent to Angela Eagle on improving the experice for new members to the Labour Party

At the behest of Angela Eagle the following was sent to try and improved the way new members are treated by Labour, especially in the North West.

 

I've also briefly included  my own experience of Labour:

 

Hi Angela

Thanks for taking the time to call me. As mentioned the process has been very long and hard for me to get to that stage, I've  found an email from me to Noel (Hutchinson) which I sent to him on October 8th 2012 but the issue was long before I emailed him.

I won't go on about the problem with my CLP but have (hopefully) attached the letter from the Chair in which he makes his "they were being factually incorrect" claim (and yes the letter did come without a Labour letter head despite being a party demand).

Although my issue may seem irrelevant, just one small ward in a CLP which probably isn't worth bothering with for you to win the election, having talked to many people about the problem from 'just members' up and down the country to NEC reps like Johanna Baxter and higher people like Iain Nicholl (the latter albeit through DMs and email) along with MPs (again through the emails) I feel as I have been trying to get across that my issue is a snippet of the problems the party has in other areas, not just mine.

I'd even go as far as saying it is why AWS and the views about women in politics are myths with the same issues being used to promote them being related, in terms of some women being just as alienating because they are allowed to be by the party system.

I know you will disagree with that view, so will spare you an in depth analysis of it or proof.

As requested below is what I feel should be done, firstly on improving the party then on politics but I would like to point out that all have already been suggested via things like policy portal and as mentioned please do forgive any grammatical errors, I live with dyslexia.

Please also note that having chaired action groups I know that people will get involved in things when it matters and my work in problem solving has told me on more than one occasion that most, if not all, problems can be resolved.

Before I write my key point I think it would be extremely beneficial to you (forgive me if you already do it/ are aware of it) if you use the Quality Diagnosis process of mapping out what happens when someone applies to be a member, what CLP's do, how they work etc. (including social media etc.) what HQ does all the way through to what MPs do and how they work, along with and including a grievance  procedure for every level.

Form a vision of expectations and establish if those expectations are being done by all and if failures are taking place don't simply find out why but fix them.

Failures can be those like the ones I made you aware of but could also be through not knowing how, not having / believing to not have the resources to do etc.

Improving the party:

Although I completely agree that Branches, CLP's, Regions etc. can't all work as the same I do believe that some universal practices can be done:

The party needs to look at its new member recruitment structure there are some, as I am sure you will have seen on the doorstep, who want to do the campaigning, door knocking etc. and others who simply want to be members.

I suggest that most of those who "simply want to be members" don't but became lethargic due to how they have been treated and they need to be approached as individuals not just by a generic email but by a campaign coordinator with the will to want to have them involved.

The party must also ensure that new members do not become lethargic or alienated from it.

I strongly recommend that new member inductions are done, especially at regional and national conference.

I still have awful memories of the women who got shouted down by our regional conference not for being out of order for saying anything bad but for not following procedure, something she was completely unable to do because she was a new member and had the misfortune of not knowing what it was.

It is something that should never be permitted (a matter I raised with Noel & Anna) but which (sadly as per usual) fell on deaf ears and inductions would resolve things like this.

I am not saying a full day just for new members but a few hours before the full conference starts, a welcome (with a thank you for being members) and a setting out of the processes that the day follows. Induction can be seen as training and we all know that to do anything new training (and it being done correctly) is absolutely vital.

Those inductions should be universal, a mandatory requirement and I would even go as far as having a 'mystery shopper' NEC scheme in place to ensure they are undertaken.

The inductions, possibly even the new member application process, should include the asking of the resources, skills etc. which each individual can or would like to bring to the Party.

For example someone may not want to campaign in the traditional sense but may be computer skilled and willing to manage / run social media. 

Managing resources seems to be an issue that the Party can and should do better on, I doubt that it knows what it has 'people wise' and in my own experience cares what it has.

Quality Diagnostic mapping out of the resources needed will show requirements. Listing the resources available  and then marrying them up where possible would (in my opinion) be a huge help.

Placing QD roles monitoring CLP's and Region and HQ on the NEC would be beneficial.

Once the party has itself working properly, cliques dismantled etc. it's natural course will be for it to be seen to be working.

The resources it feels aren't available will be and the fundamental key for making politics work, which is engagement, will be viewed as working and, in turn, worth bothering with.

Making politics work:

Engagement is absolutely key. I honestly believe that the Tories (Coalition as they prefer) didn't win the last election Labour lost it and it lost it because it didn't listen to what it was being told.

I believe that as a party it gets and as a Government 'we' got told about problems, both internally and externally but for a number of reasons 'we' chose to ignore them.

Our communication units get told but do they pass on or answer on our behalf and if they are answering for 'us' is it in the manner we would like it to be done?

I've had replies from communication units that haven't provided information requested, misquoted and misrepresented what I've wrote and even had replies with completely irrelevant information not even asked for.

Few know how politics work. If a communications unit fails it isn't a civil servant / staff member seen as failing, it is the MP or Party/ Government and 'we' should remember that with every tool 'we' use to engage and that includes media appearances, with parliamentary protocols geared so that when they are made any correspondence relating to them is acknowledge (fully) not just dismissed because the person contacting doesn't live with our constituency.

'We' also need to stop being smug and attempting to be clever by not answering questions when they get asked and being dismissive by using phrases like "Well what I feel is important is...." after someone has told 'us' what is important to them.

Engagement also includes being seen to do, with ward councillors doing their roles. They can only be removed at elections but if they are doing nothing they stain the party for more than just their period of office.

The party needs to drop safe seat mentality and with resources created by the improving party best practice in place it should be able to.

I changed my ward from a safe Tory ward and in turn "not worth bothering with because its Tory" as my Chair described it into a Labour win by engaging with the residents, helping solve issues by simply listening and steering them to problem solvers, working with the police etc and where a person lives should not dictate the level of effort / support they are given.

People these days rarely stick to party loyalty (something I fear Labour will find out at cost) they will support what feels best for them. If one person is engaging and helping them, compared to a Labour, Tory or Lib Dem doing nothing they will support them.

There are also numerous other issues that the party has in general, the influence some can have (Progress for example) is staggering but I will leave that for people with more knowledge and party experience to challenge. For me the new member process, how the party operates and how it engages will do.

Regards

Andy