How to encourage our blogs to become more accessible.

blogAlan Story from Nottingham Left Unity contributes his thoughts for how the discussion could proceed

As most LEFT UNITY supporters know, an initial national LU meeting will be held in central London on the afternoon of 11 May. Each local LU group has been asked to send a maximum of two representatives, of least one of whom should be a woman.

To contribute to these deliberations and to engage those not attending, this blog asks LU supporters and LU ‘leaners’ one question:WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT THIS MEETING SHOULD ADDRESS AND DECIDE?

As an experiment, I request that this particular blog operate under the following guidelines:

1) your reply should be NO MORE THAN 250 words (and leaving lots of white space, as is done here, would not go amiss)

2) let’s work to have alternating messages posted by gender, that is, W, M, W, M.

There is no way, I have been told, to have these guidelines enforced by the software currently used for LU blogs. So these can only be an aspiration or voluntary ‘code of practice’ for this blog. (Transgender persons aren’t covered by guideline 2)

The aims of this blog, besides the actual content posted, are two:

A) To encourage our blogs to become more accessible.

B) To encourage more participation in LU blogs by both women and men.

Mind you, these aims are not mutually exclusive. Some blokes (including me) do have a tendency to go on a bit sometimes. But hey!, this lead-off post is a mere 248 words. Contribute yours.


24 comments

24 responses to “How to encourage our blogs to become more accessible.”

  1. David Eccles says:

    “Each local LU group has been asked to send a maximum of two representatives, of least one of whom should be a woman.”

    I do not go in for discrimination and this is sexual discrimination against men. Guess this party is not for me – Unsubscribed.

    • Matt Cox says:

      Whilst I agree that we do need a fair proportion of women at these meetings, I have to agree that saying that at least one of the representatives should be a women is a little heavy-handed.

      • Alan Story says:

        Matt:
        If you would like to discuss this issue further, please send your e-mail address to: content@leftunity.org (the address of the people running LU blogs.) I already have sent them my e-mail address and they can pass you on mine. Then we can be in touch, likely by phone in the first incidence as I live in Nottingham. Alan Story Notts LU.

  2. Peter Burrows says:

    1.Party structure must a bottom up structure
    2.Localism at its core ,as getting groundwork & building trust of LU on the ground is paramount (as is shown by the growing amount of groups).
    3. One member one vote .
    4. given the organisation is growing/developing embrace proportional representation ,as the most democratic & politically viable system to benefit both voters & a small party.
    5. develop campaign themes locally ,that naturally evolve into regional/national one,s as the party grows in strength .
    6. A sound financial base with clear guidelines both locally & elsewhere be set down .
    7. a broad based constitution be agreed that has PEOPLE at its core ,progressive/ radical in its outlook & has broad based libertarian /socialist values.

    Would be to easy to get bogged down with policy etc etc ,core foundations are the key ,establish a political comfort zone that makes people feel yes i can identify with the it & can sit down with a community group or on the doorstep & be proud to say this is me,this is us ,join it ,vote for it ,campaign for it .

    Peter………….

  3. Guy Harper says:

    By ‘blogs’ do you mean comments, Alan? I’m not clear entirely what you mean here.

    • Alan Story says:

      Guy:

      Sorry if it was not clear: I meant that responses to my kick-off question should be limited to 250 words. And most people have done what was requested as to length.

      But most people have not answered the question posed, which was: WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT THIS MEETING [the LU first national meet of 11 May] SHOULD ADDRESS AND DECIDE?

      In other words, given this particular time and place and the particular history of LU, what should be the priorities ( organisational, structural, programmatic, the style of functioning, deciding a name or whatever)that should be on agenda for 11 May? In other words, what are the pressing questions? Alan

  4. Jota says:

    2) let’s work to have alternating messages posted by gender, that is, W, M, W, M

    I know your heart is in the right place, but this is daft.

    • Alan Story says:

      Jota:

      Yes, it is daft. Women hold up half the sky….and should do so in LU as well.

