Why I have joined the Labour Party

I’ve been hooked to politics ever since the 1997 general election campaign. But with the exception of a single year within the Liberal Democrats I’ve never been a member of a political party. There have been a number of reasons for this, but the two recurring ones have been having other priorities at various times and my political vision not fitting neatly within any of the three dominant ideologies of British politics (socialism, liberalism, conservatism). This latter point is further complicated by the fact that the three major parties of the UK that are supposedly the standard-bearers of such ideologies have wildly blurred their heritage in a pursuit of pragmatic vote grabbing, the PC-agenda and active secularism.

Today, it is arguable that the UK political scene has never been more uninspiring. This despite the fact that the nation is facing some of the greatest strategic challenges in its history, almost all of which are global in their scope. These include the challenge of stewarding an economy that is both flourishing and sustainable without running up colossal debt, seeking territorial security in a world of unregulated nuclear development and volatile terrorism, and the urgent need for continual global resolve over food, water and environmental security for all. The question that sits over all this is - with the economic eclipsing of Europe by new markets, what global role does Britain now have? What role should we look to have? Westminster barely scratches the surface of such issues, and without being dogmatically alarmist, we really do have our head in the political sand right now. Party politics appears as sterile as ever, voter engagement largely cynical.

So why plunge in now? Surely this is the time to walk away and get on living a full, joyful, Christ-centred life outside of the murky machinations of politics? While a greatly attractive prospect in many ways, I have found myself unable to walk away. It is a call on my life I can’t lay down. And I feel that now is the time to get involved. I have had many helpful years of political formation and reflection, and do not regret waiting until now. But I would regret waiting any longer. So in I have plunged.

But why the Labour party? In purely ideological terms, I have made convincing cases to myself for joining any one of the three main parties. I believe in the socialist ethic of caring for the less-well-off, marginalised and vulnerable within society; I believe in the liberal view of civic society and democratic governance; I believe in the one-nation conservative social vision of a politics that embraces cultural-moral concerns as well as material matters. Yet, as has already been noted, these visions seem at best confused and diluted within their respective contemporary parties, so I have had to take some other questions into account:

o       What values are at the core of each party?

o       Which parties reflect the interest of all and not just a select group?

o       Which parties have the political courage to take on the strategic Goliaths of our age?

o       Which parties move beyond materialism to consider the fullness of ‘the good life’?

There was not a uniform answer to these questions. But after great reflection, I have decided that the Labour Party is the party closest to my political home, despite falling short on some of the above points. I have many views that will not be shared with the majority of other Labour members (such as on EU membership, schooling and gay marriage) which may prove challenging, although this would equally be the case (perhaps on different issues) within the other parties. But faced with the alternatives of frustration in a minority party or the tirelessness of starting a new movement, I am happy to have made this choice.

So, I’ve joined the party, what next? There are two very clear next steps for me – to agitate the Labour policy agenda to deal with these huge national challenges and to campaign for a Labour majority in the 2015 general election, to deliver a government that will truly govern as a ‘one-nation’ party.  After that, who knows…