The Call For Change

The other day on Twitter someone asked me if I am a member of the Ed Miliband Promotion Team! The simple answer to that question is no. I am simply an ordinary Labour Party member who believes that Ed Miliband represents a real choice for change in the Labour Leadership Election.

Tonight, in towns and cities across our country there are calls going out on the eve of poll. Men and women, young and old, new members and longstanding members are making calls to fellow Labour Party members to urge them to vote for change, to vote to start a new chapter in the story, to vote for Ed Miliband.

Work commitments mean that I am not able to join one of the phone banks this evening but I wanted to add my own voice to the call to change the movement. The campaigning movement for change that is the Labour Party. The Labour Party I have known all my life, at it’s best has always been a movement for change. The time has come to change the Movement and again capture that radical, reforming spirit which delivers real change through and for people.

Over the past few days many voices have been heard giving us advice on who to vote for, telling us that turning the corner would be a mistake. They tell us that the safest option is to maintain the New Labour Project. They argue that it delivered three consecutive election victories. However those same voices forget to mention that with each election the electorate were moving away from the New Labour Project. They continued to move away as radicalism and reform gave way to management and maintenance. Labour Party members who hoped that command and control would give way to engagement and empowerment were left frustrated and in their turn they simply left the Labour Party.

As anyone who has been involved in Project Management will tell you every project must come to an end, The project should be reviewed and the lessons learned. Let’s not fool ourselves our election defeat in May 2010 brought the Project to an end. The electorate told us that the time to learn the lessons was now and that we need to change.

This morning sat at the airport skimming the papers I was lost in a world of opinions and a voice cut across my thoughts. Someone sat next to me had seen that I was reading the various commentaries on the Labour Leadership Election. They made the comment “there’s no real choice is there?” I suspect he wasn’t expecting anything other than a muffled yes or no – but let me share with you what I said to him!

I really believe that there is a choice to be made. Not a choice in terms of what we ultimately want to achieve which of course is a fair, equal and just society. But a choice about how we deliver it. A choice between energising members across the country and changing the movement or continuing the command and control approach, failing to engage the members and imposing change.

There is a choice to make for change which involves being able to acknowledge where we lost our way and made mistakes. It takes a strong Leader to lead that sort of change. A Leader who can enable the Party to honestly accept the brutal reality of the mistakes. But a Leader who can at the same time set a course forward which builds on our achievements. A Leader who can develop new approaches and solutions which meet the needs of 2010 and beyond rather than replaying the solutions of another era.

I passionately believe that Ed Miliband is that Leader. Ed understand the mistakes of the Iraq War and that we cannot go into another election defending what happened. Ed Miliband promises a graduate tax to replace tuition fees; a foreign policy based on our values, not just our alliances, a living wage to end the injustice of in-work poverty.

I am just an ordinary member of the Labour Party, a member who became dismayed and disillusioned but who has been re-energised by seeing the potential of what Ed Miliband offers.

I do not presume to tell you how you should vote in the forthcoming Labour Leadership Election and nor should anyone be so presumptuous. The decision is yours and yours alone. All I will say is that if like me you believe in the values of equality, justice and fairness then I would urge you to vote for Ed Miliband. Let’s make a change and change the Movement.

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Labour Leadership – Decision Time

So the Labour Leadership campaign reaches the point where the electors are called upon to make their decisions. It’s been a long campaign and credit should go to all the candidates for having come through it. It has not descended into the civil war which the right wing press no doubt were hoping for. However, that being said there are some who should reflect on how much their supporters can influence perceptions and decisions. But more of that shortly.

But let’s deal firstly with my first preference before going on to consider the ranking of the others. It will probably come as no surprise to anyone who has read my blog or interacts with me on Twitter that I am supporting Ed Miliband for Labour Leader.

Ed Miliband with his emphasis on values resonates so strongly with me, as I have said frequently. He represents a decisive break with the past and offers a new chapter. A new chapter that makes sense in the continuation of the story. A new chapter that recognises what has been achieved but recognises also where there were mistakes. The change that is needed in thinking, policy and approach. The change that engages all members of the party, the public and the business owners in shaping policies for Britain which are based on the values of fairness, equality and justice.

