Arnie Graf: The man Ed Miliband asked to rebuild Labour

[jondwhite]

An interesting article from the Guardian last year here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/nov/21/arnie-graf-labour-party-miliband

in particular, his conclusions

Quote:

• First, there was a need to deal with what Graf describes as the party's "bureaucratic rather than a relational culture". A new member coming into their first meeting should expect more than bureaucracy and hierarchy.
• Second, the party had to stop treating members as drones rather than leaders. Many of the party members Graf visited in the regions seemed to think that if there were genuine leaders in the party, they were all in London. Most orders came from the capital. It was in London that the leaflets were designed, the timetables set and the marching orders given.
• Thirdly, the party was too closed: Labour gatherings were often suspicious of outsiders, particularly people who were Labour sympathisers but not prepared to be members. It seemed hard for newcomers to break in.
• Finally, the party offered little inspiration to its members. Graf blew open a complacent consensus that branch meetings had to be boring. He could see that they could offer more, and dared them to be so: "We grow up and get meaning from relationships … politics should provide that."

Then his proposals

Quote:

• Perhaps the most radical of Graf's proposals was his call for open primaries, meaning that Labour's candidate would be selected by the area's population as a whole, rather than just its members. Although Graf was only suggesting a trial in volunteer constituencies, he met active resistance: "Not everyone was willing to open up the party … I spoke to one person who said, 'But if we allow in a lot of people and give them the vote, who knows what they'll do?' I thought, 'Well, if you want to stitch up everything, maybe that's why you're losing so badly …'"
• A second proposal was for community membership, which would allow voluntary associations to join as collectives. They would get one vote per institution, and they'd have responsibility for bringing their members into the party. People who were members of the institution but not individual party members would then have a way of engaging with the party.
• Another idea was establishing a supporters' network, which would provide individuals with a way of engaging with the party if they didn't want to become full-blown members. Supporters might be asked to pay a small amount of money, and that would entitle them to vote in Labour selections; or they could be asked to pay nothing but have some say over the party's manifesto.

[ALB]

Quote:

First, there was a need to deal with what Graf describes as the party's "bureaucratic rather than a relational culture". A new member coming into their first meeting should expect more than bureaucracy and hierarchy.Second, the party had to stop treating members as drones rather than leaders. Many of the party members Graf visited in the regions seemed to think that if there were genuine leaders in the party, they were all in London. Most orders came from the capital. It was in London that the leaflets were designed, the timetables set and the marching orders given.Thirdly, the party was too closed: Labour gatherings were often suspicious of outsiders, particularly people who were Labour sympathisers but not prepared to be members. It seemed hard for newcomers to break in.Finally, the party offered little inspiration to its members. Graf blew open a complacent consensus that branch meetings had to be boring. He could see that they could offer more, and dared them to be so: "We grow up and get meaning from relationships … politics should provide that."

Do you think he went to some of our branch meetings too.

[Anonymous]

ALB wrote:

Quote:

He could see that they could offer more, and dared them to be so: "We grow up and get meaning from relationships … politics should provide that."

Do you think he went to some of our branch meetings too.

Probably not but he (and others) should come to our Summer School in less than two weeks time…   http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/event/summer-school-2013-birmingham

[jondwhite]

Although the leadership, hierarchy and unwelcoming reception doesn't apply, there's probably room for improvement, and perhaps more emphasis should be given to recreational branch activities. But we don't need a consultant to tell us that.I've yet to understand why a party arguing the emancipation of the working-class will be the act of the working-class itself, doesn't have open primaries for sympathisers voting members onto committees, or at least a national mailing list for supporters.

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