Last night I went to the launch of a new publication: Participation Nation - Reconnecting Citizens to the Public Realm, a joint venture between Involve, and IIPS. A keynote speaker was Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. One line in her script, which I have heard so many times before, I despair:
"If you join the Labour Party, you sign your life away."
What sort of encouragement is that to rebuild a mass-membership party?