Yesterday I said that overhype can lead to disappointment, and foreshadowed what will happen to John Key as it becomes ever more obvious that he can't deliver a "Brighter Future". I was asked by a few people to expand on what Labour has to do.
Labour is going to need to pitch as the party of the future and as the party of hope, to reconnect with past and possible supporters.
Too many of those people don't think that is what we are about. Some of our own conduct and choice of messages has helped create that impression. That is why we need to change.
I'm going to focus on the party outside parliament, because that is where my involvement is.
Our president, Moira Coatsworth, foreshadowed the review we are now doing in May last year. David Shearer is the co-sponsor and the review has been widely supported across the broad leadership of Labour.
It was clear to Moira, and more broadly, that Labour's organisation needed a solid going-over, because it simply isn't working.
For those who quibble with that, consider:
- membership trends
- operating budgets
- party vote trends
- electorate vote trends
- membership involvement in setting Labour's agenda and policy
Those have seen our vote float between 27% and 41% in the past two decades. The centre left vote has also, arguably and depending on definition, shrunk pretty consistently since 1996. It isn't that all parts of the picture are bleak, but that the whole combo is.
My view is as a serious party seeking to change the country and lead governments, we need to peak our vote in the mid to high forties. Today, the Labour party doesn't have the organisation or the programme to achieve that.
That is why over the years (here in 2008, here in 2010, or here in 2011 for instance) I have said that Labour needs to open up: it needs to be more in touch with the interests and mores of people who do or might support it. It needs to be relevant to all those people, seen favourably by them, and able to organise them.
So I was pleased when the review kicked off this year with a listening phase. It wasn't that the wise heads defined the issues and consulted about them: instead the broadest set of areas was floated, and the party listened. It really listened. Members of the review team travelled around the country and heard what people had to say.
To most normal people, that sounds like an obvious way to start.
To most people in politics, it is extraordinary.
The review group, under tight limits of time and resources, pulled together over 1000 submissions and the results of dozens of discussion meetings, to produce its report for consultation at the regional conferences.
You can find the report in PDF format here.
It's a very interesting first pitch. It deals with the need to keep values up front in the party and to improve the internal culture where this is needed.
It wants us to look again at local structures, MMP campaigning, the democratisation of policy making, representation, leadership selection and more.
I think it's a thorough start and the feedback at regional conferences is really positive so far. People are aware of how big the mountain is we need to climb, but feel the proposals made so far are starting off in the right direction.
The test for the party is what comes next. After the regional conferences, the review team has about a month to tie down concrete proposals for annual conference. As a member of the party council that will receive the report and sign off final plans, I don't know exactly what the review will come up with. Like all my fellow Councillors I'll be looking forward to seeing it.
The test we will face is not to decide whether or not to change Labour so it can win. It isn't to make those changes in a technical sense, because we know we need to do that.
The test is going to be working the changes we agree are needed into the work that thousands and thousands of volunteers and people across diverse communities do every day to make Labour the party that it is.
I'm confident that substantial changes, based on our values, will get support and will be a major landmark on the way to a win for David Shearer in 2014. Implementing it will be the hard but satisfying work of the next few years.
That'll be the Labour party organisational side of things sorted and on the up.
In a political world marked by dashed expectations, which is what 2014 is going to be all about, getting our organisation right is a vital part of putting together a hope project that can really change New Zealand.
Boy does the country need it!
Next post in this short series will talk about the broader strategy we need to follow to make best use of a stronger organisation.
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