Peter Kenyon

Constituency Labour Party development plans - where to start?

My Constituency Labour Party (CLP) agreed by a big majority at its 2011 AGM to introduce the concept of a Development Plan.

So as CLP secretary, it has fallen to me to kick-start the process. Being a great believer in learning from others and not reinventing the wheel, I put a search into Google: labour party constituency development plan.

Here are the first three results:

1. Constituency development plans - UNISON | The public service trade ...

   The UNISON Labour-Link has 67 Constituency Development Plans, ... level - to the benefit of both local UNISON branches and Constituency Labour Parties. ...
   www.unison.org.uk/labourlink/pages_view.asp?did=91 - Cached - Similar
   ►

2. a Stratford Conservative: Why Labour blocked party funding reform

   30 Mar 2010 ... Trade unions pay £1 million a year to the Labour Party at a local and ... Party branches through binding “Constituency Development Plans”. ...
   stratfordconservative.blogspot.com/.../why-labour-blocked-party-funding-reform.html - Cached

3. The Conservative Party | News | News | Secret papers reveal ...

   30 Mar 2010 ... "These documents expose the Labour Party's addiction to union cash". ... Party branches through binding "Constituency Development Plans". ...
   www.conservatives.com/.../Secret_papers_reveal_Labours_dependency_on_union_cash.aspx - Cached

Bit embarrassing that Conservative sites take 2nd and 3rd spots. I will refer to the Unison result, but what about official guidance? So, I went to the Labour Party official website. That has no search facility. But I knew that as a nerdy member. So I went to the search facility on Membersnet and entered: CLP development plan.

Yes, you'v e guess, no help there either. Here are the first three results:

Project Game Plan See what you can do by clicking the icons below     ...

How do we tackle the challenges of global poverty and development? ...

Training - A strategic approach to print and direct mail Tuesday 23 September - 10.30amExchange 1 We'll help you deliver an effective, targeted communication...

So if your CLP has a model I could use, please let me know. In the meantime, I'm going to develop an outline one for 2011/16 - old politics - a five-year plan, but wait until you see it before passing judge. For any colleagues worried about our political opponents getting wised up, don't fret. I will be selective about what gets into the public domain. But let's all agree on one thing: Taking on the Tories in Westminster has got to be very public if it is to have any chance of succeeding.

Rallying behind the flag: Labour in the community

A Labour Party branch in the City of London, really - no? Who'd have thought? Well, it's true. Any avid reader of this blog could not possible be under any misconceptions. The Labour Party is alive and prospering under the noses and in the faces of the financial establishment. Membership is up by over 2/3rds compared to a year ago - accounting for just over 1% of the residential electorate of some 8,000. That's double the proportion of Labour members nationally to the total electorate, which is currently around 0.5%

Local activists like to think that it is due to making themselves known in the commnity. Two years ago when the branch was a mere shadow of its current self, a small slate of local candidates was sworn in as Freeman of the City of London - as is their right under the City of London Act 2002. There is an account of their exploits in Tribune here.

So what better opportunity to rally support for Labour's newly evolving policies towards the City of London and the financial sector than join the TUC March for jobs on 26 March behind a banner? Unfortunately, banner makers are in short supply, and the banners themselves are not cheap. Fortunately, Unison - the trade union, has donated two pennants to any Constituency Labour Party that has requested them. But how to stand out in the crowd?

A member recalled seeing cloth letters on bunting at a World Mental Health Day event in Hackney last autumn made by a local charity. It turned out to be Peter Bedford Housing Association based in Dalston. It has a soft furnishings section at its Stamford Works run by Patsy Hibbert (pictured left above). So with the vital assistance of her, cutter Errol Headley-Hall and seamstress Kalsoom Bibi Kha (pictured right above), City of London Labour Party now has a customised pennant behind which to rally to show solidarity on 26 March.

(Photo: courtesy of Beatrice Akulia)

If you are quick you could have one too. Just ring 020 7923 9255 and ask for Patsy or Soft Furnishing.