Momentum: the quickest campaign outfit on the block?

Momentum comes in for a lot of criticism from the media. I can’t but help think that this is in large part a consequence of the success they have had in influencing Labour Party policy making, in particular, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.

The NEC is obviously a body they’ve set out to influence, as was demonstrated by their success in getting all their ‘slate’ candidates elected to the NEC in early September.

But it is not just in their success at winning high profile elections that’s impressed me, it’s also in their ability to stay on top of the issues at the NEC and ensure that, when needed, the campaign’s digitally engaged activists are mobilised to bring external pressure to bear.

A case in point was the mini-furore that erupted this week upon the leaked details about mandatory re-selection, a policy supported by the Labour Party membership, but apparently subject to a trade union / parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) stitch up.

I received an email ‘call to action’ from Momentum at 10:08 am, urging me to email NEC members to get them to reject plans that might undermine the further democratisation of the PLP.

Three hours later and NEC members’ phones had been inundated with messages from Momentum members urging them to reject the plans allegedly under consideration by the NEC.

Here’s the Huffington Post’s Paul Waugh commenting on what he’d heard:

Prominent NEC members with close links to Momentum, ie Jon Lansman, were quiet on the issue, though his preference for open selections, was clearly very strongly reflected in the email sent out by Momentum.

Whatever you think of Momentum, as a campaigning group, I can’t think of anyone else that remains so effective at mobilising its activist base in this way.