In November 2017, Joseph Hughes, a private renter in a shared house in Haringey (full disclosure, in which I live), north London, got an email from his local Momentum branch. The email invited him to a series of meetings to shortlist local Labour councillors ahead of the 2018 elections. It also informed him that two councillors on the shortlist supported the Haringey Development Vehicle, a controversial development plan.
Hughes had never been to any local event or meeting before, despite renting in London for 13 years. He decided that “as a borderline gen Y-er/older millennial” his apolitical stance no longer cut it. “Going against a life of nurtured cynicism and isolation from any community I’ve rented,” he said in an email. “I’m trying to force myself to get involved, meet other Labour members, and be part of the local party democracy.”
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