      I think that developing such an ethos RIGHT FROM THE START of LU is a real priority. In fact, maybe you might want to start your own LU blog on sexism in left-wing organisations and how to overcome it.

      • Jota says:

        Empowering women to speak and to lead is not the same as imploring men to be quiet until a women has spoken.

        Ethos is good – silly rules which halt the follow of discussion is something else. Plus – should you have responded, or waited for a women to first?

        Ethos can be built in all sorts of ways – having a women’s section, developing a policy on domestic violence, abortion, prostitution etc that relate to some women’s experiences, building relationships with feminist activists, encouraging women to lead groups. I don’t believe that trying to arrange alternate blog messages is not it.

        We don’t have to invent this sort of thing – the movement has lots of capable women activists such as Anna Chen – they might have some better ideas.

    • Alan Story says:

      Jota:

      Four brief points:

      1) When I first replied, I misunderstood the point of your first post (25 April at 7:00 p.m.) I thought you meant it was ‘daft’ that men replying to this blog were ‘daft’ for not following the voluntary gender guidelines (W, M, W, M) created for this blog. I now understand your point; the guideline itself was ‘daft.’

      2) I agree that asking for alternating responses by gender is a rather novel idea and not in keeping with the prevailing ‘freedom’/ individualistic ethic of the Internet, that is, ‘I can speak whenever I want to and as often as I wish.’ (To suggest that men are somehow being kept quiet by being asked to ‘wait their turn’ to speak is part of the same ethos).

      3) But it is hardly silly. Perhaps some don’t appreciate the message that is sent out, both to men and to women, when ALL 18 responses here have LIKELY been from men. (I checked with friends in Chile and Brazil; they told me that ‘Jota’ is usually a man’s nickname; I am not 100% sure about ‘Bazza.’) I know the message it sends to me.

      4) Those of us who have minimal face-to-face contact with other LU supporters must primarily rely, at this moment, on the views expressed in the many LU blogs to get a sense of what type of party is being built. To hear 99% of the time from men is a worrying problem, I believe.

      • Emily P says:

        IMHO if the movement is a bit, as they say ‘cock-heavy’ then this should be addressed in other ways rather than any sort of posting rules.

  5. Tom says:

    I’m afraid this is a poor post. I disagree with most of it. I also disagree with most of what Peter says. Localism will not work if counterposed to the need for a central leadership capable of speaking with authority on behalf of the members, with regular access to the mass media. The stress on ‘people’ makes no sense if the left we want to unite is actual socialists. Capitalists after all are also people, as are the middle classes. One of these groups is the sworn enemy of socialists. They suck unpaid labour out of the masses on a daily basis. They are responsible for the collapsing economy right across the globe. They resort to scapegoating of the most oppressed victims of capitalist chaos. The other group is a potential ally of the working class. The middle class(es) certainly need to be won to the socialist project, but that group is also a potential ally of the the most extreme and brutal wing of the capitalist class against the organized working class. Left Unity needs to emphasize a class analysis. It needs to propose class solutions to our problems, and that means class struggle. Middle class rhetoric about ‘people’ doesn’t take us very far. The middle classes are spoilt for choice when it comes to such parties: Tories, Lib Dems, Labour, UKIP, Greens, SNP, etc. It is time for the working class to have a party of our own. Isn’t that where Left Unity comes in?

    • Ed Potts says:

      Except that, as you can see all the time with sects of every flavour, the intended “central leadership capable of speaking with authority on behalf of the members” all too often becomes the “central leadership throwing its weight around and asserting its authority *over* the members”. This is a serious historical problem which the left needs to tackle as part of the debate around centralism/federalism.

    • Manchester Left Unity says:

      I have always found talk of class alienating. The very recognition of class is to pigeonhole people much in the same way marketing does. People are individuals. They can not be assigned a box and expected to neatly fit into it. Draconian austerity measures are uniting people against them. I roundly couldn’t give a monkey’s hairy bollock what class you think they are from it doesn’t make anyone’s voice less or more valid. Left Unity is about bringing together people who want a change. A better option than a vote for one corrupt bastard to keep the other corrupt bastard out. I don’t care whether a person is rich, poor, able-bodied or disabled, black, white, Asian, mixed race, gay, straight, transgender, male or female. If you want to see politics represent people and not financiers then we are happy to have you.

