As a councillor, it's easy to think you're special. The Labour Party likes to tell you that you are.
So does Momentum. Thanks to its 'Public Office Holder' section, my vote in the NCG election is worth 20x that of other members.
Seems like the wrong priorities to me.

We'd be better off trying to build Momentum into a force that can both support officeholders and hold them accountable. This means listening to their voice but not privileging it above others. Ultimately, left-wing officeholders are only as strong as the movement around them.

History is, sadly, littered with Leftwingers taking up posts, only to move to the Right.
This is rarely just corruption or opportunism. More often it's due to constant pressure from the Right, which is not balanced by accountability from the movement.

What happens is the officeholder comes to believe they are *more reliably* leftwing than the rest of the movement.
They can dismiss their critics in the movement as uninformed.
"If only they understood, then surely they would agree with me!"

This is the beginning of the end. This cuts off a representative's best protection from rightwing pressures.
No matter how principled you are, your personal virtues are not enough. You need a wider movement around you - holding you to account.

We need more Momentum councillors. But we also need people who are not councillors but who are equipped to fight for socialist politics in local government. And this includes holding leftwing councillors to account.

Forward Momentum get this. Their Public Office Holder candidates talk about building a genuine movement that can both support and hold accountable our representatives.

I'm supporting @My_Mantaray @NadiaWhittomeMP @mayorjd @CllrBazMargetts
#VoteForward24