I learned something amazing at Stand up for Labour in Aldershot on Thursday (pictured above).

During the show, I found out that Jennifer Evans was the longest serving member of the party in the room and rewarded her with a bottle of red wine.

While she was on stage, I asked Jennifer what it was that led her to join the party in 1968.

‘I was new in the area and I wanted to meet like-minded people. So I joined Labour,’ she said.

This made perfect sense to me but was something I’d never heard before.

What better way is there to find friends who share common values and interests than to join a political party – and, especially, the Labour Party?

There are many people in the country who want to feel part of a social group and to meet like-minded people. People join clubs for just this purpose. And there are thousands and thousands of Labour voters who fall into this category.

So why can’t Labour convert more voters into members?

The only thing holding back such a recruitment campaign is a lack of appetite from people in positions of power in the party.

As things stand, there is hardly any recruitment drive. And the recruitment drive is more about asking for money than offering much in return.

There is a bizarre situation where the bulk of any new subscription money goes to the central party and not to the local party – where new members would feel the benefit. That the central party receives the bulk of the money, doesn’t give them much of an incentive to recruit more people – and the local CLPs hardly find a financial carrot for recruiting people because the returns are so small.

Because of the small amount that CLPs receive per subscription and the ongoing costs they face with room hire and elections, local parties spend more time trying to raise money than actually creating a Labour community.

What is ‘political’?

Stand up for Labour provides a fun, social event that gives members a good opportunity to meet new people and also promotes the Labour Party as a family. It also helps local CLPs to raise money without charging members a fortune. It would seem nonsensical for the Labour Party not to support this, however I have been informed by the head of conference services that it will cost me £2,000+ for me to have a small stand at this year’s conference in Liverpool. This decision was approved by Iain McNichol just before he resigned as General Secretary.

There may be some people who think Stand up for Labour is not significant because it is not ‘political’.

However, this is to forget that the Labour Party is all about being social(ist) and bringing people together. Stand up for Labour not only offers a night out that can raise people’s spirits, but it mobilises supporters.

If Labour is to make a difference by winning elections and energising local campaigns, then it can only achieve this with a large number of people who feel a deep affection for the party and fellow members.

We should be making it known to the public that joining the Labour Party not only provides more money for the party to campaign, but that by joining you too could find like-minded people, just as Jennifer did some 50 years ago.

On Monday morning, I received an email at half past eight from the BBC asking if I would come on ‘Daily Politics’ to ‘chat about how Stand up for Labour tour makes politics more accessible and what these events can bring to political parties’.

My cautious mind thought ‘this sounds too good to be true – and if it’s too good to be true then it’s too good to be true’. Were the BBC really giving me an opportunity to plug Stand up for Labour for nothing?

I decided to consult my friends on Facebook to find out what they thought and the overwhelming response was that I should take up the opportunity to appear on the programme. So I replied to the BBC to say that I would be there.

I arrived at the studio in good time. The studio and its associated office took up the whole floor of a big building near the Houses of Parliament. I reckon there must be at least 50 staff working on the programme. The money and resources that the programme has at its disposal is mind blowing.

It’s such a shame that with all its financial backing from the BBC, this programme dedicated to politics does very little to make political activity seem attractive or accessible. Its agenda is so Westminster focused that it seems to imply that all politics happens there.

I found out that the promise of a discussion about how Stand up for Labour can make politics more accessible was nothing of the sort.

When I saw the board outside the studio, I found that the title of the short spot on the show in which I would be featured was called ‘Jez Festival’. This was clearly a reference to a music festival that the Labour Party were gingerly suggesting may happen in June in North London. The ‘Jez’ bit was an attempt to make it seem like a celebration of a personality cult, whereas the Labour Party press release was talking of something called ‘Labour Live’.

So the ‘Daily Politics’ had made a press release about a possible music festival for Labour that would engage people through a mix of music and speeches into a personality cult story and it was in their ‘fun’ slot at the end.

Under the spotlight

I was rushed into the room just before the last segment of the show and the presenter, Jo Coburn, asked me: ‘What is the aim of this festival?’

I was a bit dumbstruck.

‘I don’t know anything about this festival’, I had to reply. I then tried to make light of this by saying that ‘this must be another BBC blunder’.

