How members and ordinary residents can win: big politics, grassroots organising: transforming Tower Hamlets Labour into a Social Movement

Big Politics: Reversing the binary – making the ‘Man in the Suit’, work for ordinary residents and members, and not the other way round

‘Big politics’ is the call for a bold alternative vision of the future. This must start by recognising the very real pain and indignity that the status quo inflicts on vast swathes of the population.

For example, take Child Poverty, according to the Child Poverty Action Group, ‘more than 1 in 4 children grow up in poverty in the UK’. In Tower Hamlets, despite being one of the richest Boroughs in the country  we have the highest rates of Child Poverty in the country, an inequality which has widened over the years, despite having a large local Labour Party and a local Labour administration. There is a widespread perception that decision makers in the local party are now aware of what ordinary residents and members have to face in their daily lives.

For the many ordinary members of the Tower Hamlets Labour Party, living in such difficult circumstances, technical-sounding policy announcements tinkering at the edges of systemic problems aren’t going to cut it. The solutions being offered must be as big as the problems they seek to address, or why should anyone believe that voting this way or that way is going to make any material difference to their life?

This isn’t just about ‘talking left’. It’s the local Labour Party viewing it’s role as serving human need over profit and putting forward aspirational political programmes to rebalance wealth and power in the interests of the many. The way this is communicated is key, and it needn’t conjure images of unsuccessful attempts in the past; it entails a positive, creative, inclusive vision of the future for generations to come.

A common criticism from the current political officers in the Party and so-called ‘sensible people’ (allegedly there is a Whatsapp Group called the sensible ones and who gets to define what sensible is?) is that we are currently living through a time of political extremes: on the one hand, there’s the far right, on the other, the far left. Where are the sensible, grown-up politicians of the centre?

I would argue that there’s nothing extreme or divisive about seeking to find solutions to meet the scale of the problems we face, with the goals of ensuring that all people are able to live with dignity and that our societies function cohesively. This is rather different to the scapegoating, demonising and hate-fuelled politics of the far right which seeks to tap into fear and anxiety rather than hope, optimism and collaboration. Continuing to nullify and stagnate the political process whilst undermining the attempts of the progressive left to build a better future only makes it more likely that the far right will gain ground. The status quo isn’t working for an ever increasing number of people; it’s time to take stock, rethink and get behind something that will.

Grassroots Organising: Taking the party out of the echo chamber and onto the estates

In addition to the need for a big, bold political offer, the ‘Grassroots Organising’ approach has proven itself to be a game-changer across the globe from Bernie Sanders in the US to Jeremy Corbyn in the UK. The national Labour Party set up a Community Organising Unit (with former Tower Hamlets activists leading the unit) to harness the techniques and methods of Grassroots Organising for the the forthcoming General Election.

The same techniques can be used locally by a reformed local Labour Party, using the platform of the Labour Party and elected representatives to empower popular forces in the Borough, out of the party rooms and the Town Hall and into the estates.

I have noticed a tendency of some to think it is possible to depoliticise a movement-based, ‘grassroots organising’ approach. This reflects a mistaken belief in a magic bullet solution – if only we focus more on social media or introduce a digital tool to get people active, we’ll get more members and active canvassers – and so on. But these ‘grassroots organising’ approaches require masses of people to be prepared to give up their time for free. There is no reason to believe that people will be mobilised at scale by a Local Labour Party which is offering a different shade of the status quo. People won’t put in the time and effort if they are not inspired by the vision on offer.

Volunteers need to believe in the worthiness of what they’re doing and sense the importance of the role they are playing in it. If people are being asked to something small which will only have an incremental impact, the majority of people will not see that this is a worthwhile use of their time. On the other hand, being asked to join in an ongoing, people-powered campaign to tackle the structural issues deeply damaging our society, with the hope of transforming things on a systemic basis has proved to be far more effective at bringing new people into the political process – people who then become committed activists.

Social Movement: Big Politics and Grassroots Organising

A combination of Big Politics and Grassroots organising can transform what is now a local Labour Party who’s primary role is to serve local Labour elected representatives into a ‘Social Movement‘ that serves the members and popular forces and causes in the Borough.

In Tower Hamlets we are living in a time of great uncertainty and upheaval. The challenges we face – climate change, racism, inequality – will never be solved by single actors, suburban bureaucrats, ivory towered politicos or the ‘Man in the Suit’. To be in with a fighting chance, we must work together, share our stories and learn from each other, this can only be done by transforming the local Labour Party into a Social Movement, that is #ForTheManyAndNotTheFew.