If we want to win a Ward Councillor seat from a political party, then we need a Ward Platform that can bring together residents behind a community candidate and inspire as many people as possible to get involved in the campaign – and vote!
The idea of a Ward Platform is useful because it neatly summarises what we want to prioritise:
• It is based in the communities of the Ward and concerned about reclaiming local democracy in the Ward involving every- one who lives in the ward – while bearing in mind our obligation to build a more socially just and equal city across wards.
• It is a platform because everyone can get involved in build- ing it and it allows a community member to stand who can inspire us.
While we may develop some ways of working it does not need to be a formal registered organisation – the point is to have enough cohesion and structure to be able to come together around a strategy.
Each ward will need to self-organise and deliberate on the best way to set up a Ward Platform. Bearing in mind our shared principles to ensure we find common ground across historical divides, feminise politics and work in non-hierarchical ways. These principles and ways of working must be clear and shared by all.
Our goal is to transform the ward through reclaiming power for residents – not to secure power in and of itself. It is easy to fall back on old ways of working and at every step we need to ask ourselves: Are we replicating the politics of political parties or opening up politics?