While Coburn tried to laugh this off, it was actually true.

I felt for her so I tried to add something about who I am and then to drop in a plug for Stand up for Labour (as my brother had advised), but this interview was moving away from me.

Coburn never seemed to listen to anything I was saying and always seemed to be on the point of cutting me off. She even started asking the Tory MP on the show what he thought about Labour Party festivals.

At the end of the show, as I went to leave she said: ‘see you soon’ and then turned to me and said ‘I don’t mean you. I won’t be seeing you again’.

I found that a bit unfair as I had only gone to the studio to talk about Stand up for Labour so it could hardly be my fault that I didn’t know anything about the festival.

Stand up for Labour travels all over the country with the aim of energising people who support the Labour Party, promoting political activity and a sense of community. On the other hand, ‘Daily Politics’ is firmly based in Westminster and promotes division between political parties and within political parties; makes politics seem cliquey and often misrepresents good ideas in order to suit its – frankly, very negative – agenda.

Rather like Clark Gable (or really more like a child trying to cuss back), I turned to Coburn and said: ‘And I’m glad I won’t be seeing you again.’

• You can see the clip from Daily Politics here.

Last week my nine-year-old daughter, Lily, asked me a tough question:

‘Why would someone let off a bomb that would kill them and other people?’

The best way that I could explain how someone could think – and act – in that way is that they cannot forgive. They have become so angry that their rage matters more than its consequences. I asked Lily to imagine the angriest boy in her class being given weapons like knives and bombs. Would they use them when they lost their temper? Possibly.

Online rage

Although it had a less violent effect than terrorism, I encountered another case of rage online yesterday.  An administrator of the facebook page, Nye Bevan News, raged against almost everyone around him. I tried to persuade him that his hard work on the page was appreciated and that it was no use attacking those who worked with him, but he couldn’t stop himself. And now he has dropped out of being an administrator and has hurt several people with aggressive posts. He was unable to forgive people around him for what he perceived as their failings and a lack of respect for him.

Interacting with the man from Nye Bevan News, I could see that I had also felt these feelings of anger towards people in the Labour Party. I never really acted on them except to write a fairly spiky blog or two about how I had been unfairly treated. But I certainly felt resentful towards some people who had seemed to block me from making Stand up for Labour a thriving success.

The conversation I had with my daughter and the experience of the man from Nye Bevan News made me realise that I have to forgive if I am to be of any use. I also believe this is key to Jeremy Corbyn’s success as a Labour leader: he has always been able to forgive people who may have worked against him in the past.

It is clear to me that there is a lot of simmering anger within some people in the Labour Party. There are people who have opposed each other for positions within the party that have not been able to let go of the rivalry and I believe there is still some fallout from the leadership elections in the past two years.

These resentments are doing nobody any good: not the person who holds the resentment (sleepless nights), their family and friends (constantly being bad tempered) or the party itself (no solidarity).

Time to unite

It is clear that the Tories will not let go of power easily so unlikely that there will be a General Election in the next two years.

Now is a good period for everyone in the party to make a concerted effort to forgive each other and move on. Resentments and anger are poisonous and take people away from the sunlight of the spirit – from which we can fight campaigns and win more voters over to our side.

We can get over resentments by stopping creating cartoon images of each other, labelling each other (‘Tories’, ‘Trots’) and by actually getting together for social events that don’t involve sniping.

Stand up for Labour is close to reaching its Crowdfunder target and to starting a tour of CLPs that will engage and unite members behind our common purpose: fighting for social justice and winning power. Our events will chip away at the resentments and bring people together in a way that will be very helpful to the party.

Over 125 people have donated £5 or more to the Crowdfunder. In return they will receive badges, t-shirts, mugs, tickets, signed posters and curry.

Click here to read about the Crowdfunder.

On the eve of the Conservative Party Conference, John Strafford, chairman of the Campaign for Conservative Democracy, has revealed that membership of the Tory Party is set to plummet to 100,000 (and even lower than the Lib Dems). He says that in 300 constituencies, Conservative Party membership has dropped to 100 people or fewer.

‘The party is facing oblivion. If you take the fact only 10 per cent of the membership is likely to be very active they will not have enough people on the ground to fight an election – they won’t even have enough people to man polling stations on the day.’

