Author Archives: Jonathan Dearth

1. Barbara Crowther

   6th January 2014 11:10 am Leave a Comment

   

   Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Fairtrade Foundation

    

   Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire and why?

   So many! Greenpeace continues to be both brave and innovative – not least the Russian illegal detention of the Arctic Sunrise 30, but also their ability to drive serious issues with a sense of fun – I loved their Star Wars campaign to turn Volkswagen from the ‘dark side’ and the Chainsaw Barbie campaign to Mattel. I’m impressed how38 Degrees has woken everyone up to the power of online in driving nimbleness and democratisation of mass-scale campaigning that every organisation can learn from, and springboarding from online to focussed local organisation and direct action. Traidcraft did an awesome job as part of the successful campaign to win the establishment of a Grocery Code Adjudicator – a supermarket watchdog with teeth – and continues to plug away solidly on trade justice issues where many other NGOs have flagged!

   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?

   I think campaigns have got smarter in terms of pushing for specific policy or public goals, and in being creative in how they seek to reach the public and their targets. I do think we’ve lost ground a little on local and grassroots organisation – traditional NGO campaigning has become much more individual action oriented, but at Fairtrade, we have great experience of the power of local mobilisation. Fairtrade towns campaigns have been the backbone of building public awareness and applying change and pressure on companies and public authorities, and we’re proud of that!

   Which campaigner inspires you most?

   It’s probably clichéd right now to say it, but Malala is pretty awesome – such bravery and such maturity at such a young age. She never asked to be in a global spotlight, and I have occasionally worried about Western media or political manipulation. But you only have to listen to one interview with her to know that she has all the great qualities of a legendary social justice campaigner. Loved her response to the Nobel Peace Prize outcome – that winning peace is more important than winning prizes!

   What three attributes make a good campaigner?

   Firstly vision – a clear sense of the change you seek – vision requires you also to understand the world and power dynamics you’re dealing with. Second, dogged perseverance – very few campaigns are won overnight and most get knockbacks, so refusing to give up, and looking for new ways around obstacles is critical. Thirdly, creative flexibility – being able to react and adjust plans if they’re not working, or find a new creative way of bringing the campaign alive again if it’s flagging, or seizing quickly on a new opportunity you hadn’t seen at the outset.

   What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why?

   The massive mobilisation for Jubilee 2000/Drop the Debt Campaign from 1997-2002 was a pretty exciting time for international development and economic justice campaigning. With hindsight, we didn’t always get it right, and of course it’s still not been won, but it was an amazing global effort, especially in the global South, and delivered some good progress in writing down some of the excessive debt burdens and challenging the nature of conditions being imposed. Our campaign for Fairtrade bananas since 2000 has been pretty successful – around 1 in 3 bananas sold today are Fairtrade – and we’ve had great fun with it, but more to the point, I’ve had the privilege of seeing its positive impact for banana farmers and workers. Again we’ve not yet reached our goal and need to turn the tables now – campaign for there to be no unfair bananas left in the UK, until the industry as a whole is delivering living wages and sustainable livelihoods for banana workers and farmers. If we can do that on bananas, it could be an iconic victory that could spill over to other global supply chains and business practices.

   How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?

   There’s going to be a push for even greater transparency of information and decision making, at local, national and international level – whether it’s campaigning health or child welfare, or private sector responsibility and corporate accountability or local and national government policy. People will take more matters into their own hands as we go further into an open access era of campaigning – technology is putting more power to campaign in the hands of many more people, by making information more accessible, creating new networks that transcend local or national boundaries, but also potentially to find their own solutions through peer-to-peer or shared economy, as we’re seeing in lending, community energy generation, car sharing etc. In Fairtrade we’re calling it ‘Unlocking the Power of the Many’!

   What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?

   Get stuck in with both your heart and your head – focus on something you really believe in and care about, but also make sure you do the hard graft study of the politics and the gritty details, so you know your stuff and can apply political intelligence alongside your passion for change. If you’re just setting out and seeking a first step on the ladder, consider volunteering or an internship with a campaigning organisation or team – I know many people who gave their time in the first instance, built up their skills, knowledge and experience, started at the bottom but went on to paid campaigning roles in organisations they have really wanted to work for.

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?

   Dead?

2. Tim Linehan

   11th November 2013 12:15 pm Leave a Comment

   

   Whilst Policy and Campaigns Consultant at Independent Age

   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?