Ed Miliband’s approach to economic growth, the Living Wage, a values based approach to our allies, a greater emphasis on civil liberties and a revitilsation of the Labour Party structure in consultation with members. These are just some of the reasons I am absolutely clear that Ed Miliband is the Labour Leader the Party needs and the next Prime Minister that our country needs.

The nature of my job currently has meant that the majority of my interaction with Ed’s campaign team has been online through Twitter. They are an exceptional group of people and Ed should be rightly proud of them.

So let me turn to my 2nd preference. When the Leadership Campaign started I must be honest and say I had little time for Ed Balls. I have been surprised and delighted to see how my perceptions have changed. He is clearly a confident and capable campaigner who has tackled the issues which face our country with a passion. I still think he has some way to go to shake of the perceptions that many (including me previously) have of him but he has emerged from this campaign as a credible campaigner on those values of fairness, equality and justice which so define my approach to life. Therefore to the surprise of some my 2nd preference will be going to Ed Balls. In no small part is this also due to the superb way in which Ed’s team on Twitter have also conducted themselves incredibly well.

I have a lot of time for Andy Burnham and I think his emphasis on the need to move away from a London Centric Labour Party is absolutely right. Those are ideas which need to be taken onboard alongside opening up ways of engaging the Party Membership which I have talked about in other posts on this blog. Andy Burnham will be my third preference vote recipient.

Now I am not clear whether we have to indicate all our preferences on the ballot paper and that no doubt will become clearer when the ballot paper arrives. If we don’t have to then I am not sure that I will. However if we do have to then my 4th and 5th preferences will go to Diane Abbott and David Miliband.

Diane I am afraid has not really made any impression on me during this campaign other than her continued emphasis on “not being one of the others.” Whilst she is clearly steeped in a knowledge of all levels of the Party Organisation I find her strident approach alienating.

It seems a little odd to be saying that my 4th or 5th preference will go to David Miliband. At the outset of this campaign I was going along with the conventional wisdom and believed that he would make the most appropriate Leader. However, as the campaign has unfolded it has become obvious that he would not. For me he is too entrenched in the ways of operating of the New Labour Project and that makes me extremely uncomfortable. I have respect for him but I think he has been poorly served by his supporters and campaign team. The declarations of support from Progress Online without any apparent consultation with their members, the setting up of a completely separate organisation in the form of the Movement for Change, the aggressive nature of the online interactions all of these, to me at least, suggest a controlling approach which we need to break free of.

Whoever wins we will all need to unite behind and support. That support may of course include criticising or questioning and that brings me back to Ed Miliband. Whether you are currently a supporter or not I believe that Ed Miliband is the person most receptive to other ideas and to listening. That is yet another reason that I believe that Ed Miliband should be elected Labour Leader.

Ed will bring change, change that engages the party membership, change that creates meaningful policies based on shared values and change that will enable us to win again.

Teaching Children About Charitable Giving

As most readers of my blog will know I am very keen on supporting Charities.

Children love to help. Children as young as toddlers like to be included when we’re doing household chores and delight in doing something as simple as handing us something. It makes them feel useful and valued, much the same way we feel useful and valued when we lend a hand to someone else.

The best way to ensure we raise children that will be giving adults is to teach them about giving when they are youngsters. Even children who aren’t yet old enough to receive an allowance can be taught to give to others in many different ways. For example, when it’s time to clean out their room of old toys, instead of simply boxing them up and giving them to Goodwill without the child knowing anything about it, we can involve them in the giving process.

When children receive new toys at Christmas and birthdays, we can take that opportunity to teach our children about giving by having them pick out an old toy to give away. We can explain to them that some children don’t have any toys to play with and ask them to pick out something they would like to give another child. Once Children understand that they can make a difference, they are usually willing to help.