This may make for pleasant reading for the Labour Party, but I feel Mr Strafford is over-egging this.

Behind the figures

The disparity between the Conservative Party and Labour Party membership figures has a lot to do with leadership elections.

These were certainly the driver behind Labour’s membership reaching over 350,000 in 2015 and nearly 600,000 last year (it’s actually not moved much since then), while Theresa May was elected unopposed last year. People joined the party to support a candidate (mostly one called Jeremy Corbyn).

Were the Conservatives to hold a leadership election before the next General Election, their membership will increase significantly as the candidates jockey for more votes.

Bricks and mortar

The Conservative Party has a far network of party offices that Labour does not have. In many constituencies the Labour Party does not have an office and only sets one up in a shop front during an election campaign.

Another advantage that the Conservative Party has on the ground is its collection of support through nearly 200 Conservative Associations, which offer communities a space for social functions and keep association members in touch with the local Conservative Party. The Labour Party equivalent of this (the National Union of Labour and Socialist Clubs) numbers under 50 in England, Scotland and Wales.

Camper van

The fact that many Constituency Labour Party (CLP) groups are cash starved does not make the situation better. The General Election left CLPs in a situation where many had to start crowdfunders to get delegates to Conference and I know of one CLP that had to sleep in a camper van.

The Labour Party centrally offers £2.50 per year per member to CLPs so this situation on the ground won’t change very much.

Labour’s higher membership offers an opportunity for a strong army of volunteers but it will need more than this if it is to see off the Tories election after election. We need to reach out to those members and keep them engaged. If we don’t have community resources like offices and clubs then we must look for alternatives.

Local parties also know best about the campaigns that matter and so would be best equipped to spend money on social media advertising and other campaigning materials. I spoke to a member of Aldershot CLP at Stand up for Labour’s conference event in Brighton and he said the Labour Party nearly doubled their vote through the use of social media focused on local people. If they had more cash to spend, it could have led to Labour winning an ‘unwinnable’ seat.

I set up Stand up for Labour to support CLPs. It is a way of bringing local members and supporters together in a social setting and creating a sense of community. It also raises valuable money for their campaigns. With other initiatives like this, Labour can transform its advantage in members into something significant and, potentially, wipe the Tories out.

• Stand up for Labour has set up a Crowdfunder to support a tour of the country that will energise CLPs and raise valuable funds for them. In return for contributions, Stand up for Labour offers tickets for shows, t-shirts, mugs, signed posters or, even, curry!

Background

I began my journey in stand-up comedy after a therapist said it would help me get over the trauma from the Tavistock Square bomb on 7 July 2005, where I was 50 yards from the bus when it blew up.

I always enjoyed making people laugh and cheering people up. I took a comedy course and then performed at any comedy club in London that would have me until I was quite good and became a runner-up at the Hackney Empire New Acts competition. I also appeared on Paramount Comedy Channel performing my routine about eating five portions of fruit and vegetables.

At about the same time as a possible comedy career was taking off, I became a father for the first time. Having a daughter made me suddenly feel more socially responsible. I stopped doing comedy gigs and got a nine to five job in sub-editing articles in magazines and  journals.

I joined the Labour Party the day after Michael Foot died. When I saw the news, it brought tears to my eyes when I reflected on how such a good man was treated with such jeering contempt by the media. It made me aware that Labour had an uphill struggle as party leaders would always be ridiculed by the papers and TV if they ever put forward policies that promoted socialism and peace.

I believed it was important that I make a stand and no longer see politics as something played out for me but as something I can shape myself.

I had a background in politics as my dad had been a Labour councillor in our ward in North Kensington in 1970. He also stood in the general election against David Owen in Plymouth in 1987. He was good friends with Tony Benn, who I used to see a lot in Notting Hill Gate, and my dad also fought for Labour to have a dedicated Arts Policy (something he campaigned for within a group called Arts for Labour).

Labour Party recruitment

When I got to my first Labour Party meetings, I was disappointed to see that there were not many people and also that there was no drive to encourage more recruitment.

I suggested to my local Labour Party branch that we put on a comedy night to raise money and raise our profile in the local community. One or two people said I should give it a try, but generally it was seen as an odd idea.