   Yes they are. People understand that campaigning is good for organisational growth; supporters can engage in more activities more easily than they ever could in the past. Both have their downsides too. I think charities need remind themselves that campaigns are an expression of their purpose to change the world and by campaigning you remind yourself of why you exist, both corporately and individually.

   Which campaigner inspires you most?

   Bob Holman, founder of the Easterhouse Project in Glasgow. I’ve also got a lot of time for my old colleague at The Children’s Society, Jim Davis who whenever he spoke made me wonder why I wasn’t doing more to change the things he faced on a daily basis.

   Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire and why?

   Save the Children for the scale of their ambition and their understanding of how to mobilise their supporters. Greenpeace for their persistent activism and keeping alive the spirit of radical intervention; Glasgow University – not really a campaigning organisation, but they produced probably the most uplifting video I’ve ever seen about why change is important.

   What three attributes make a good campaigner?

   Idealism, scepticism and stubbornness. Good analysis helps, so does thinking differently.

   What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why?

   Safe and Sound, with The Children’s Society. I remember when we achieved one of our goals The Guardian wrote a leader about the campaign praising us for our persistence and consistency over time. They said we were ‘a stuck record’. I liked that. I think all campaigners should aim to be a stuck record, going on and on until we get what we want.

   How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?

   On the one hand I think there’s a risk that they might simply become marketing tools, yet on the other hand I think there’s a real opportunity to share the reality of the lives and conditions that charities are trying to change by bringing in the voices from the fringes of society into the corridors of power.

   What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?

   Be an optimist of the heart and a pessimist of the mind. I think Gramsci said something to that effect.

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?

   An internationally acclaimed accordion star.

3. Mark Farmaner

   29th October 2013 12:12 pm Leave a Comment

   

   Director at Burma Campaign UK

   Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire and why?

   I really admire campaign groups like the Western Sahara Campaign UK and Free West Papua Campaign which keep campaigning relentlessly on issues that governments would rather forget. Thanks to their campaigning these issues are kept on the international agenda, but it must be tough going and frustrating sometimes.

   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?

   I began campaigning in the 1980s. At that time most campaigning was pretty much a choice of having a demonstration or calling a boycott, and working out how many badges you could fit on your jacket. Campaigning is in another league now in terms of the scope of campaigning activities and professionalisation. Perhaps one of the biggest shifts has been how campaigning has become more mainstream, rather than being dominated by the left as it used to be. The changes allowing charities to campaign have probably played a big part in that.

   Which campaigner inspires you most?

   Working on a country like Burma I have met so many amazing people campaigning for freedom and human rights in their country. They are literally risking their lives campaigning in Burma, which puts the complaints we have about working in the third sector here into perspective. If I had to choose campaigners outside Burma I think I’d go for a couple of people who might for some be more controversial characters. First Peter Tatchell, who never gives up, is always willing to speak up for the vulnerable and oppressed, is never afraid to speak his mind even if he knows he’s going to get stick for it, and is certainly effective at getting issues onto the agenda. Secondly I’d choose Bono. I can’t understand the level of vitriol directed against him. He might not be perfect but he has made a huge difference in getting development issues up the international agenda. I saw that myself working on the Jubilee 2000 campaign at Christian Aid. Most celebrities do bugger all to use their profile and their millions to try to make the world a better place, and yet Bono is the one being attacked.

   What three attributes make a good campaigner?

   First I think you have to plan long term and be relentless, using every possible pressure point to achieve your goal and keep at it doggedly. Second you have to be willing to speak truth to power even if it can be difficult and uncomfortable, remember a pragmatist has never changed the world. Third is focus. Remember your goal and keep focussed on it. Governments and companies which are feeling the pressure are especially good at throwing up initiatives and processes which fall far short of what is being campaigned for. All too often campaigners get diverted into engaging with these processes which are never ending, rather than staying focussed on their original goal.

   What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why?

   Being part of the Jubilee 2000 campaign from the beginning and seeing how it took off to become a global phenomenon was amazing. Persuading DFID to finally start giving aid to people in Burma internally displaced by conflict in ethnic states was especially rewarding because I had seen how desperate their situation was and knew we have made a real difference to their lives.

   How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?

   The role of non-issue based campaign groups like AVAAZ, Change.org, 38degrees and others is likely to continue to grow. We have seen for ourselves at Burma Campaign UK how that can have a hugely positive impact in reinforcing our campaigns. But at the same time I worry about a small tendency for this kind of campaign groups to play it safe. They often follow topical and mainstream agenda issues already in the news, rather than setting the agenda, and the testing of campaign actions to decide whether an action is popular enough to go ahead with presents real risks. How many people would have responded positively to a test campaign action for the Birmingham Six or Guildford Four at the start of the campaigns for their freedom?

