Welcome

Harborough Labour
Harborough Labour

Welcome to the Harborough, Oadby & Wigston Constituency Labour Party.

 

Being a public servant is a calling. You don’t do it for the money, the prestige or the platform. You do it because you have to.

In the last 15 years, we’ve seen the Conservative party ride roughshod over our rights to protest, employment rights, our ability to access the courts, or a barrister if we were desperate. They’ve eroded the police, teaching, nursing and healthcare. They have blamed councils whilst removing 60% of the central budget. They have blamed progressive culture, they have blamed capitalism, they have blamed the markets, the NHS, the courts and the EU. They have blamed and destroyed the civil service, SEND provision, prisons, industrial strategy and our right our hard won reputation on the world stage. They’ve even blamed Human Rights Law and done everything in their power to dismantle it, the thing that protects us, from the state.

On the left, we have a duty. It is a duty to protest and push and fight and try to win a place for everyone in our proud and beautiful country. But now, that the enemy is at the gates, that they have chosen to destroy the things that make us Britain, we must put aside our frustration and do our duty.

Our duty is to this country, to the freedoms that have been fought for and institutions that protect us. To each other.

The time of protest is over. It is a time of change. It is time for Labour.

 

Tim Durham

VP Campaigns

Market Harborough CLP

Harborough Constituency

Harborough is the name of the parliamentary constituency which stretches between Wigston and Oadby at its north, and Market Harborough in the south. Recent changes to constituency boundaries have excluded Fleckney & Kilworth’s from the map.

Harborough, Oadby and Wigston Constituency Boundary
Harborough, Oadby and Wigston Constituency Boundary

From the Labour Party perspective, it contains the following:

  • Harborough Constituency Labour Party
  • Market Harborough Branch Labour Party
  • Oadby & Wigston Branch Labour Party

As a Party Member, you will be a member of both the Constituency Party (CLP) and one Branch Party (BLP).  You will be able to attend meetings for both the CLP and your BLP.

You can view constituency boundaries, and also local Council Wards on the Ordnance Survey website: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/

There are around 75,000 voters registered in the constituency.

Our current MP is the Conservative Neil O’Brien.  You can find a full history of voting in Harborough on Wikipedia.

Party Structure

As mentioned above, Labour Party is split into different levels.  Here’s an overview of the hierarchy:

Labour Party Hierarchy
Labour Party Hierarchy

The East Midlands regional office has full-time staff, who are often the first point of contact for members of the CLP Executive when we need advice or clarification of the Party rules.

Harborough CLP Contact Details

You can view the current role holders for the CLP and the BLPs on the Harborough CLP website at: https://www.harboroughlabour.org.uk/team/

 

Meetings

We usually have Constituency and Branch meetings every month, staggered throughout the year so that both don’t occur in the same month.  The location of the Branch meetings is shared by the branch. Please get involved through social media or get in contact directly to find where the new meeting is.  The location of CLP meetings is moved between the different different villages and towns of our Constituency. Join us on the CLP Facebook page to follow our route around the Constituency. https://www.facebook.com/groups/140527436000140

You will be notified of any changes to these locations in the email you receive containing the agenda of the upcoming meeting.  The email will also contain the minutes of the previous meeting.

Meetings will normally consist of reports from the various role holders within the CLP/BLP, followed by discussion of motions that have been submitted by members prior to the meeting.  There is often discussion of what local and national issues the Party wants to campaign on, and any other matters that the members want to discuss.

These are friendly meetings, and the etiquette of the meeting is that we are respectful when someone else is talking, and don’t interrupt.  We usually indicate the desire to speak by raising our hand, and waiting for the Chair to invite us to speak.  This may seem a bit formal, but it prevents the meeting descending into chaos!  Inevitably sometimes we discuss divisive issues, but we ensure that the debate is civil and respectful.

When there are motions to be debated, there is often a time limit, and so sometimes we will insist that a person who wants to make a comment, either supporting or opposing the motion, will only speak once, so that all who want to speak get an opportunity to do so.

The Tote

Harborough Constituency holds a members’ tote to raise funds for campaigning.  Details, including how to sign up, are on the website at https://www.harboroughlabour.org.uk/tote/.

Jargon Busting

One of the difficult things when starting anything new is to understand the acronyms and terminology used, and the Labour Party is no exception!  Here is a list of terms that you may find helpful when attending meetings or interpreting other Party communications.

