14 February 2015
Paul Fitzpatrick, a recent new member, tells us of his experiences as a new activist.
Saturday 14th February: I'm out in Beaminster popping leaflets through letterboxes. It's really cold first thing but I can't wait to get started. This is my first bit of political activity ever and I'm here because I won't sit and take any more what the Liberals, Tories and Labour are pushing as policies.
I approach my first letterbox with a bit of trepidation - what if I upset the first person I see by pushing unwanted mail through his or her letterbox? Fortunately I'm spared and I'm off to a good start hoping I can remember our policies on the leaflet if anyone asks me about them.
As it happens, I don't see anyone except the occasional dog walker for most of the day, except for one lady clearing her late parents' home. We talk and she tells me about the gradual distancing of service providers from her parents and how that contributes to a feeling of being alienated from the democratic process in its entirety. It reminds me that local democracy is about a lot more than councilors, it's about motivating people to engage forcefully with services; it's not about so called competition and spurious claims about the private sector providing more for less, instead it's about making services engage with the people who use them (and that's all of us). That doesn't cost money, it costs only respect, taking an interest in people and letting them know that they are valuable.
The lady I spoke to doesn't intend to vote, she doesn't see the point. So there's a lesson for me right away, leaflets are important, but motivating people means making them feel useful, listened to and worth having an opinion. It means getting across to people that the Greens aren't here for the vote and gone for years, but here to stay.
As I walk from one letterbox to another I'm thinking about how to engage people. One idea is to run an Austerity Quiz Night (as an alternative to just bringing information to people) to puncture the austerity balloon and promote Green policies. I'm getting ideas for the quiz from Toynbee (2015), Mendoza (2015) and King & Crewe (2013) but would really welcome any suggestions.
Anyway, I'll be out again on Saturday 21st so give me a wave if you see me!
Paul Fitzpatrick
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