My membership renewal for the Lib Dems came through this morning. It marks five years since I first joined the party.
This anniversary has reminded me of something I have been meaning to write about for a while. The continuum on which political activists of all parties sit.
Regular readers will know that I do a weekly podcast with an old friend of mine Emma Burnell who is a Labour activist. Emma joined Labour back when she was a teenager and has spent the last 20+ years campaigning for them and being a highly active member involved with all sorts of internal organisations over the years. She is happy to describe herself as a "tribalist" and whilst I have some quibbles with her over the exact definition of that word I agree that even by my stricter interpretation of its meaning, she is one!
Emma has made it clear that pretty much no matter what the Labour party did she would stick with them and if she was unhappy try to change the party from inside. As far as it is possible to be she is "Labour till she dies".
Another friend of mine, Caron Lindsay is a very long-standing member of my own party the Lib Dems. Like Emma, Caron has been involved with the party from a very young age and has been on various internal committees and held various positions within it. Also like Emma, Caron has made it clear that she is also in this party for the long haul. She is to all intents and purposes "Lib Dem till she dies".
Which brings us to me. Although I am of a similar generation to Emma and Caron and am probably obsessed with politics to a similar extent (and have been since I was a child) I chose not to get involved with a specific party until 2008. And I think this matters. I do not have as much vested within my chosen party. Whilst I know quite a few people within the Lib Dems fairly well they are all somewhat recent acquaintances. My long-standing friendships are all with people who are outside my party and in most cases politics altogether. So my roots do not go anywhere near as deep.
There are certainly scenarios I could imagine that could lead to me leaving the party. In fact I actually came pretty damn close earlier this year when the secret courts legislation was passed by my party in government in direct opposition to what the members of the party wanted. In the end I restricted myself to pledging to refuse to campaign for any Lib Dem MP who voted for the measure. But I had several dark nights of the soul and it could have gone the other way.
So despite being in different parties from each other, Emma and Caron probably have much more in common with each other as political activists than either of them do with me.
I think there is a continuum at work here. I am quite close to one end of it - very interested in politics and in a party but without a deep seated rooting within it and my friends are close to the other end of it - so heavily invested in their parties that they cannot really imagine ever leaving it.
I think parties need those of us who would consider leaving, performing a similar service to the floating voters in the wider electorate reminding party hierarchies that they cannot take their membership for granted.
Maybe if I stick around then by 2023 or 2033 I will be the sort of "cut me and I bleed yellow" activist that form the core of activists for political parties but I am certainly not there yet.
But I have renewed my membership for another year. That gets me another year closer to perhaps eventually being one!
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