James Ellis — candidate for secretary
Personal statement by James Ellis, standing for election as secretary of Hove Constituency Labour Party at its annual general meeting at Ralli Hall, 81 Denmark Villas, Hove BN3 3TH, at 11am on Sunday, February 5.
James says:
“I joined the Labour Party a few days after the general election in 2015. As a socialist and trade unionist, I was keen to help Labour recover from that bitter defeat, and found my first opportunity working on Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign later that summer. Since then I have supported the election campaigns of Labour candidates in Brighton, Crawley and Hastings.
“If I am elected as Secretary of Hove and Portslade CLP, I want to reach out to our enlarged membership, to utilise their untapped talent to build a strong, vibrant, welcoming and effective unit ready to campaign in our communities.
“I am passionate about campaigning, and am a strong believer in the ability of politics to change lives. In these dark times, it is imperative that we come together in our communities to, for example, defend universal healthcare, fight for comprehensive state education and deliver better social housing.
“Our party must unite behind candidates committed to these Labour values so that we can overcome the forces that scapegoat people who rely on Labour to deliver a better society.
“Our members are our greatest resource and as Secretary I will work tirelessly with the rest of the executive team to ensure our communications with members are strong and consistent, and to encourage their participation in an active, campaigning local party.”
Experience
• Secretary of Momentum Brighton and Hove since October, using same membership system, Nationbuilder as the Labour Party.
• Secretary of Don’t Cut Us Out anti-cuts community campaign since 2013.
• 5 years’ experience as a UNISON Trade Union Organiser in a Local Government setting.
• Working with the Labour Group of councillors in West Sussex, assisting with media and campaigns.
• Professional background in data analysis, IT, banking and trade unions.
