parkrunner goes Green

This week's blog is rather different - more serious and reflective than my usual ramblings, but there's a reason for that which will soon become apparent.

To be honest, I was in 2 minds about whether to blog at all this week, but I figured you are all intelligent, thoughtful people who hopefully quite like me - so I concluded you at least some of you might be interested in what I have to say. 

Today was parkrun's 13th anniversary - 13 years since the founder, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, invited a group of friends to join him for a run in the park in south west London. Little did he know at the time  that parkrun would grow into the global physical activity and social movement that it is today.  

Sadly I was unable to join in the celebrations because today was also the first day of the Green Party conference and as a party member I had decided to attend. 

The conference certainly did not disappoint. After driving to Harrogate and bidding farewell to Ailsa (my wife) and Miyoung (a friend and work colleague) who were off spending their hard earned cash, I arrived at the conference and soon got chatting to a few delegates. 

The first session I attended focussed on the Green Party policy making process which had been the subject of a root and branch review over the past couple of years. As someone who teaches policy to undergraduate sport students I found this interesting - I was impressed by the open, inclusive and systematic approach to policy development which gives everyone in the party, from ordinary members to party leaders, an equal say - a stark contrast, it has to be said, with most other political parties where the  process is often much less democratic and transparent. 

Afterwards I chatted with Sam, the architect of the new policy process. After complimenting her on her work I politely suggested we might like to consider the introduction of ways of cross-referencing different policies to secure synergies where they exist and to avoid unintended consequences. I also suggested there may be scope for even greater levels of scrutiny of new policy ideas by relevant subject experts. Sam was was very open to my ideas - hopefully some of them will be taken on board.

The second session was facilitated by Jonathan Bartley and Nick Martin, co-leader and Chief Executive respectively (both very impressive individuals) who spoke about the ongoing work in developing the party's political strategy. They started by presenting robust research data on voting patterns and preferences since the 2010 general election which is being used to inform the strategy. The discussion was fascinating,  highlighting the scale and complexity of the challenge facing the Greens in securing a greater share of the vote and increasing their local and national power base. 

I often tell my students that good strategy is about making difficult choices - choices which ideally need to be informed by evidence and data. The session illustrated this very clearly - it also gave me confidence that the Green's political strategy is in safe hands. Whether it will achieve its objectives is, of course, a whole different question, such is the (dare I say) fickle and unpredictable nature of the electorate!

During the break I suggested to Nick Martin that we might like to target universities by encouraging and supporting more political activism on campuses. He confirmed that this is indeed part of the strategy, including linking this to the work of the local parties where they exist. One thing that frustrates me about my university (Sheffield Hallam) is the apparent lack of political debate amongst our students. The marketized system of higher education seems to actively discourage it - in my view universities are precisely the places where such debate needs to be encouraged.         

My final session of the day was the one I had been looking forward to the most - a discussion on what the future economy should look like. Having read Donut Economics by Kate Raworth over the summer (a brilliant, groundbreaking book) my interest in this subject had already been ignited. The panel comprised an impressive range of speakers: a professorial research associate at SOAS University of London, an anthropologist at LSE and author of 'The Divide - a brief history to global inequality and its solutions', the founder of World Basic Income, and a Green MEP. 

Each spoke with great passion and authority about the need for a new global economic model to meet the unique challenges of the 21st century - a model which addresses the twin challenges of social justice and environmental and ecological sustainability. 

The subsequent debate was lively and good humoured, despite the fact that we were discussing some really serious issues. What became clear was that, unlike the other political parties, the Greens already have some serious policies which are designed to tackle these challenges head on - universal basic income, a shorter working week, new models of land ownership, wealth redistribution and, of course, climate change. The Greens are also committed to challenging and changing prevailing political systems, including the UK's archaic first past the post - systems that preserve the status quo whilst serving powerful interest groups who continue to exploit the less powerful and the powerless whilst simultaneously failing to protect the planet's finite resources for future generations. 

The Greens really are a radical party, a party of transformation - and in my view, transformation is what is required.   

I left the conference feeling motivated and inspired to continue helping in my own small ways to make the world a healthier and happier place  - which, strangely enough, takes me back to the normal subject of these blogs. 

Those of you who have read my recent article will know that 'Making the world a healthier, happier place' is the parkrun mission statement. So there you have it, we've gone full circle - a bit corny I know but nonetheless true! 

Until next time, when I promise to be less political! 

Happy 13th birthday parkrun - and happy park running all of you...! 

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