In two weeks' time, I'm speaking at the Labour Briefing AGM in London. My subject will be the local elections and at time of writing those could pan out very badly. We'll have to see.
In the afternoon, there's going to be what promises to be a "heated debate" about the future of Labour Briefing. A resolution from the Editorial Board is suggesting that Briefing should become, in effect, LRC Briefing.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that I will be speaking out strongly in favour of this move.
For the past year or so I have been contributing articles to Briefing and with my journalism hat on I will be absolutely honest. From a purely presentational point of view, there are ways it could be improved which would not cost a fortune and I would like to be in a position to explain how. So I will be standing for the Editorial Board .
Politically, Briefing is as close to the LRC as you're going to get but outside London, Briefing has a low profile. Association with the LRC across the country would help it grow and build readership. It would also, of course, help the LRC. And that's crucial for several reasons.
First, there's no point attempting political flirtations with COMPASS. Neal Lawson and Jon Cruddas have made it quite clear they will not link up in any way that seriously changes anything with the left. They will continue to complain and cynically manoeuvre , with the odd vote along the right lines. However much they complain about Brown now, he was championed as the only possible option just a year ago. Now look where we are.
So the LRC needs to grow. It needs more members in the regions and a magazine devoted to its policy positions and debates would help that. At the moment, Briefing, good though it is, is read by an excellent group of people who unfortunately are largely talking to each other in a 50-mile radius. We need to get out of the comfort zone of the Labour Left, take the flak and get our hands dirty building links with political groups on an issue by issue n basis. So let's stop fannying about ( am being polite) and being precious and make Briefing the official voice of the LRC.
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
LET'S HAVE AN LRC BRIEFING......
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5 comments:
Do you know rough circulation numbers for LB?
Actually I don't. My blog gets about 1500 readers a week now.Briefing could seriously boost its circulation as LRC magazine.
Is a paper the way forward ???
surely its on the web ???
The prob I see with Labour Briefing is while it played a key role in the 1980's....it failed to congrat the Party on anything....and we have done some good things
it also had to many polemics on Troskyism
the future lies in between Tribune and Briefing
"the future lies in between Tribune and Briefing"
I suggest Chartist: http://www.chartist.org.uk/
Briefing split from Chartist (a few years before I was born).
I think the contentious issue was whether the revolution should take place immediately or in a few weeks time.
Anyway, with my magazine publisher's hat on, I think a direct link between the LRC and Briefing is a good idea.
My guess is that if people who joined the LRC got a sub to Briefing with their subscription, then it could double subscriptions.
That's pure guess, though. I don't have lists for either LRC membership or Briefing subscribers.
I buy more issues of Briefing than I miss, its not quite my politics but nearby. Not so keen on buying a journal of the LRC, and my semi regular purchases might drop.
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