This is a post about membership of Labour
This is a post about membership of Labour

People join political parties for so many reasons. It could be a family tradition, you may have been influenced by some of your friends. It may have been as a result of a particular event in your life. It could also be for something completely different.

Joining Labour means you become part of a truly ‘broad church’. It’s a party that campaigns on behalf of the whole country – not just the privileged few or the poorest in society. We believe that everyone will be better off with a Labour government

This is the first part of a new series of posts where we show you the sheer diversity of the Labour Party membership in Beverley and Holderness. If you read one of the posts in this series and see a situation similar to your own, it will show you that joining Labour is the right way to go.

Today is about Dave Harris who had been a supporter of the party for decades, without being a member. That changed when he joined after the General Election in 2019.

So, why did he join?

I joined the Labour Party to support the election of a new Leadership team that could win us the next election. I would like to see it as not so much a choice of voting for the right rather than the left but of voting for pragmatism rather than idealism. As a point of reference, (Sir Keir) Starmer was not my first choice but as Leader he has my support.

Future direction

In addition to supporting the new leadership, he would like to have more of a say in the future direction of the party. What does Dave think about what needs to be done?

“In my opinion there is a fundamental contradiction that Labour need to recognise and that is that whilst it says ‘socialist party’ on the tin and most Labour members (and certainly the activists) are Socialists, the majority of the 13m or so Labour voters we need don’t identify with Socialism and don’t want a socialist government…they want a Labour government. Another Labour member referred to them being what would be seen in Europe as Social Democrats (and it wasn’t a compliment) but that is probably a fair description and there is no reason why what it says on the back of my card doesn’t fit with that.”

The older generation

An analysis by Labour Together shows Labour losing the share of the vote of the older generation over the last few elections. Perhaps with that generation, Socialism and certainly the use of the term ‘Comrades’, are associated with the old Soviet era and alienate some voters.

Language is an important part of politics and it always will be. It can attract potential members and drive others away. It is a complex task to decide what is most appropriate, but it’s also essential.

Future posts

Thanks to Dave for providing his reasons and opinions.

If any of you feel the same as him, please contact the party and consider joining. We would truly value any input you have and welcome your contributions to getting a Labour government.

If you’re a member of the Beverley & Holderness Labour Party and would like to contribute towards this series, please email contact@bevholdlabour.org.uk.

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