We need to seize the chance to get beyond cynical machine politics and really engage Londoners in grassroots activism
"You've convinced me," Franklyn Roosevelt once told a group of community activists. "Now go out and make me do it." What's the lesson? For pessimists, it is that politicians are a weak bunch – and indeed, sometimes we are. But for optimists, there is a more urgent and empowering conclusion to be drawn: social change can never just come from the top down. This is the lesson for Progressive London, as it holds its first conference this week. Progressives in London may not have the mayor that we wanted, but our work does not stop. An important part of that will be holding the mayor to account, whether on the price of public transport, his promises on the environment or his responsibilities to Londoners who need housing fit for the 21st century. Here, Progressive London's aim to build a cross-party coalition is a welcome one. A broad base, with common interests is, of course, preferable to a small, partisan one. Yet, if Progressive London is really to live up to its name, it needs to find roots way beyond the political class. This means more than simply regrouping for the next mayoral election in 2012, using events like Saturday's conference as an elite focus group or thinktank. It means following Roosevelt's maxim creating the impetus for political change in civil society. If FDR needed to be harried into taking progressive measures, you can bet that Boris Johnson does. More than this, though, Progressive London must be about us – the people of London – not just the mayor and his administration. For too long now, political campaigning in Britain has come to be associated with either lobbying politicians or getting them elected. In the future, it must find ways to ground itself in practical action as well as party-political campaigning, using the web (as Seth Reznik outlines) to bring people together, not just bombarding people with the latest messages from party HQ. The possibilities are endless if we get it right. We can help Londoners not just to help themselves, but to support one another – from mentoring young men who lack father figures in their lives, to changing attitudes on the environment or simply cleaning up a local park. In short, we can all be part of the solution to the problems we face in London – and organisations like Progressive London need to create compelling opportunities for people to get involved. People still care about the issues that matter. The problem is that we have a way of doing politics that doesn't ask enough of people or give them enough opportunities to play their part. Let's not make that mistake again. Let's start building now and arrive in 2012 with a better city to live in.
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