What would you volunteer for?
Would you volunteer for Politics?
In a world that is full of turmoil is it any wonder that people are disillusioned with the powers that be, mostly the government.
Expenses scandals, lost data and councillors being paid more than the PM are all fuel to the fire. So, what can you as an individual do about it?
Would you volunteer for your local party and support them - start making the changes from local level up? Would you sit back and vote for the opposition just because you don’t want the same people in power? Or, would you find out what each party are proposing and make an informed choice?
Individuals are quick to volunteer to help the aged, save the animals and raise money for their favourite charity, but why are they not so interested in volunteering to make a change at the heart of government?
This is something that I have been thinking about recently, as local elections are only in May, and I have begun to learn about my local Council.
Most of my local political parties are supported by a group of elderly volunteers who deliver leaflets, go into homes and spread the word of the party by answering questions and quashing fears. They are also the same lot who have helped bring a post office back to our local town and have encouraged new business through networking and getting on the phone – all these things are so important to my community.
If this was the same across the regions, and more people spent some time helping, would this not benefit the whole of the UK and make it a better place?
I am sitting on the fence and I would like to know what your opinion is?
Why do you think volunteers avoid political parties?
A thought provoking article. Personally, I have no idea how I would go about volunteering for my local party or how to get 'in' with them. Perhaps it's not a question of volunteers avoiding politics, maybe we just need a bit of advice or a gentle shove in the right direction?!
I'm new to i-volunteer so still working my way around the site but a page or two on how to 'woo' political parties could be handy!
Good point busiharv; I like the idea of new politics through social networking, it was part of the motivation behind i-volunteer, creating a place where peopel can come together and make things happen that they are passionate about. Having worked at a senior level in national government, I am quite sceptical about how things work - there are so many barriers in place, so even if you do manage to be welcomed into a local political party and they eventually get into power, making something happen is just so darned hard! I was interested in @pengecom's feature on Government 2.0 - learning the lessons of Web 2.0 as an enabler for people to do their own thing eg produce their own content and communities, rather than be spoon fed information as was the case in 1.0, which makes perfect sense to me, link to it here http://www.i-volunteer.org.uk/pengecom/learning-the-lessons-of-web-20/
I agree with Chris. I have been a local party member for a while and since the rise of BNP in North West we have seen a real increase in people getting more interested in a work. It is the anti-bnp bump. People now realise that if they want something done - you have to do it yourself - it is no use relying on "other people will vote" and make a difference. We need to communicate that people can make a difference if they engage, but I have to admit some local parties are not welcoming in the first place and do not seem to want new blood!
A new politics through social networking, such as this site - allowing people to communicate is great.
I think politics, like lots of other areas is really important - and comes down to volunteers to make it happen. Let's take a much broader perspective on who volunteers are (the definitions are all nice and broad, so it is us limiting the understanding of what they mean).
I've been thinking about this for a while - and came to the conclusion that voting isn't enough - if I want to moan about the decisions made nationally or locally I need to do something a bit more than occassionally put a cross in a box. So I've joined a party, and am now looking at all their requests for local volunteers and working out what I can do (and what I like the look of doing!).
Ultimately, it's horses for courses - and not everyone will do it - but politics needs volunteers as much as trade unions, faith groups, local public services and charities.
But we can't just give up on politics can we sparkles? I've got no interest in getting involved myself, but I think we should encourage others to.
Because some of us don't think that local politics is necessarily the best way to help others. Having lobbied on a local issue I find 'council requirements' override the wishes of the electorate. Money talks and little people don't have any. There are lots of opportunities to volunteer, politics is way down at the bottom
Of course, lots of people do volunteer for political parties it's just not seen as volunteering by the voluntary sector because political parties aren't charities (because they have party political ends).
But I agree with you that it should be seen more widely as a valid and important form of volunteering. In my area the local councillors really do try to improve the quality of people's lives.
Perhaps the problem is that local politics has, in public perception at least, been poisoned by national party politics (the leaflets I get from the local parties are 90% propaganda from the national party) and by the image of MPs.
Could it also be that reporting needs to improve? Local politics has lost a lot of power but important decisions are still made but people don't know about them. Perhaps i-volunteer could be a place where people do report and discuss these issues...