Another way we can teach our children about charitable giving is through monetary contributions. Whenever we give our children allowances, we should take that opportunity to teach them about how to manage finances. After all, if we don’t teach our children how to manage money as they are growing up, how can we expect them to be responsible adults? We also can’t teach our children about money by simply talking to them or reading from a book; we have to supplement that teaching with practical experience and an allowance is an excellent opportunity for this.

Without any proper guidance, most children are going to immediately spend any amount of money we give them. We may have to insist that certain guidelines be followed with regard to their allowance, but if we do this, after a while the child will be accustomed to it. We can sit down with our children and apportion a certain amount for savings, a certain amount for spending, and a certain amount for giving. If we allow our children to be a part of the decision-making process with regard to which worthy cause their money will go, they are far more likely to be willing participants.

For example, we can have two or three worthy causes or charitable organizations picked out and then explain to our children what kind of work the charity does, as well as who will profit from the donations and then let them make the final decision. While children who don’t even know the meaning of cancer may not be excited about setting aside part of their allowance for the American Cancer Society, they may be thrilled to contribute to Toys for Tots once they understand they can help other children get toys for Christmas.

As our children grow and mature, we can incorporate more and other types of charitable giving into our teaching. We can teach them to give of themselves and their time, for example, by mowing the lawn for a shut-in, or cooking a meal, or a dozen other things they can help with as they grow older. If we start teaching our children the value of charitable giving while they are young, by the time they are teen-agers, they will be accustomed to giving and it will come much easier. That’s no reason, of course, not to start teaching them to give to others, regardless of their age, because it is never to late to teach compassion for others.

My Question For Ed Miliband – The Next Labour Leader

Ed, along with many others I believe that you have the vision and values to lead the Labour Party into a new era. No doubt if you have glanced at my Twitter stream or seen my blog you will know that I have been a fervent advocate of your Leadership Campaign and have been actively promoting it.

I have also tried in a small way to help with various aspects of your campaign and hopefully those have been of some use.

I am confident that the Labour Party as a whole will see sense and on 25th September 2010 in my home city of Manchester you will be announced as Labour Party Leader.

Over the past few months as I have been able to connect with various Labour Party members and supporters through Twitter I have felt a resurgence of enthusiasm for politics. My family has a long history of campaigning for the Labour Party and for its’ values of fairness, justice and equality of opportunity for all.

In my youth (more years ago than I care to mention!) I can remember sitting in front rooms stuffing envelopes and then trudging the streets with my Father and others leafleting. Those were the days when friend or foe would engage with my Father who passionately believed in doing the right thing for his community. He built on a long tradition from the days when my GrandFather was instrumental in establishing the fledgling Labour Party in the local area.

But time has marched on and life today is quite different for so many of us than it was when my Father devoted many hours to Council and Party duties.

Like many others my job takes me away from home and I work long hours, even if many of them are stuck waiting at airports. Time at the weekend to keep up with family and indeed partners, to have friends for dinner, to read and to do all those other things that maintain a work life balance is incredibly important.

However, like so many others I am constantly connected to the online world. I want to engage with the political process and obviously the Labour Party. I want to contribute to the Labour Party but despite the barrage of emails from my CLP leafleting on a Saturday or sitting in a meeting room on a Thursday at 7:30pm doesn’t work for me.

Right now my perception is that volunteering to support the Labour Party and indeed some of the Leadership Campaigns can only be on their terms and those terms for many like me are dated. The question “what can I do to help online?” is met by a stony silence or disinterest.

So my question Ed! Yes I got there in the end! Is when you are elected Leader how are you going to change things? So that the hundreds and thousands of people like me who want to participate, who want to be heard and who want to contribute are able to?

The Need For Change – Ed Miliband Interview

Recently Polly Toynbee interviewed Ed Miliband as she has all the candidates for the Labour Leadership.

Ed was extremely articulate in putting forward his view of how the Labour Party needs to change, how we need to constructively oppose as well as propose new and effective solutions and how the importance of the green agenda cannot just be ignored.