   What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?

   Don’t think that just because you studied hard for a degree you can walk straight into a campaigns role. Be prepared to work your way up.

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?

   Writing satirical novels in between pottering around in the garden.

4. Roma Hooper

   16th October 2013 12:17 pm Leave a Comment

   

   Whilst Director of Make Justice Work

   Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire and why?

   38 degrees for its simplicity and straightforward focus.
   Prostate Cancer for their awareness raising and movember initiative.
   Macmillan Breast Cancer Campaign – world’s biggest coffee morning. Involves those that perhaps don’t work
   Get London Reading – Evening Standard – fantastic publicity via the newspaper and seems to be getting great results.

   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?

   Campaigns are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and creative: identifying months of the year, use of the digital arena (covering mobile, content marketing, video and Youtube, email and social media)
   Much easier to donate than ever before because of technology.
   It’s getting better partly because more support and knowledge is available to hone your skills.

   Which campaigner inspires you most?

   Camila Batmanghelidjh

   What three attributes make a good campaigner?

   Resilience
   Courage
   A genuine desire for change.

   What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why?

   I have only worked on one – Make Justice Work.

   How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?

   Increased use of digital campaigning and new technology – Although there is always the danger of campaign overload for the public, particularly for those like 38 degrees and Avaaz who use email.
   Improved access to the best skills and contacts needed for lobbying etc. which can be acquired via specialist agencies such as Champollion – so you don’t have to have all the skills. Can buy in.
   With the potential emergence of organisations like the US organisation the Frameworks Institute there is a chance that campaigning could be much more effective in terms of learning how to reframe the debate. There needs to be real switch in the best use of language which is particularly important when wanting to change public and/or political opinion.

   What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?

   Familiarise yourself with the political arena and its challenges if your campaign requires policy change.
   Develop strong and positive relationships with media journalists. Best to have only 3 or 4 to deal with than a whole list of people you don’t know.
   Look and learn from others.
   Preparation, preparation, preparation – the more you know and understand about your subject matter the better.
   Listen to the experts.

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?

   The only other place where I could create real change is in possibly government. So perhaps an MP….. But one like Barbara Castle!

5. Vicki Hird

   9th October 2013 9:24 pm Leave a Comment

   

   Whilst Senior Campaigner at Friends of the Earth

   Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire and why?
   The Feeding5K (and their latest campaign @ThePigIdea) has been so impressive in engaging hugely diverse audiences – from grassroots and the public chopping veg at seriously fun events across the globe to high level UN delegates discussing global action. It’s been canny at surfing a wave of interest in a huge waste problem (in reality, partly created that wave) and benefitted from having a great communicator who also knows his stuff in Tristram Stuart.

   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?
   Things have changed massively from that pre web & digital era when I started – there was more deep commitment and late nights but probably less actual impact on policies and practices. We would shout as loud as we can but not be heard. Now we shout more carefully but so do many others (business, the web). We’ve been slow to adopt the right tools on occasion eg social media but we are, mostly, far more disciplined at mapping influence and knowing how to really effect change. One development I have witnessed is the over-adoption of business management jargon and approaches which don’t really suit time- and resource-poor NGOs.

   Which campaigner inspires you most?
   Sorry it’s not one – it would have to be the collective group of amazing local campaigners who achieve tangible changes locally – I meet many in the Friends of the Earth local Group network and in FoE International. They don’t get paid, yet year on year they plug away getting stuff done- awesome campaigners who blow my mind!

   What three attributes make a good campaigner?
   There are different types of campaigning but overall
   1. An ability to multitask – from fundraising to coping with a live R4 Today programme interrogation
   2. An open mind ready for new ideas or challenging preconceived ideas
   3. a great and engaging communicator

   What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why?
   Most rewarding in outcome terms was the supermarket campaign to get a new retail Code of Practice and an Ombudsman –we got a new law and it involved working with lots of strange bedfellows – it took 8 years and is not perfect but it’s a start..

   Most exciting – The Friends of the Earth Fix The Food Chain Campaign – we did hugely crazy things (like dress up as cows dancing to a silent disco in Liverpool Street Station) to get a new Bill in parliament. It was ahead of its time and a major challenge to get the messaging right and get people engaged.

