Following Saturday’s result it’s vital that Ed Miliband gets to grips as quickly as possible with the scale of the challenge ahead of him.
And the most important thing he can do, if he’s serious about taking Labour forward, is recognise that if we’re going to pose a genuine challenge at the next election we need to rebuild the party from the grassroots up.
Based on my experience of the last four months, the answer for Ed is to embrace the hugely successful model that has already been implemented as a result of David Miliband’s movement for change.
This has seen 1,200 community leaders trained up around the UK, a move that will provide a bedrock of broad base support that the party will require at the next election.
And the action they take is the best way the party can communicate its message to the electorate. The trained leaders were equipped with the skills to effect change in their community, be it improvements in housing security, preventing cuts to street lighting, challenging loan sharks, tackling inadequate bin collections, creating green spaces in city centres, and fighting drug crime, to name but a few of the actions that have been undertaken as a result of the movement for change.
In my community in Enfield alone, the movement for change has helped me to tackle housing security on one of the most deprived estates in the borough. But, more importantly, the movement has given the Labour Party representation in a Conservative constituency and council ward. This will be absolutely crucial in preparing the ground ahead of the next election.
And around the UK it will be this level of action and engagement that will help the Labour party recruit new members, reconnect with the grassroots and appeal to voters in the key battlegrounds which will take the fight to the coalition.
So I would urge Ed Miliband to take forward the movement and build on its success and vast potential to rebuild the party from the bottom up, unify the members and organise the party into a powerful, successful, and electable force at the next election.
Tags: Ben Maloney, Ed Miliband, movement for change
Ed definitely needs to keep the movement going. Or will David actually continue to be involved in this?
If Ed doesn’t win the next election on the ‘door-step’, he won’t win it at all.
The media are not even going through the ‘build ’em, knock ’em down cycle’; they are just hacking at Ed from day 1. Labour will need a hearts & minds campaign that is outside the mainstream media.
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I fully agree with Ben. I am sure that Ed wont fall into the shoot the messenger mode and ditch it just becuase its created by his defeated elder brother. We need this movement to get mentions in the local press so that people begin to associate chage with being in a newly ivigorated labour party.
Ed has got one of the easiest jobs in the counrty. All he has to do is keep a clear head impliment the movement for change and the terrible twins Cameron and Clegg will do the rest.
The MFC also is a great recruiting tool. so theres another reason it makes sense.
Each and every face book member should be able to be briefed daily on positive outcomes from Labour. Remember that face book will be read by each facebook ‘s friend too who may not ebven be a socialist or labour voter so its exposure for free. Real Network Marketing at its best
I’d argue against a blanket roll-out – M4C needs to be focused on seats we do not currently hold but will need to win, for those CLPs and BLPs which are in need of support.
I disagree, James. We saw big swings against us everywhere, including in our heartlands. That means people felt we were out of touch. So whilst community organisers might not win us that many extra seats in County Durham, say, they should help us spring back up quicker there. And if we’re getting 70% of the vote rather than 50% in safe seats, it lets us put all available mobile strength into more winnable seats.
And if a community is organised, that community organiser is himself mobile strength.
Edward, you are right. I suppose what I was thinking is that if the party is going to employ full time campaigners, the priority has to be in those seats we need to win.
There is only one guy who can lead M4C, and that’s the guy that started it. David talked about taking power, and Labour must empower its members totally in order to win elections and change communities. David Miliband for M4C Ambassador.