I booked comedians that I had worked with before, and I called the event ‘Let’s laugh at the Coalition’. We had an audience of about 100 people in a theatre in Brentford and managed to raise a few hundred pounds (it would have been more if I had realised the venue was far too expensive). I also managed to get at least 20 or so people to attend who were not Labour Party members and had never been to a Labour meeting before. Some of these people later joined the party.

The first Stand up for Labour event came about in June 2012 in Chiswick. The headline act was Arthur Smith and the guest speaker was Ken Livingstone, who had just lost the Mayoral election. I put up posters and flyers all over west London and, because of this (and the line up), the turnout was incredible. We sold all 200 tickets in advance and the room was buzzing with excitement. It was nothing like any other Labour Party event I had ever been to.

The first Stand up for Labour was such a success that other constituencies stared to ask me to put on events. I set up a website and social media pages and this brought with it more and more requests for Stand up for Labour all over the country.

I took as many requests for Stand up for Labour events as I could manage: in total this came to over 200 between 2012 and now.

Putting on these shows involved a lot of work: liaising with constituencies about a date and venue, booking comedians, designing flyers, posters and printed tickets as well as promoting the event on social media, comedy listings and via the Stand up for Labour website.

I also had to buy a durable PA system and stage lighting that I could transport all over the country. I wanted these events to work in any room in any town. We’ve worked in pubs, community centres, night clubs, even a couple of converted churches.

I am proud that I have been able to book over 100 comedians and offer them not only employment but an opportunity to perform to politically savvy audiences. I’ve never asked anyone to perform for free.

However, I did Stand up for Labour as a volunteer.

How did I do it?

For each event I would cover my own travel expenses and the cost of promotional material through box office revenue. To pay my own bills and support my family, I was working nine to five in freelance sub-editing jobs. I had no job security but this worked for me considering the number of days I had to take off to do Stand up for Labour.

Sadly, I received little help from the Labour Party for these shows. In fact, when I asked if I could have a stand to promote Stand up for Labour at the Brighton Conference in 2013, I was told I would have to pay £1,800 to do so. And I did – with some help from a crowdfunder – because I thought it was important to let as many delegates from CLPs to know what Stand up for Labour could offer.

The way in which my attempts to re-energise the Labour Party were marginalised led me to stand for the Labour Party’s NEC, campaigning primarily for a concerted recruitment drive to take place. I believed then – as now – that Labour can only win with a large, energised membership. I wasn’t standing on an ideological or policy platform – the NEC should be about improving the way the machine is organised. However, I was not ‘on a slate’ so I had no chance of winning – but I certainly made my point.

Jeremy Corbyn leadership

My parents are both Quakers and I was brought up as a pacifist. I didn’t approve of bombing Iraq and I knew from Tavistock Square how traumatic violence is to those who experience it. For this reason, I supported Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign to be Labour Party leader as soon as he was on the ballot paper. I organised the first big event of his campaign at the Seven Dials Club in Covent Garden and it was a huge success, with more people inside than was strictly legal. It showed me how much energy there was around his campaign and I had not seen anything like this in the Labour Party before.

People were excited about the idea we could change the way we do politics and that is why there was a massive increase in Labour Party membership.

The surge in membership gave me great hope but I knew that there would be attempts to topple Jeremy Corbyn and undermine this movement. So I thought up #JC4PM, a tour that got big names in comedy, poetry and music to perform in support of Jeremy Corbyn. I wanted to help inspire more people to get active politically.

We won sponsorship from Unite the Union and the CWU and, working in a team, we set up gigs in big theatres in England, Scotland and Wales. Over the course of twelve shows, we had 1,200 people attend in Bristol, 900 in Sheffield, 800 in Swansea. These were massive events to organise and I managed to do these at the same time as organising CLP events in places like Banbury, Camberley, Gainsborough and Hertford too. The demand for Stand up for Labour had not stopped.

I followed up some of the #JC4PM shows with a tour during last year’s leadership election. #KeepCorbyn dates were set all over the country (also with some sponsorship from the TSSA and the FBU) but we encountered a problem with attendance as Labour were not promoting these events and the budget constraints on the ‘Jeremy for Labour’ campaign meant that Jeremy Corbyn could not be seen to promote them either. So we lost a lot of money in ticket revenue.