   How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?
   Going against the grain I think they will be more about people on the ground, movement building.. The digital revolution has a key place and is a mighty tool – but truly engaging people will have to come from working with them more closely, recognising how to frame the campaign asks in ways which reflect real lives and values.

   What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?
   Get stuck in a local campaign so you develop a strong understanding of how messages and ideas play out with ‘real people’ as opposed to the strange NGO community!. But also work or volunteer if you can in an NGO – a great way to get experience. Just do stuff.. it does not matter what the topic is!

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?
   It would probably be an entomologist – finding fantastical new insect species in some remote part of the world or discovering a great way to manage pest populations in ways which did not harm biodiversity. Or a novelist…

6. Gus Baldwin

   27th June 2013 9:26 pm Leave a Comment

   

   Whilst Head of Public Affairs for Macmillan Cancer Support

   Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire and why?
   Like most people I think the mental health community has had a pretty raw deal for far too long.  I’m full of admiration at the way that, despite repeated ‘false-dawns’, mental health organisations like Mind and Rethink have refused to give up. Their determination is grounded in the belief that the current situation just isn’t fair (it isn’t) and needs to change no matter how long it takes.  It now looks like there is, finally, going to be parity of esteem between physical and mental health conditions which will be fantastic and long-overdue.
   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?
   A lot are but some still see campaigning as the thing you do when you’ve run out of new service development ideas, which rather misses the point in my opinion.  At Macmillan Cancer Support we recognise that we are only going to dramatically improve the lives of people affected by cancer through a combination of creative service innovation and influencing.  In terms of changes I’ve seen in how Macmillan campaigns, alongside the greater involvement of people affected by cancer and the use of social media, we’ve invested significantly over the past few years in our research function so that in telling our story we can add even harder evidence to our on-the-ground expertise and the thousands of (good and bad) stories of people affected by cancer.  I think this reflects the reality that, generally-speaking, new ideas will now only make progress where they can clearly demonstrate to decision-makers and commissioners that they will deliver better outcomes for the end-user using less money and resources.

   Which campaigner inspires you most?
   I admire the innovators – the often lone individuals who decide they want to change something and drive it through using a new technology or social media tool at virtually no cost.  Maybe it is more jealousy than admiration!  My Public Affairs Team inspires me everyday – they’re the most passionate bunch of brilliant, driven people.  But I’m probably most inspired by the people affected by cancer I meet.  The ones who stand up in Parliament, often overwhelmed with nerves, and tell their story about the awful treatment they had, or how they couldn’t cope after the death of their son or daughter, or how they lost their job while going through treatment. All they want to do is try and stop another family going through what they went through.  Those moments go to the heart of what it means to be a part of Macmillan and why it is such a privilege to do the job I do.

   What three attributes make a good campaigner?
   Passion tempered with realism, an ability to think ‘what next?’ before the competition, and a constant sense of dissatisfaction!

   What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why?
   I’ve been very fortunately to work on a number of successful campaigns which have changed people’s lives for the better – that’s what makes them rewarding.  I was heavily involved in shaping the Disability Discrimination Act public duties and securing free prescriptions for cancer patients.  The two most exciting moments I’ve had recently both involved our work around the Welfare Reform Act.  Firstly, when Ed Miliband used all six questions at PMQs to demand that David Cameron listen to Macmillan and other cancer charities and, secondly, when we defeated the Government three times in the Lords.

   How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?
   The devolution of decision-making powers in health and social care means that local influencing – or more accurately multi-level influencing – will becomes even more important.  I think the role of the end user in direct campaigning is also going to continue to grow.  I mentioned the need for even more hard evidence to demonstrate the case for reform.  Interestingly, I think the lack of money has also meant that the Government and Opposition Parties are starting to think in more creative ways – and involving more stakeholders – to solve problems.  I think campaigners will also follow suit.

   So, for example, rather than Macmillan campaigning to ensure benefit payments for cancer patients aren’t cut, I can see us working far more in partnership with employers and insurance companies to see how we can keep more cancer patients in work, ensure they are supported financially while they can’t work, and then get them back to work more successfully after treatment.  The outcome is hopefully the same – less cancer patients and families in poverty – but the way of achieving the outcome reflects the need to do things differently. I should stress it isn’t an ‘either or’ but I expect there will be a shift away from campaigning for state action to solve problems.

