The choice of our time

I was on my way back today from a Unite meeting when I was thinking about possibilities - the need to get new people into unions and political life - and whether we should be defeatist or keep going with the fight back after a disastrous Norwich North result. In some ways I've been in discussions like this every year since 1997; discussions with people who think Labour has lost its soul; arguments that the worst Labour Government is still better than any Tory Government. The issue now however is quite stark; there is no room for luxurious debate. Within one year, the election will have happened. Decisions we make now - individually, or in terms of policy and organisation will deliver one of two outcomes: a Labour or a Tory Government. But Labour needs now perhaps to do less and deliver more, as well as show what it has delivered in terms of outcomes for Britain, and outcomes for individuals. People need to know what they and the country are going to lose by not voting Labour; Labour needs a clear statement on this with a vision of the country's future too, that people can then choose to invest in when they come to vote at the ballot box.

The Power of Networks to Give Voice to the Voiceless

The Fabian Women's Network runs its own events, but also raises the profile of outside campaigns. One example is he VDay campaign. This is a campaign to stop violence against women, and in particular sexual violence against women as a tool of war, as is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 1100 women a month are being raped, some again and again, by different armies, as a way also of destroying families and communities and gaining access to natural resources. It’s a horror story happening every day. But it won’t stop until the voiceless have voice – and part of what women around the world can be are amplifiers of that voice to our own politicians.

Delivering change through Networks

Something that I myself really came to appreciate last night was the power of networks and communications to bring about change. When we founded the Fabian Women's Network four years ago, we wanted to create a unique space in which women can engage in debate, discussion and networking. But that isn't an end in itself. It's also a means to achieving more. A real benefit that came home to me last night was the importance of networks to help an individual work out their own path in public life (or other sphere) – their stepping stones.
A common story I hear from older women who we see as having "made it" is that yes, they have got to the "top" but it was a harder journey and took a longer period of time. This was much to do with the difficulties of navigating choices particularly around work/life balance that women face more than men at different stages of their life. So one of the things I took away is how as women we can, and need, to support other women work out their stepping stones and negotiate their pathways efficiently and confidently.
This would have benefits not just for the individual, but for the country. Take some examples of our public life. Women currently form over 50% of the population, but 33.3% of public appointees; less than 20% of Parliamentarians; 13% of University heads and 10% of High Court judges. But there is no point talking about more women coming forward if we don't recognise and address much more the emotional and practical barriers that women face, but also recognise some of the very simple interventions - often one to one - that can help a woman move forward at her next cross roads. All of us have something we need but also something we can give. Being part of a network gives the opportunity both to give and take, and see social change begin to happen.

Now is not the time to walk away from Politics

Well over 200 women turned out for the Fabian Women's Network in Westminster this evening, to mingle, chat, hear a few politicans and plot how they can change the world. In large and small ways. What was remarkable was not just that women turned out en masse for such an event, but the small details that became apparent. People turning up for their first Fabian/FWN event. Some people standing for council in their areas for the first time - and standing for Labour. People joining the Labour party and the Fabians - all during one of the worst times our politics has seen. One could almost start to feel the wall of resistence that was starting to form in defence of politics, and indeed a bigger sense that now was not the time to walk away; now was the time more than ever to come into politics and help change it for the better. In such a time we also see the Downing Street Project building a coalition of women to think about the brand of politics in a new way; not to react against politics, but for women to engage more strongly with it. It is almost counter cyclical - happening at a time of low public confidence. But it is another sign also that there is more to politics than expenses, and in dealing with the crisis and issues around expenses we must still defend politics and, when necesary, stand up and be counted.