  6. Peter Burrows says:

    With respect to Tom a centralist top down approach hardly allows the membership to develop local campaigns that in turn generate local interest ,clearly we depart on my decentralist approach & your (with respect) dead hand centralist belief that in my view takes away local decision making from local LU groups ,something it seems (so far) is fairly popular or are 80 groups all wrong ?.
    The need to give working people a sense of ownership & the chance to work together at local level is in my view vital to give that different dimension to politics that can get LU working with community groups/tenant associations etc
    .
    So many people feel disenfranchised by the centralist “we know best leave it to us brigade” & look where it got us ,a lack of inclusion & i would not wish to be a part of any organisation that went down that political path .
    I respect your view Tom i just do not agree with it .

    Peter………….

    • Guy Harper says:

      Agreed Peter. Politics as a whole has become completely alienating to people – including radical left politics which is supposedly meant to represent ordinary working class people.

      If we are to be successful we have to learn from recent social movements that have re-engaged people with politics through participation and a sense of ownership, and this means a more horizontal approach. We must ensure power remains in the hands of the ordinary people who the organisation is supposed to represent rather than concentrated in the hands of a few established figures who inevitably become disconnected from the movement… we can’t afford to continue with this alienating rut that politics has become.

    • David Pattiinson says:

      I’m not really sure that having ‘a central leadership capable of speaking wiobeth authority on behalf of the members, with regular access to the mass media’ is the same as having a top down approach. It depends on which way the power flows or whether or not the leadership is accountable to the membership. No one wants to recreate the kind of political sects that have blighted the post-war British left. Having a leadership that represents the members on a national level shouldn’t mean that the autonomy of local groups is compromised or that dictates are handed down from upon high.

  7. ed1975 says:

    I don’t think the alternating comments is going to work. in answer to the question I think we need to decide on the organisational structure. I personally would like to see something as democratic, flexible and responsive as possible. If it is about uniting the left. I think different groups around the country will have different flavors the activist. Some may have a lot of anarchists, other areas old Labour left etc. I see this as a strength. We can all draw on and learn from each others different approaches.
    I think we need to come up with a loose set of principles we can unite around. But I don’t think we need to be too specific. It is early days yet and I think any decisions made on May the 11th should be ssen as a work in progress.
    We need to decide on our attitude to other orgaisations on the left. My feeling is that anyone who shares our goals is welcome on an individual basis but I don’t think groups should get any special treatment. In different areas it will be different groups getting involved on the ground. For me we should be looking to unite everyone who has the same aims we have.
    I think the point Tom made about working class activivty is important and union work etc should be at the forefront of what we do I don’t think we need to get too hung up on calling for a general strike every fortnight.

  8. ed1975 says:

    bang on 250!

  9. Bazza says:

    As w class independent socialist just in Labour heart says Yes to LU, head about 70% there.
    Just think a Party not afraid of Big Business, the Banks, the Bosses which stands 100% behind grassroots w class campaigns like Axe the Bedroom Tax and 100% by working people when they go on strike – wow, this could be quite exciting!
    Agree 50/50 m/f representaion and men shouldn’t’t feel threatened by this but not alternative comments – should make it clear all progressives comments are welcome here – the best thing we all bring is critical thinking.. LU perhaps should be: 1. HONEST. 2. NON-SECTARIAN. 3. GRASSROOTS -LED, BOTTOM-UP, DEMOCRATIC, PEACEFUL, SOCIALIST. 4. HAVE SIMPLE NAME. 5. SIMPLE LANGUAGE 6. APPEAL TO W CLASS & PROGRESSIVE M CLASS. 7. HAVE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP 8. APPEAL INDIVIDUAL TRADE UNIONISTS. 9. GIVE A VOICE TO WORKING PEOPLE. 10. BUILD SOCIETY CRITICALTHINKERS.

