Political meetings are dull, aren’t they? I’m not talking about conferences, or rallies, or even the worthy roundtables that think tanks are always advertising. I’m talking about the kind of political meeting that takes place in a cold and damp community centre on a weekday evening.
Such meetings exist to create a veneer of party democracy. We sit in silence as councillors explain to us the important business of planning regulations and recent council meetings. We hear MPs report back on that fascinating adjournment debate they organised. We sit through the crucial but unfathomable report about recent campaigning activity.
Many of us have tolerated such meetings – a few may even enjoy them – but on the whole they are irredeemably dull, attended only by those who feel duty bound to turn up, or those whose personal lives revolve around party politics. In both cases, neither is the kind of person who could be accurately described as either ordinary or average.
Every political party needs a democratic decision-making structure, but sometimes that can mean bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy.
Most political activists would be better served heading out and speaking to some of the ordinary people on whose behalf they so often claim to speak.
Imagine what might be achieved if just a fraction of the hours spent pouring over minutes of meetings was, instead, spent engaging with our communities, learning about their genuine hopes and concerns. It would be more worthwhile than setting up straw men issues that do not exist or need to be addressed.
We might even end up with a political class that was back in touch with the people. Wouldn’t that be a little more worthwhile than having meetings for meetings’ sake.
Mark Ferguson is the editor of LabourList.org
Comments
Ralph Baldwin / August 24 2011 9:51pm
"We might even end up with a political class that was back in touch with people".
Mark you should have taken the Stephen Fry path after Cambridge, hahahaha. The political uneilte underclass couldn't empathise or understand people if their views were branded on their foreheads.
Insufferable and incurable arrogance and a corrupt Corporate tax cutting agenda and total subservience to the Banks will prevent anything substantial resulting in the incredibly minor change you advocate.
As for activists and who they "claim" to speak for, try this Mark, ask people onthe doorstep this single question anywhere in the Uk "Are MPs and the Law on your side?"
Go on do it.
Its a very simple task with a very simple answer and yet it is a principle our Parliament worshipping screw-ups fail to understand utterly.
I'm afraid time is ticking along and Mps utterly failed to predict to trouble that occured this summer despite the warnings. That was just the failing of the respect for the law as MPs have highlighted we are no longer equal under the law. The Rule of law has been crapped on and undermined further by pathetic sentencing rules.
We are now for the first time beginning to enter the austerity period and we will see all sorts of chaos occuring over the next year as all the traditional peoples movements have been bought off or made irrelevant as MPs did all they could to make it appear as though all was well and avoided addressing any real issues.
Even today no leader of any party will commit themselves to public service and are only focussing on cashing in on Government contracts or the perks associated in lowering taxes, each way the House wins.......as long as the people tolerate minimal representation......