Arches at Guildford cathedral, November 2008

Sorry punk fans – another song title red herring there.  Today I spent an interesting day in Guildford at the University of Surrey, attending a political seminar with my trade union, Unite.The topic of the day was how the union and the Labour party can work together better to deliver more electoral victories in the south-east region.  There were at least five PPCs there – all Unite members, except the local Guildford candidate who is in the GMB – and mostly candidates in seats we would not expect to win, so it was a good opportunity to say hello and compare notes.

It was no great surprise to find that the main outcome was an increase in enthusiasm and morale, but there were a few specific bits of information that may come in handy too.  I came away with the feeling that we still have some work to do in improving the party/union links at all levels, but especially at the local level where us ordinary members can make a difference: there are not enough union members joining the party and not enough party members joining unions, to the detriment of both parts of the movement.

Party funding is a hot topic, but in many key constituencies if the unions could deliver an extra dozen or so active and committed members it could make more of a difference than mere cash could.

I also took a few photos of Guildford cathedral, which I had never been up close to before.  It looks impressive from the town, but get closer and its impressive in a different way: such expanses of brick give it a real Bankside vibe.