At around the same time as we took a hit from the #KeepCorbyn tour, my freelance jobs dried up, one in  part due to the time I was giving to guess what? Stand up for Labour!

Despite unsuccessful applications for Labour Party jobs in events and fundraising (which I thought I might have stood a chance at?), it hasn’t stopped me believing in the Labour Party and I continue to strive for it to change and improve.

General Election campaign

When the 2017 General Election was called, I wanted to do as much as I could to support Labour’s (supposedly doomed) campaign. I drew up a list of constituencies that would be off the beaten track and not in Labour strongholds. Having taken pointers from some #JC4PM shows, we offered a more variety show bill with music and poetry alongside comedy. We also incorporated films from local Labour Party activists who were also filmmakers in a screening slot called Brit Rocks.

A team of us went from Cornwall to Cumbria with projector, projector screen, comedians, poets, singers and a van full of Jeremy Corbyn t-shirts. We filmed all these gigs and shared them widely on social media so people could see that Jeremy Corbyn’s message was popular all over the country – not just in Islington.

Stand up for Labour has improved a lot since 2012. I’ve learned from my mistakes: I learned I had to keep events short as audiences get tired and it’s now less of a comedy night and more of a variety show. The other thing I’ve noticed is that members of the party are often far more entertaining than any of the performers once they get warmed up. As I am the Compere, I have been able to extend the time I spend interacting with the audience.

What next?

I want to continue to energise Labour members and raise funds for CLPs all over the country but I am now overdrawn and am close to reaching my credit limit.

I also have monthly direct debit payments for Stand up for Labour that I am struggling to keep up with. These include: storage for the speakers, mic and other equipment £156.20pm; Adobe creative suite for flyers, tickets and memes £50.57pm, Mailchimp for emailing over 10,000 subscribers £117.29pm, accountancy services from Tax Assist Accountants £183pm and a Registered Office address £23.99.

Over 40 CLPs have written asking me to put on events but I simply cannot afford to do them. The revenue from ticket sales covers the costs of the show and the rest goes to the CLPs. But I have always kept ticket prices low so most people can afford to come. The acts I book would often cost a lot more to see in a comedy club. This model doesn’t leave any slack to pay me and, to be honest, I would feel guilty taking money when the CLPs need it so badly.

My plan therefore, is to raise the money to cover my wage and the costs of the gigs through sponsorship. That way, all of the revenue from tickets can go straight to the CLP. The only cost I am asking the CLP to cover is the venue hire and the reason I am doing this is so that fundraising teams in CLPs take some responsibility for making these shows happen. Often CLPs do not have fundraising skills and, if they are encouraged and guided in this they will push to get the best rate (or for free), pick a venue size they think they can fill and then push to fill it. On this model, the more people the CLP get down to the show, the more money they make.

In order to get this backing and sponsorship, I’ve spent the last month contacting trade unions and other potential donors and asking them to cover the costs of a tour. I am making some progress and have already got the performers’ costs sponsored for the Brighton conference gig. But this process takes time and I need to fill the gap or I risk going under.

People are now talking about two years until the next general election. If I can put on Stand up for Labour shows during that time, particularly in key marginals and previously labelled ‘unwinnable’ seats, I believe this will help win the next general election for Labour. By building membership, energising and boosting morale, helping Fundraising Officers to improve their entrepreneurial skills, raising money so that CLPs have the resources they need to fight the strongest battle they can, I see a role for Stand up for Labour in forging a victory for the Labour Party. But I need your help to do it.

Please contribute as much as you can so that I can reach my fundraising goal of £7,000 and, if you are unable to contribute, it would be really helpful if you could write a testimonial about your own experience of Stand up for Labour, or share the crowdfunder via social media.

The crowdfunding site is here:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/a-tour-for-stand-up-for-labour

Thank you.

Crispin Flintoff, 22 September 2017

 

 

The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn has Theresa May’s Tories on the ropes. It is unlikely she will be able to hold on to power for long as she tries to patch together a deal with the DUP while facing mounting criticism from the media and her own party. However, the Labour Party must not take the situation for granted.

The result of the 8 June General Election is very similar to what happened in December 1923 and the signs do not augur well if this comparison sticks.

