I’m feeling inspired by Anneliese Dodds’ decision to resign as a government minister over this issue, which is grabbing the headlines today! Before that I’d been feeling very disappointed about the lack of pushback I was seeing in news coverage.
I haven’t written my letter to my MP yet, but I’ve remembered that I am actually a member of the Labour party. Would a letter to my local Labour MP have even more impact if I also cancelled my Labour membership in protest? Ok, I might not be a government minister, I’m just an ordinary party member who hasn’t attended a party event in years, but still, they get some money from me at the moment!
Or would cancelling the membership mean I have less influence on future issues, and so ultimately be counter-productive? Any thoughts?
Good question, I’m sorry nobody has replied yet. I don’t feel like I’m much of an expert on this, so others may be better positioned than me.
My sense is that yes, this may well be impactful, especially if it is clearly communicated. This is a meaningful move, and one that the party will feel—all parties need financing.
To maximise effectiveness, you likely need to inform the right people. By all means, do tell your MP (assuming your MP is a Labour MP). Saying that you’re willing to leave the Labour party makes you less likely to vote for them in future, and they will care about this. In fact, if it’s true that it would make you less likely to vote for them in future, do tell them this explicitly, as that’s probably what your MP cares about.
Cancelling your Labour membership matters to the people responsible for the finances of the party. I believe those people are probably the Treasurer and General Secretary of the party. I don’t know how you would reach out to them, but if there were some way of communicating this to the right people, you could increase your impact.
I’m feeling inspired by Anneliese Dodds’ decision to resign as a government minister over this issue, which is grabbing the headlines today! Before that I’d been feeling very disappointed about the lack of pushback I was seeing in news coverage.
I haven’t written my letter to my MP yet, but I’ve remembered that I am actually a member of the Labour party. Would a letter to my local Labour MP have even more impact if I also cancelled my Labour membership in protest? Ok, I might not be a government minister, I’m just an ordinary party member who hasn’t attended a party event in years, but still, they get some money from me at the moment!
Or would cancelling the membership mean I have less influence on future issues, and so ultimately be counter-productive? Any thoughts?
Good question, I’m sorry nobody has replied yet. I don’t feel like I’m much of an expert on this, so others may be better positioned than me.
My sense is that yes, this may well be impactful, especially if it is clearly communicated. This is a meaningful move, and one that the party will feel—all parties need financing.
To maximise effectiveness, you likely need to inform the right people. By all means, do tell your MP (assuming your MP is a Labour MP). Saying that you’re willing to leave the Labour party makes you less likely to vote for them in future, and they will care about this. In fact, if it’s true that it would make you less likely to vote for them in future, do tell them this explicitly, as that’s probably what your MP cares about.
Cancelling your Labour membership matters to the people responsible for the finances of the party. I believe those people are probably the Treasurer and General Secretary of the party. I don’t know how you would reach out to them, but if there were some way of communicating this to the right people, you could increase your impact.