   What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?
   We have an amazing internship programme at Macmillan and I am forever telling our interns to learn their trade properly first before deciding how to use the trade.  If you’re in a fantastic learning environment and you’re also doing precisely what you want then that’s a bonus (and don’t move!) but that’s rare.  If you have to compromise go for an organisation which really does value personal and team development.

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?
   I would be the jazz pianist for Ronnie Scott’s House Band.  This would require me to learn to play the piano first though.

7. Emma Gibson

   10th May 2013 9:28 pm Leave a Comment

   

   Deputy Head of Campaign at Greenpeace

   Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire and why?
   I’ve been really impressed by the ‘no more page 3’ campaign set up by Lucy Holmes. She’s never run a campaign before but has chalked up huge successes already just by giving it a go. Truly inspirational.

   And I have to take my hat off to climate camp. Any group of people who can occupy a piece of land and have toilets, sinks with running water and an oven for making vegan cakes set up within hours, in the middle of a field that had sheep in it the previous day shows pretty amazing logistical know-how.

   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?
   Obviously the biggest change has been the internet and more recently the creation of social media. I didn’t have a computer or mobile phone when I started my first campaigning job so that’s a huge change in the way that campaigning organisations can disseminate information and mobilise support.

   Which campaigner inspires you most?
   Probably Doreen Lawrence for changing the way that we think and talk about race and racism in this country and for just not giving up.

   What three attributes make a good campaigner?
   Tenacity: don’t give up in the face of setbacks

   Risk taking: Don’t be frightened to try something new

   Ability to understand where the power lies:  who can make the change that you need and how can you best influence them?

   What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why? 
   It would probably have to be the campaign to stop a 3^rd runway at Heathrow. Greenpeace buying part of the new runway and inviting everybody around the world to own it with them was really fun.

   How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?
   It’s got to be new technologies which are going to offer new opportunities to engage and mobilise support for our campaigns.

   What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?
   Stop talking about it and just get on with it! If one tactic doesn’t work, try another approach.

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?
   A psychotherapist!

8. Matt Downie

   9th May 2013 9:30 pm Leave a Comment

   

   Whilst Head of Parliamentary and Public Affairs at Action For Children

   Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire and why?
   I admire organisations and people that have a clear mission, underpinned by compelling evidence, and then have the resilience to stick to a campaign plan.

   Pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group) is a great example of an organisation that has achieved specific aims – most recently in getting financial education on the school curriculum – based upon sound evidence and with both social and economic arguments that attract the full political spectrum.

   Another example is Afruca, a small but focussed charity who are campaigning to stop the abuse of children through religious practices of branding and witchcraft. Afruca is taking on a difficult area but with clear and compelling evidence of this horrific abuse, and with practical political recommendations.

   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?

   I don’t think ‘better’ is the word. The mainstay of charity campaigning has become more professionalised and more of a career choice than a few years ago. This can be a good thing, with recognised skills within the sector, but we must be careful not to lose creativity, individual drive and risk taking.

   Which campaigner inspires you most?
   I have been fortunate enough to meet a few extraordinary campaigners with public
   profiles, including people like Hetty Bower, who is 107 and has spent her life
   campaigning for peace.

   For me however, it is those out of the limelight that don’t come with the label ‘campaigner’ that I find most inspiring. Last year I met a 14 year old young woman from Croydon who has started a campaign to tackle the trafficking of women and girls in  South London.  She has done this on her own and with no money, yet achieved real policy change in the local area.

   What three attributes make a good campaigner?
   There are things that you can learn (I certainly had to) such as the basics of strategic planning and how to build meaningful objectives. What I tend to look for now however, are people that demonstrate a commitment to social justice in some way, people who show positivity and empathy in working with campaign beneficiaries, and those with ideas.

   What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why?
   I am currently working on a campaign to overturn our Victorian law on child neglect. The campaign is about recognising the devastating impact of emotional abuse upon children. For me, this is not just exciting but vital – and I hopeto be able to look back on the campaign that represented a step-change in the way we view child protection.

   How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?
   The move towards more personal and beneficiary led campaigning should continue, and in time I think large organisations will embed this approach not just in their campaign strategies but within their staff structures. I hope as a sector we move towards campaigns that simply enable those affected by issues to achieve change for others affected by the issues at hand.

   What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?
   I would ask them why they want to do it. Is it a particular cause or cohort of people that drives them? The answer to this question can and should direct a career path and ultimately make them more effective as a campaigner.

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?
   Frustrated.