Affiliates, Affiliated Organisations Groups, such as unions or socialist societies that have paid a fee to be a part of the Labour Party.
Agenda and Minutes The agenda is a list of what we plan to discuss during our meetings, and minutes are a record of what is discussed.
Agent The agent is a legal necessity during election campaigns and is responsible for checking that the finance and literature during campaigns are all legal.
AGM Annual General Meeting – is the annual meeting where reports for the year are discussed and elections for new officers are held.
AMM All Members’ Meeting is another term for the Constituency meetings, as all members are entitled to attend them.
Branch, BLP The smallest level of organisation in the Party. They hold regular meetings. In the Harborough CLP there are currently 2 branches – Market Harborough and Oadby & Wigston.
CAC The Conference Arrangements Committee organise and run the Annual Conference.
Canvassing This is when we go out campaigning, to meet local people, discuss local issues with them, inform them of Labour’s policies, and give them information about their Labour candidate.
CLP Constituency Labour Party – your local party made up of branches that cover the same area that an MP covers.
Conference The annual meeting of activists from local Labour Parties and affiliated organisations.  These happen at both the National and Regional level, and there are also conferences for special interest groups.
Constituency The area covered by a Member of Parliament.
Co-operative Party (Co-Op) The Co-operative Party is the sister party of the Labour Party.

 
Delegate Someone who is selected to represent you on another body, such as your CLP’s delegate to conference.
Door knocking Canvassing a local area, usually during election campaigns, to knock on resident’s doors, ask them their voting intentions, and remind them of the benefits of supporting their local Labour candidate!
EC, Exec Executive Committee consisting of up to 10 members who are elected annually by either branch members, or GC delegates.  The CLP and the BLPs will both have their respective Executive Committees, made up of elected members.
GC General Committee – a delegate body that covers the whole CLP
GOTV Get Out The Vote.  At times of election (council or general), this is the process of identifying local Labour voters, and encouraging them to cast their vote.
Labour Group (sometimes just called ‘the Group’) The group of Labour councillors on the council.
LCF Local Campaigns Forums are committees set up to plan and organise local elections – both council and general elections.
NEC National Executive Committee.  The members of this provide the strategic direction for the Party as a whole, and is made up of MPs, MEPs, councillors, trade union representatives, Socialist Societies, CLP members, and representatives from Young Labour and BAME Labour.
NPF National Policy Forum.  This body, manages the consultation process that leads to the policies that make up the Labour Manifesto.
Outcards During door knocking canvassing, if the resident isn’t in, these are the cards that are put through their letterbox, to give them details of their local candidate.
Panel This is the list of people who have been interviewed and considered suitable to stand for the local council.
PLP Parliamentary Labour Party. The Labour MPs currently elected to the House of Commons.
PPC Prospective Parliamentary Candidate – the person selected by their CLP to fight the general election.
Selection This is the process that the Labour Party goes through to select a candidate in a particular election.
Socialist Societies There are a number of societies that work with the Labour Party to further particular causes. Examples are the Fabian Society, LGBT Labour or Socialist Health Association.
Tote An ongoing fundraiser for local Constituency Party campaigning.
Ward A local government area for election to the borough or district council – each councillor represents a ward.
Whip The officer of the Labour Group or Parliamentary Labour Party, who ensures councillors or MPs vote in line with the policy agreed by members.

Getting Involved

The first step that you can take is to activate your Labour Party accounts on My Labour and Membersnet (see the links at the end of the document):

  • My Labour has articles about campaigning, news, and shows you upcoming events.
  • Membersnet gives you access to campaigning and training resources.

The next step is going to a CLP or BLP meeting, where you can meet with your fellow members.

After that, there are numerous ways to get involved with your local party.

  • Street Stalls – We try to hold these in Market Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, to speak to local people about their issues, and make them aware of our local and national campaigns.
  • Door Knocking – We canvass in local Council Elections, and General Elections. The thought of speaking to strangers about Labour Party policy can be daunting, but everyone who has gone out and done it has generally found the experience very positive and empowering, so I’d urge you to give it a go.
  • Leafleting – Door knocking too much to start off with? Give leafleting a go. This is generally organised in small batches around your local area, and everyone benefits from a bit of extra exercise!
  • Social Media – Don’t want to do something IRL (In Real Life)? Follow the Harborough Labour twitter account @HarboroughLP and retweet it to get our voice heard more widely.  All Labour Party members should, of course, treat other users of social media with respect, and you can see the Party’s guidelines at https://labour.org.uk/members/my-welfare/my-rights-and-responsibilities/coc-social-media/.
  • Experience in media, copyrighting or WordPress? – We need people who are interested in helping maintain our website, and also help produce local campaigning material.
  • Fundraising – Campaigning requires funding. Why not offer to organise a local fundraising event?
  • Not interested in getting involved? – That’s fine. Just by being a member of the Party you are sending a message to the world that We Are Many. If you feel comfortable talking to some of your friends and family about the aims of the Labour Party, and our manifesto, spread the word, and possibly encourage them to join too.

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