Why I do what I do (part I) – Labour

I’m starting off a series of posts about why I do the things I do.  With these posts I’ll be looking at the various organisations I’m involved with (professional, voluntary and others), explaining what it is I do, and why I do it.  A couple of reasons for this – firstly, I’m involved with some great groups, and I’d like to show people how great they are, and secondly, I firmly believe that my actions define my existence, so this will give my dear readers an insight into me to some degree.

As soon as I started thinking about this series of posts, my immediate thoughts turned to the Labour Party, and my involvement with them seems like an excellent place to start.

What I do with Labour:

• Ordinary member – the primary role of any member of the Labour Party is to be an active member.  This means contributing in every possible way – donating money, leafletting, canvassing, putting up posters during election campaigns, and generally spreading the word about Labour and how great they are.
• Constituency Chairperson – closely linked to the above, acting as Constituency Chairperson just means chairing meetings of the Constituency membership, and trying to motivate the members to work hard as a team to campaign constantly in the area.
• Labour LGBT Co-Chairperson – I had the dubious honour of serving as Treasurer of Labour LGBT for three years during some very tricky financial times for the group.  Labour LGBT is a section of the Labour Party dedicated to campaigning against heteronormativity and for LGBT rights, both within the party, and in society more broadly.  We have co-chairs of opposite sexes at all times, and it is the role of the co-chairs to act as public spokespeople for the group, as well as chairing meetings, and trying to drive the work of the group forward.  This is one of my favourite roles within Labour.
• Labour Equality Co-ordinating council member – Labour Equality is a constitutional section of the Labour Party, and is the co-ordinating body trying to pull together the work of Labour LGBT, Labour Diversity and Labour Disability.  Sadly, the latter two are inactive, and this group has some work left to do to really get up and running.  Nevertheless, there are good people involved, and with a little luck, this section will be thriving within the next year or so.
• National Executive Committee member – this is the position that was toughest to get, and my campaign website for my election to this committee can be found here.  The National Executive Committee, or NEC, is the highest authority within the Labour Party, and is responsible for the governance of the organisation.  It can be a difficult body to sit on, as from the outside, it appears to have much more power than it does in reality, which unfortunately leads people to the impression that my sphere of influence is much larger than is necessarily the case.  Nevertheless, it allows me to fight for certain causes, while trying to ensure that the party is always moving in a positive direction, in a responsible manner.
• Finance Sub-Committee – the FSC is a standing sub-committee of the NEC, charged with the financial management and governance of the party.  Given my background, this was the obvious sub-committee for me to sit on, and I’ve enjoyed the experience greatly to date, as it has expanded my exposure to management accounts of a non-profit organisation, as well as the governance of those accounts.

Why I work with Labour:

• Making the world better.  I’m often asked why I joined the Labour Party, and my answers to that question vary greatly.  The truth is that I joined the party driven by a desire to improve the world, or in Ghandhi’s words to “be the change you wish to see in the world”.  However, that sounds like an awful cliché as an oral answer, so doesn’t really work in conversation.  Nevertheless, I think this is true of most people who join principled political parties – they fundamentally want to make the world a better place.
• Social liberalism.  I’ve always been a supporter of LGBT rights (naturally), divorce, abortion, women’s rights, minority rights, voting rights for 16/17 year olds, reduction in the age of consent, and liberalisation of drugs legislation.  Labour, to me, was the only party that ever managed to coherently, compassionately argue for a society underpinned by principles of equality, and that was a huge factor in drawing me towards the party.
• Ethics in public office.  I have an enormous faith in politics, and in the ability of political institutions to govern.  The biggest threat to democracy, and to politics as we know it, is ongoing corruption.  Corruption acts to destabilise systems of governance by removing the confidence of citizens in those systems.  Unfortunately, several of our political parties have played a part in such corruption over the last couple of decades, and in doing so, have done an enormous disservice to the people of Ireland, and to the body politic.  I always admired Labour for standing to the side of corruption, and continually condemning it upon discovery.
• The principle of universality.  I got to go to college in 1999 because Niamh Breathnach had removed 3rd Level fees a few years earlier.  Quite simply, I would not have had this opportunity without that step being made by a Labour minister.  And for all the arguments I hear from the likes of Batt O’Keeffe at the moment, my personal experience will always underline my belief in the application of a principle of universailty to the area of education.  I have similar beliefs in relation to healthcare, but sadly, Labour has never got the chance to implement an NHS!

So, that’s what I do for Labour, and that’s why I do what I do.  I’d encourage others to objectively have a look at the Labour Party, and if you like what we do and say, think about joining or support the campaigns of the party (or you could even think about donating!).  Oh, and don’t forget to vote for us in 10 months’ time