Labour party to offer military veterans membership for 1p

Exclusive : Party believes it can broaden support within armed services it feels the Tories have lost touch with over cuts Millions of armed forces veterans are to be targeted by a Labour recruitment drive that will see former soldiers, sailors and air staff being offered membership of the party for 1p. Labour believes that the Tories have lost touch with the military and wants to challenge the notion that members of the services are more likely to vote Conservative. It has also frustrated party chiefs that many traditional recruiting grounds – for the army in particular – are in poorer areas of the country, where Labour is strong. Yet this has not translated into broad support for the party within the services, or among veterans. The idea for 1p membership emerged during the review set up after last year’s election defeat. It is supposed to provide new ways of invigorating the party under the leadership of Ed Miliband. Called Refounding Labour, the consultation is being conducted by the former cabinet minister Peter Hain, who is understood to be strongly in favour of the veterans’ initiative. The Labour party’s standard membership rate is £41 a year or £3.42 a month; the reduced rate for the unwaged and pensioners is £20.50 or £1.71 a month. The veterans’ initiative will be among a number of recommendations to be put before this September’s party conference, when members will be urged to vote for a change to the existing membership rules. No other party has ever offered a concession to veterans, and if it goes ahead, Labour will begin an aggressive marketing campaign – with posters, email and mailshots. The potential political dividend is obvious: in 2007, it was estimated that there were 3.8 million armed forces veterans in the UK. Labour has chosen to use the Ministry of Defence’s own broad definition of veteran – anyone who has served in the armed forces at any time, irrespective of length of service, including reservists and those who went through national service. The 1p offer will last for a year, but those who sign up will probably have to pay the full annual rate in the second year. Labour officials argue that “changing our party rules … would signal how seriously we intend to be a party of the armed forces”. “We want all those with frontline experience to be involved in shaping our party’s culture, policy and campaigns,” said one. “Veterans’ unique experience and insight will bring wisdom and expertise to the Labour party. No other political party has a membership scheme which offers concessions for veterans so this move would set us apart from others.” Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, said: “Veterans have made our country safer and now I want to invite them to help make our party stronger. The Tories have totally lost touch with our armed forces because of their rushed defence cuts. “This would be an excellent and exciting move which would strengthen not just Labour’s defence policy but also Labour’s links with the whole defence community.” However, the Equality for Veterans Association, which campaigns for ex- armed forces personnel on issues such as pensions, took a dim view of the idea. “Personally, I wouldn’t pay 1p to join any political party,” said Sid West, the group’s deputy campaign manager. “I don’t think that offering a bribe to vote for a party is a good thing. Veterans have real hardships caused by things like the lack of parity for pensions. I wish the parties would concentrate on serious things like that.” The Royal British Legion declined to comment. Labour Military Conservatives Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Public sector pensions Nick Hopkins guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 29, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.