You have to put yourself forward if you want to be lucky
(The content of this post is based on an article by Chris Derrin in the New Statesman 15 February, the full article is here. Thank you.)
Those words were spoken by Guillaume Liegey, a former McKinsey consultant who worked on the 2008 Obama campaign and ran the data for Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! Liegey was called in by Macron even before the new party was created, to help figure out how to build something that had a chance of success and was sustainable. Well, it achieved success.
Is there a lesson for the UK?
There is a gaping hole in the centre-ground of British politics, will the Liberal Democrats fill it, will Conservatives or Labour significantly change track or does it need a new party unencumbered by party structures, processes and factions, but without the grassroots activists and established electoral base?
In his New Statesman article, Derrin noted: “With a substantial minority of liberal voters looking for leadership, for somewhere to mark their x with any enthusiasm, for an alternative to the shrieking horror story that is modern-day Westminster, why not provide it?”
Macron deliberately sought to unite centre-left and centre-right, the first step Macron took was to listen to the people to build a clear picture of what the people really want. The En Marche! Movement was then built on volunteers rather than just a media campaign and joining en Marche was free and today the organisation has 400,000 members.
With disillusionment and distraction of Brexit, it is time to unite the centre ground. This must be a radical centre that gets to the root so the problems with practical policies not piecemeal interventions. A clear strategy is required to give the opportunity to make life better for all. We are approaching the cliff, time to stand up and act, unite and work together in the interests of the nation.
