Manchester Young Labour activist Kieran Roberts shares his personal reflections on the journey he has taken from ‘angry young man’ to a focused activist and organiser in the making:

I joined the Labour Party four years ago and, like everyone else who does at that age, you join because you’re angry and you want to make a difference. And then I went to my first CLP meeting… and then I was even angrier.

In Manchester Young Labour we wanted to give our members a better experience of being in the Labour Party than we had had. Community Organising was an obvious example as they could do the kind of thing that inspired them to join in the first place. Young people get involved in politics because they want to change lives, not the minutes of the last meeting, and that’s why I believe Movement for Change is so important.

After asking Movement for Change for help, we had a training event with Young Labour members in Manchester. We learned the basics about Community Organising, we all left fired up and by popular support everyone wanted to take action on lowering travel costs for young people in the city. We researched and planned a lot and it slowly seemed like an insurmountable task for us to take on – probably because it was – so after some discussions with Movement for Change (who gently reminded me that it’s a good idea to start with an action that’s achievable) we started visiting Blackley, an area where Labour activists don’t regularly campaign (because it’s very safe in electoral terms) but which is known for having high crime rates and lower than average incomes.

We held a lot of focused conversations, heard a lot of problems and what came up time and time again was that the kids in Blackley had nothing to do. What made it worse was we heard that if you live on one side of the road, you’d get beaten up if you went to play on the other side.  As a result, the one playground that’s there already is out of bounds for many kids.

So now we’re taking action to negotiate for a play area and some goal posts in the middle of a currently empty green in the area. We’re building support in the community and, most importantly, we’ve built up relationships in the area to spread the word that we’re listening, taking action and now we’re working on specific solutions.

Blackley’s the kind of place with deeply rooted problems but this method of Organising works with ordinary people to find practical solutions to our problems, making Labour more relevant in the process.  If you’re not already having a go in your branch, CLP, Young Labour group or wherever, it’s time to get organised!

Sandra Bracegirdle of Manchester Labour Party describes a ‘call to action’ from Movement for Change’s Chair, Mike Kane, at the weekend’s North West Labour Party Conference:

Community organising took centre stage at the North West Regional Labour Party Conference in Blackpool. National Chair of Movement for Change, Mike Kane, chaired a full session of Conference on community organising and how this can help Labour connect better with their communities. The session started with Iain McNicol, Labour’s General Secretary, speaking to the conference about the importance of the North West to the Labour Party. He emphasised the need of the Labour Party to be a broad campaigning movement – a movement for change – where community activists could change the world by starting with our own streets and estates. He saw the challenge facing us as a binary choice between standing like a monument or bending with and embracing change. Quoting Martin Luther King he challenged us to be “faced with the fierce urgency of now”

Before the traditional Q&A session the delegates were asked to have a quick 1-2-1 with someone sat near them who they didn’t know. After the initial surprise the hall became a buzz of conversation which was hard for the Chair to pull to a close. Some of stories shared included a man who had recently left the Conservatives to join Labour and a woman who had become a socialist at the age of 5 when she realised she had shoes but her friend didn’t.

The Q&A of a panel containing Mike Kane, Iain McNicol, Cllr Kieran Quinn, the Leader of Tameside Council, Penny Martin of Wyre in Lancashire and Jay McKenna of the NW TUC and Spirit of Shankly campaign. Delegates brought up a range of topics including  examples of engagement with voters using non-traditional methods, the importance of listening and connecting to communities, the role and significance of trade unions and examples of harnessing passion and even anger in communities.

Finally Iain McNicol was asked for a commitment from a delegate from the floor – George McNamara “doorstepped” him about the importance of Lancashire to the national party. Without winning Lancashire Labour won’t win Britain – George asked Iain to commit to supporting Lancashire’s campaign and was pleased with a response that not only would Iain himself support the campaign he would bring Ed Miliband and other shadow cabinet members as well. A successful session all round.