Open Labour member survey

1. Membership engagement

Open Labour has run a number of events across the year up and down the country. We are looking at new ways in which Open Labour can engage with its members and recruit new members, both in our communities, and at all levels of the Labour Party, including in CLPs. We want Open Labour to be:

- a diverse and inclusive movement, with active members from a full range of different backgrounds

- a place where more of our members get involved in our work

- an organisation with a presence in local CLPs, trade unions and in our affiliated bodies

How can we achieve these goals? What would make you feel like you are more included? What would help you become more active, or be more effective in our movement? (150 words max)

2. Getting the Open Labour voice heard: advocating for our aims and values

Open Labour campaigns within Labour for a transformative & decentralised left wing political economy, for internationalism as the left’s answer to globalisation, for a democratised British state, and for open politics – a party democracy where all of us matter and none are excluded.

For us, how we do things is as important as our ultimate aims. We argue for a left that persuades people to reimagine the radical as mainstream - not the other way around.

We use several tools to advocate Open Labour’s values and aims. Open Labour has produced publications on a range of topics, including the future of work, ​and the recently announced 2020 budget.  We run events on a range of topics, and try to politically intervene as crucial developments take place within the party.

We want to use our values and policies to campaign within the Labour Party and the wider environment that affects it, for example the trade union movement and academia. We also want to make sure that our values and policies help us engage with and recruit more members.

What can we do to fight for our values and aims? How can we make sure they hit home and are understood? How can we use them to build our influence and capacity to organise? (150 words max)

Campaigning

Open Labour adopts up to 3 priority campaigns every year. Our goal is to engage Labour Party members and the wider community to support these causes, including via social media.  We want to engage with a range of stakeholders, including MPs; trade unions; academics and other campaign or policy groups involved in the Party and CLPs.

What do you think should be our priority campaigns over the next year? How can we mobilise people in our campaigning? How can we influence some the groups mentioned above, and build alliances where we need them? (150 words max)

Policy and optics

Since the organisation formed we have used member conferences twice a year to develop a suite of policies we stand by and campaign for within the party. These are brought together in Open Labour’s annual Position Paper.  However it is clear that this approach leaves gaps in areas of policy, can lead to contradictions in policy that goes forward, and does not seem to get across what the organisation stands for as clearly as we would like.

How should we undertake out our policy making process? Would you leave it the same, reform it, or start again? What should we change about the way we talk about ourselves? (150 words max)

Organise to win – putting Open Labour values into practice

To build support for our aims and values we require much greater political organisation than Open Labour has unlocked so far. First, we need to develop and support candidates to win elected office to public bodies and within the party.  In turn, this means we have to train and develop our members, both to become these candidates and to campaign to support them.

In order to achieve this goal we need to mobilise and campaign within CLPs and the wider movement to find the people who support our values and goals.

To this end, we are hoping to fund a paid organiser who can provide training, organisational drive, and support with recruitment, online activity, social media.

Which areas of the Party should we focus on to support the election of Open Labour candidates (eg. Labour internal bodies, PPC / councillor selections, trade union roles etc)? How should we make sure that an organiser can be recruited, and become well supported & successful in their role? (150 words max)

Political direction

Open Labour’s political direction is broadly set by our position papers and conference debates, and steered by the OLNC, our National Committee, between those times.

We would like your feedback on our political direction over the last year.

What do you think of Open Labour’s political direction? What would you change or keep the same? Are there specific political activities or decisions you feel the National Committee should make? (150 words max)

Open Labour: nation wide 

Open Labour is a national, UK wide organisation.  We believe that wealth and power should be decentralised and democratised across the UK, and our policy supports moves towards greater regional power in favour of federalism, a new industrial revolution, and in support of a green new deal.  We try to live out the values we espouse: Open Labour has set up a number of national and regional groups, and have organised national events across the country. 

We are now looking for new and innovative ways to engage with our members and the wider community across the UK, whether in person or over social media. 

How can we better support organisation in our nations and regions? If you are a member of a national or regional Open Labour group, what advice would you have for others who are setting up their own local group? How can we better use online spaces, our website, or our social media channels? (150 words max)

Free comment

Please use this section to provide feedback or ideas that you weren’t able to cover above: (100 words max)