POLITICAL PERSUASION
‘
One of the good things about being around for a long time is you don ’ t get too excited about politicians ,’ Forward Trust CEO Mike Trace told the conference ’ s final session . ‘ I ’ ve seen an awful lot of ministers and governments come and go . But it also means you don ’ t get too depressed when things are a bit rough .’
To provide some perspective he could ‘ tell you that no one in the Labour leadership , in Keir Starmer ’ s office , or any other ministerial office is coming into government saying , “ My priority is to reform drug policy ” – or to open consumption rooms or change the Misuse of Drugs Act . But in a way that ’ s a good thing . It ’ s a blank sheet of paper , and it ’ s why it ’ s important for us to be getting our voice out there to these people .’
The new set of ministers coming into their jobs would want to do the right thing , however . ‘ They ’ ve got a lot of problems to solve , but they ’ re approaching that with a problem-solving mindset . That fits with our world and our sector – so we ’ ve got a much more open ear than we ’ ve had for a number of years .’
While home secretary Yvette Cooper was a pragmatic , competent problem solver and health secretary Wes Streeting had ‘ good instincts about this issue ’, neither had hard and set opinions on the subject – which made it all the more important to try to influence them . Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood had also said encouraging things about the drugs issue , but
perhaps even more interesting than the cabinet ministers were those ‘ on the edges of that ’, he explained . These included people like Angela Rayner , Jess Phillips and the new prisons minister , James Timpson – a ‘ very smart , very impressive guy . So it ’ s going to be very interesting and I ’ m very hopeful that some of the rubbish policy , rubbish funding and rubbish way of managing prisons might actually turn around .’
Usually when new prime ministers gave their first speech it was all ‘ motherhood and apple pie ’, he said . ‘ You definitely don ’ t talk about prisons . But Keir Starmer did , and that I ’ ve never seen before . So we ’ ve got a prime minister who ’ s saying the prisons crisis has to be solved and we ’ re going to confront it , rather than pretend it ’ s not happening and try to stay out of the Daily Mail .’
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD The fact that very few of these new ministers were saying ‘ this is the manifesto commitment , we ’ re going to do this , this and this ’ was what provided the vital opportunity to influence what Labour ’ s problem-solving , pragmatic policies on these issues would be over the next few years , he said .
The drugs market was the main reason that prisons were currently ungovernable , he told delegates . ‘ If you don ’ t address the drugs market in prisons you ’ re not really
WORDS FROM THE ROOM ON POLITICAL PERSUASION ...
‘ OUR LOCAL MP IS FANTASTIC – she ’ s taken what we ’ ve said and quoted it in Parliament . So I do recommend that people get connected .’ Delegate
‘ DEVOLUTION IN THE ENGLISH CONTEXT SEEMS TO BE A BIG THEME , in terms of bringing the mayors together , so would it also be useful for drug
going to get on top of it . They know that – what they do about it , we ’ ll wait and see . We also have a drug-related deaths outrage in this country , which is getting worse as we speak . I ’ ve been trying to say to any politician who ’ ll listen for the last six months , “ This is something you ’ re not going to be able to brush under the carpet – or you morally shouldn ’ t be able to ”. So I ’ m hoping that we may be moving into a period where some of that squeamishness around harm reduction gets out of the way , and some good practical life-saving policies are supported . That ’ s going to be a tougher call , and that ’ s what a lot of you are going to have to be pushing for .’
The new parliament had 650
Politicians need to hear the voice of lived experience ! If you would like to hear more about how to make your voice count , including how to contact your MP , please scan the QR code . If you left your details at the conference , we ’ ll be in touch .
DDN ’ s 2024 conference was dedicated to harm reduction activist and DDN conference team volunteer Lee Collingham . agencies to think how they can influence a more devolved England ?’ Martin Blakebrough , Kaleidoscope
‘ I EMAILED MY LOCAL MP and eventually got a reply but no action . We need to make sure MPs attend peer-led events / groups / organisations at least four times a year and take issues to parliament and give feedback afterwards .’ Delegate
MPs , 330 of whom were there for the first time , he pointed out . ‘ It ’ s first day at school for over half of them . They ’ re all excited but they ’ ve no clue what ’ s going on , so it ’ s a great opportunity for advocates . The ones who have an interest in homelessness policy , criminal justice policy , drug and alcohol policy – they ’ re a new generation and they ’ re open to be interested in your subject . So , particularly if you ’ re part of a LERO , a local community group or a local service , this is the time to get out and engage with your new MP . Get to those surgeries , talk to them about what you do , invite them to your projects and events , and get their support . Get in there before everybody else .’
WWW . DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS . COM SEPTEMBER 2024 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 19