9. Kate Hudson

   11th April 2013 9:35 pm Leave a Comment

   

   General Secretary of  the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

   Apart from your current organisation, which other organisations that campaign do you admire?
   There are many organisations today that bring something positive and dynamic to the campaigning table. To mention just a few that I have a regard for: the Stop the War Coalition for articulating the views of the overwhelming majority of the population in an accessible and inclusive manner and facilitating the biggest demo in British history; the London Feminist Network for its youthful radicalism and reviving the Reclaim the Night marches; and Plane Stupid for its creative non-violent direct action approach.

   Who is the campaigner you most admire?
   Bruce Kent. Bruce was the key player in CND in the 1980s and was more or less pushed out of the catholic priesthood for his anti-nuclear campaigning. He was vilified by the right-wing press and Tory politicians for his exceptional leadership of CND but stuck to his principles throughout. He remains extremely active today on anti-nuclear and other issues. The best thing about Bruce is that he never looks back and expounds on how he did things in the past. For Bruce, campaigning is all about now and the future.
   What advice would you give to someone starting their career in campaigning today?
   They have to believe in the cause they are championing and it has to be more important to them than anything else. And there is no room for cynicism. Cynicism and campaigning definitely do not mix. Optimism is essential, with confidence in humanity and the belief that you can win.

   What three things make a good campaigner?

   • an understanding of the wider world and the overall political context in which you are operating, and how to put together alliances within civil society to bring about political change
   • a strategic approach to creating the conditions for achieving your campaign’s goals
   • a positive approach to your own campaign combined with respect for others

   Which of these three do you have most of?
   Well I like to think I have all of them, but maybe number one is my main strength.

   Which of these three do you think is missing most out of people who campaign or want to?

   Perhaps number one although people have many different strengths and skills.

   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?

   I wouldn’t really describe it as a career, but during my campaigning life perhaps! I don’t think that question is quite right somehow. It is really the political balance of forces in wider society that determine whether campaigns succeed or not, not just what the campaigns themselves do and what methods they choose. One of the most successful campaigns was the Anti-Apartheid movement, but apartheid wasn’t overthrown solely or even largely to do with AA. It was the struggle of the ANC, backed by progressive states and opinion world-wide. AA linked in with that in a very effective way and was able to play its part. There are many examples of success – and failure – at all points over the decades I have been a campaigning activist. I think methods and style have changed because of technological changes but the fundamental issue is getting the politics right and that can happen – or not – at any time.

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?
   I have only been employed as a campaigner since September 2010, because before that, as Chair of CND, I was an elected political officer but not an employee. So my ‘career’ has been as an academic – I am a historian by training, and taught, until joining CND staff full-time, at London South Bank University. I was fortunate to teach, research and write in my areas of political and campaigning interest, so there were obvious synergies between the two parts of my life. I plan to continue writing but campaigning is my great love – working to change the world for the better!

    

10. Margaret Thatcher

    1st April 2013 3:07 pm Leave a Comment

    I’m writing this just 3 hours after hearing that she died this morning. It’s strange feeling of trying to assemble all my thoughts about the death of Margaret Thatcher.

    When I was 7, I remember putting my hand up in class and answering a question about her becoming the first woman leader of the Conservatives.

    When I was 11, I remember getting free school dinners when my father, a steel worker in South Wales, went out on strike.

    At university, I recall the Conservative Association singing “10 more years” in 1989. And a year later organising a “Thatcher’s Gone” party the night she left office.

    And I’m sure I’m not alone in my uneasy reaction to the news of her death – she was so important to so many people’s formative years. Many campaigners in the sector have directly campaigned against her policies from 1979 to 1990. Others were motivated to dedicate their careers to campaigning whilst growing up while she was in power.

    When I started working for Shelter in 1993, under Sheila McKechnie’s leadership, a Conservative, or a Conservative who was “openly out” would not have been countenanced anywhere near 88 Old Street or even the EC1V postal sector.

    Slowly, since then, as the campaigning sector has expanded and as now the majority of charities campaign as opposed to only a handful 20 years ago – and also as the Conservative party has adapted and like other parties fight for the centre ground, then Conservative supporters are campaigning in the sector. And many do so and they genuinely have the right ethos for the campaigns that they represent.

    It isn’t the day to sum up the effect of Margaret Thatcher on the campaigning sector.  As it’s the day that an old lady, who has been very poorly in recent years has died. I’m sure we’ll hear more about her effective in the months to come.