In December 1923 – as now – the Conservatives were the largest party but unable to form a majority government. The Tory Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, managed to hang on for a month or so but eventually lost a vote of confidence that led to Ramsay MacDonald being asked to form a minority government in January 1924.

This was the first ever Labour government and – then as now – the media and their allies in the Tory party were quick to paint it as the beginning of the end.

At the time, Winston Churchill said: “The enthronement in office of a Socialist Government will be a serious national misfortune such as has usually befallen great states only on the morrow of defeat in war.”

Because Labour did not have a majority and was dependent on support from the Liberals, its time in government was very short – only 266 days. This meant that little of the Labour Party programme was able to be enacted. The government’s main achievement was the Housing Act, which allowed for more local authority housing, before the Liberals called an end to their deal and a new General Election was called in October 1924.

Before the October 1924 election, Labour was under intense scrutiny from the media and a forged letter (the ‘Zinoviev letter’) was ‘found’ that showed links between the Labour government and the Communist Party in Russia. This is the kind of dirty trick that we are so familiar with, however the main reason Labour lost the October 1924 election was it didn’t seem to be a competent government.

Labour’s competence in 1924 was not helped by such matters as Ramsay MacDonald being both Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, but the main part of the problem was that the government had its hands tied behind its back because of its minority government status.

Any government with no clear mandate and under intense scrutiny will struggle.

The lesson to learn from 1924 is that any Labour government – but especially a radical one – will struggle to get things done unless it forms a majority government.

While the successes of 8 June had a lot to do with Labour’s positive campaign: the manifesto, large public rallies and the popularity of our leader, it cannot be denied that the Conservatives were very poor.

It’s almost impossible to imagine the Conservatives will not improve in the next election so Labour must up its game.

The party machine, starting with Iain McNicol, must work to create an engine for a membership of one million people that will keep them energised, enthusiastic and active. Campaigning at a local level must be encouraged, the selection process for seats must be opened up and there must we must always be on election alert.

If the party apparatus is unable to bring this change then there must be a clear out.

It would be a tragedy if all the hard work put in by activists to support Jeremy Corbyn were to end up with a scenario like 1924 – we need a majority government that can put into practice the policies this country needs so badly.

 

As the General Election exit poll approached on Thursday night, I was fearing the worst. Past elections haunted me. I was traumatised by the memory of nausea inflicted by David Dimbleby at 10:02pm in 1987, 1992, 2015. My head was running ahead of itself, thinking about how sad it was that the public were voting against their own interests again. I thought about the unfairness of the media bias and the inbalance in election spending between the two main parties.

This is called catastrophising, in which a set of negative, intrusive thoughts come up based on former bad experiences.

I don’t think I am alone in this. It is something that I have heard a lot in the last couple of years. ‘Jeremy Corbyn is unelectable’, ‘you can’t get elected with socialist policies’, ‘he’s a nice bloke, but he’ll never be Prime Minister’. These are all negative projections.

Some of the people uttering such statements have been doing so as part of propaganda. They have not wanted Jeremy Corbyn to succeed because they disagree with his principles of engagement and grassroots campaigns. And they’ve wanted to demoralise those who might support him. But, whatever their motives, their voices have mixed with those of the traumatised to form a chorus of ‘Jeremy Corbyn is unelectable’.

Carry on regardless

However, despite this sense of hopelessness, me and many others fought for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party without regard for the outcome. The issues at stake: peace and anti-austerity were too great. This election was not a spectator sport, but one in which many played an active part.

I was in west London on Thursday evening campaigning in a key marginal (Ealing Central & Acton). When I arrived at the Labour Party office, it was like a GP’s waiting room, although the receptionist was a bit more friendly. There were teams of people sitting on plastic chairs, waiting to be called to start door knocking. And every five minutes or so, another team would return with filled out sheets in ring binders. Walking out on Acton High Street, on every block, my team was passed by another team of Labour activists and we would salute each other. I was told by one Labour member that there were 600 people volunteering that day – that’s over 100 teams of five going out and returning to base four times a day.

What was the result from this campaigning in Acton? In 2015, the incumbent Labour MP, Rupa Huq, had a majority of 250 but this is now over 13,000!