  10. Dave K says:

    We do not need to decide a detailed programme at the 11th May meeting. A proper democratic conference at the end of the year will allow all members and local groups to discuss a more detailed identify and series of policies. Even then developing policies and working out how to work with other progressive forces will be an ongoing process. What we can agree on the 11th is a 5 point general framework:
    1) for a political alternative to reforming or pushing the Labour Party to the left, so we will stand against Labour but develop a progressive understanding with other class/eco struggles left of Labour e.g. TUSC, Lewisham NHS campaigners etc
    2)we will be an activist party working in unions, communities and movements of all types, not just an electoralist force
    3)we will not implement cuts or budgets which are against working people’s interests if we ever get elected, if elected we will take an average skilled wage and limit the number of terms of office
    4) our party will be based on individual membership -left groups will be welcome to participate without any privileges and we will work out transparent internal democracy with positive efforts to encourage women, black and working class activists to take an equal role
    5)we will let a hundred flowers bloom in the sense of developing an education and culture of change – we need to work at planning and imagining a different world, it is not enough for us just to be good activists we will need to inspire and convince millions of people we can offer a concrete alternative.

  11. Bazza says:

    Don’t want to sound like War and Peace ha!ha! But a few more to add to above after more thought:
    11. PROMOTE EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN, BETWEEN STRAIT, GAY AND LESBIAN, NON-DISABLED AND DISABLED, BLACK AND WHITE.
    12. PROMOTE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY BETWEEN WORKING PEOPLE.
    13. PROMOTE PROGRESSIVE CUULTURE
    14. BE FUN.
    Yours in solidarity!

  12. John Penney says:

    The meeting on 11th May should decide, provisionally, subject to
    ongoing revision by properly constituted future party conference/s;

    1. The Party structures, and key operating procedures, eg, individual member – based ? Federalist ? Decision-making processes – complete local
    autonomy versus various degrees of centralism ? etc.

    2. Key aims and objectives and principles for the party, ie, a
    Party “What we stand for – What we aim to achieve” Manifesto in outline at least- for much future debate. With no significant online debate about this to date, the 11th May meeting should at least put in train a
    Working Party to draw this up for discussion.

    3. Agree in sketch form, a short and longer term plan for where we aim to be one year, and up to five years ahead. The longer term might seem ludicrous, but is important in anticipating and shaping the new party’s future relationship to New Labour electorally (no standing Left Unity candidates against supposedly “Left” Labour MP’s for instance ?). We also in guesstimating the longer term future will be making judgements about the likely path of the current world capitalist crisis — importamnt for a radical new Party intending to play a significant role in combatting the current capitalist plan for ordinary people to pay for their crisis.

    However , given that there is as yet no Agenda for this meeting (not online anyway), and no invitation to submit motions or proposals, the actual significant decision-making ability of the 11th May meeting surely will be minimal ?

  13. Merry Cross says:

    As Alan points out, the vast majority of these responses are from men. Perhaps we should ask on May 11th that all groups try to identify people who can give short talks explaining male privilege, white privilege, non-disabled privilege, straight privilege and so on. Without a clear understanding of what each of these means, we’ll continue having misunderstandings and actual oppression within meetings. With these messages understood we may be able to avoid nonsense like ‘insisting that one rep from each group is a woman discriminates against men’! We may also shine a light of hope no other party has ever come near!

    I’d like May 11th to be thought of as a jumping off point, rather than anything more hide-bound and absolutely agree that with some reps having only had one meeting of their local group, it should be a joyful coming together, with a sharing of aspirations for what can be achieved.

    The issue of electing a central organising group is truly difficult at this stage. Perhaps on May 11th we could discuss how to proceed on this, rather than asking people to elect those they don’t know anything about! We could ask about how to organise regionally and how regions can relate to any central organising group in democratic ways.


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