Putting myself forward

In the past I have held several positions in my Local Labour Party (Kingston upon Thames). I was on the General Committee for a few years, then the Executive Committee and was even Chair of the local party until I disqualified myself by taking a project in Prague.

All that was twenty years and more ago and I have not (often) felt tempted back into the organised fold, which is a little odd as I have taken on roles with other organisations like the British Czech and Slovak Association, Kingston Area Travellers Association and the Kingston upon Thames Society. My political activity has been limited to a few marches, signing lots of online petitions and tweeting furiously during programms like Question Time.

A call from Compass for members to volunteer for their Management Committee for a year fell on receptive ears and I have put myself forward. I do not for one moment expect to be elected but standing is a sign of interest and commitment and also gives me the opportunity to put my message to all members of Compass. This is what I said in my 150 words.

There is less than two years to go to the General Election that Labour must win to reverse the cuts and privatisations of the Con Dems and with the might of the media opposed to the Left, witness all the weak leader stories about Ed Miliband, it is vital that the Left finds a strong, clear and convincing voice to persuade the electorate that we do not need to live like this; there is an alternative.

I believe that Compass has an important part to play in countering the simplistic arguments of the Right, such as you cannot borrow your way out of a debt crisis, that they have been repeating so often that many people now believe them.

We need to be bold, loud and positive in putting the argument for the Good Society and that should be our priority for the next year.