This result was not isolated. Similar results happened all over the country. Mobilising members and supporters paid off handsomely.

Unstoppable machine

It is clear that the Conservative Party cannot continue in government for long with no majority and hardly anyone to form a coalition with. We are bound to see a General Election soon. If Labour can continue to engage members and supporters, then we are unstoppable.

We have won seats like Ipswich, Stroud, Bedford, Battersea, Colne Valley, Portsmouth South, Canterbury and Kensington. Now that the trauma from past elections has been healed, we will be able to take Bolton West, Hastings & Rye, Carlisle, Middlesborough South & Cleveland, Nuneaton, Milton Keynes South, both Northampton seats, Corby, Putney and many more.

Soon enough, we will be crowd surfing Jeremy Corbyn into Number 10.

Theresa May messed up my schedule and she will pay for it.

Following the Easter weekend, I had resolved to make progress setting up fundraising gigs for charities and political campaign groups – see my last blog (‘If I can do it for the Labour Party I can do it for anyone’). Sitting in my second favourite cafe in Brentford, I was preparing phone calls to possible clients when I glanced at Facebook and saw: ‘Theresa May to make announcement at 11am’.

At 10:55, Theresa May lost patience with herself and ran out into the street to confirm what had already been leaked – that there was to be a General Election on 8 June. This was obviously a decision that had nothing to do with Brexit – and all to do with favourable opinion polls for the Tories.

So the fixed-term parliament legislation proved pointless. And any long-term plans to modernise the Labour Party will have to wait. We are now in a situation where the party needs to urgently engage and mobilise people.

So what can Labour do to win the General Election?

The first thing to say is that the Labour Party cannot possibly win if it uses the same campaigning strategy it has used for the past 20 years. The basis of this strategy is voter identification with minimal engagement with voters, backed up by glossy leaflets that amount to little more than a calling card. It’s doubtful that the Labour Party machine led by Iain McNicol will come up with anything original to change this. Their skillset is more suited to stopping innovation. If Labour is to have a chance of winning it will have to look outside the party machine.

There are a number of people I have met who are well aware that we have to come up with our own ideas for campaigns. We cannot rely on what the party tells us to do.

Here are some ideas I have picked up since Theresa May’s announcement

1. Door knocking is important but at least 50% of people do not open their door and, of those that do, many do not want to engage in discussion. Street stalls are an equally effective way of grabbing people’s attention and should be encouraged. I’ve even heard of a drummer joining street stall so that no one can miss them!
2. A campaign to get up as many ‘I’m voting Labour’ posters up as possible is a great way to counter the media bias that Labour is unpopular. We need to urge as many Labour members as possible to put up posters (or the even grander garden stakes). Canvassers should always carry them or give them out on street stalls. It’s possible to order 100 A3 posters from the Labour Party website for £7 plus postage. The link is here.
3. Labour supporters on social media must put out more videos of themselves, their family and their friends that express support for Jeremy Corbyn. If we have a wave of ‘I support Jeremy Corbyn’ videos on social media this will again counter the idea that Labour’s leader is not popular. People are far more likely to watch videos of ordinary people expressing themselves than they are of professional politicians saying ‘vote for me’.
4. We need to put on more events that mobilise and inspire Labour supporters. This will once again show the public that we are a cultural movement.

To make up for the failings of the Labour Party machine, I have decided to put on a tour of Stand up for Labour that will cover as much of the country as is possible in the available time. So far we have dates planned in Twickenham, Nottingham, Cornwall, York, Middlesborough, Bangor, Carlisle, Stoke, Birmingham and Wolverhampton. These events are a fantastic way to raise morale during the last few weeks of the campaign. We will also be putting out lots of social media to show how popular the Labour Party really is.

Each date on the tour will also include a ten-minute section that will feature videos from local film makers. These films will show how ordinary people have been inspired to take part in political campaigns in the past two years. The hub for this set of films is Brit Rocks, which provides a positive perspective on true British values, those of tolerance, compassion, a sense of community and creative flair.

The General Election offers people a rare opportunity to be heard. We should facilitate this not just through giving them a pencil in the polling station.

If you have any ideas for campaigning that you would like to share, please get in touch and I will do my best to share them as widely as possible.