time 1o time. Bul people like Jeremy Corbyn have changed that. He lives in Islingion, much more based there than he is in Ene House of Commons.
Il will be important to Flaked personal with people Tony Benn's by-election in Chesterfield: he horrendous press bul one of the reasons he had such a successful campaign was that he was able lo gel around and meet people. He worked meticulously on the doorstep.
And 1am particularly concened CLO WOlK with local groups, particularly ethnic groups. lo a cerlain extent until recently. the ethnic groups have existed in a kind of client relationship to the party. I want 1o try and break that down by gelling more black people, especially black people, into the parly.
it works the other way: 1o get the party more involved in issues of concern.to black people.
For example, ember overhearing a conversatiol versatioll selection process. Somebody said: course snes rgnl wing' Someone else asked: 'How was: "You can tell by ihe Issues sne laiks about. one lalks aboul education.' Because il is not a parlicular preoccupation of the white left at this time, education gets discounted. But it is a lerribly big issue among black people. Black people in Hackney tell me that if there is one thing that can get black people ou! to a meeting it's education.
Blue poll is to gel ine lake the issues that concern black people It is very important to say that without the black probably us black candidates would lave been selected. Il was the black sechion's campaign that raised the issue of black representation. It's also the case for me that, without the support of the black section and especialSharon kikins, black women like have never survived the seleciion process. It was a very gruelling process UcLausc callic licuickuous personal atlack would like see women's issues taken as a more serious priority for the Hackney North party as well. And I know that there is enthusiasm in the work around ihese.
A lot of party members were loyal Ernie Roberts and quite correctly, is an excellent Hackney have gult for shortlist of one. But they didn'l, they choose reselection and now the parly is uniting around that selection.
Afler the selection conference many people said how pleased they were that a woman had been selected candidale. There was a real feeling that they wallcul SCCI issues raised. support black sections.
Of course sociely will conceed some token black MPs. Black representation on its own doesn't necessarily change anything ICIC have been black congressmen in the United States since the '30s. Has that made a difference? No.
Black al e aboul black people organising autonomously thal. involves black represenlation al all levels constituency GCs, councillors, MPs. The crucial thing is black people lIlvolved in the Labour Parly. If that involvement exists, then we don't need while people 1o tell us we shouldn'l become MPs because there is a danger of careerism: black people can deal with our Careersis.
That is what black seclons are about: the full mass involvement of black people.
I have never said thal black people becoming councillors or MPs, or even black people having full involvement in the Labour Party is the end-all and be-all. Il isn't.
believe that black people must have a iwopronged strategy. One part volvement in mainsiream politics the other aboul building strong, independenı black organisalions outside mainstream Diane Abbott for example the Groce Campaign and the Jarret Campaign.
black cultural mainstream politics and a strong black presence inside mainstream politics are both necessary. What is ore ther. There will on the other. will strong naCK presence mainstream politics without strong, independent organisations outside. And there won't strong cultural political organisations out side without a strong presence in mainstream politics.