My Final Day

Today is the last day of my week at CSM, but the work does not stop as I have had two meetings with members of the CSM executive, Martin Holst and Helen Dennis.

Martin Holst is the CSM Regional Representative for the South West Region and is obviously very committed to the cause and to his role in the organisation in the South West. Mr Holst first got involved in politics through Trade Unions, notably the lecturers union because the College that he taught at was threatened with closure in the 1980s. He said that it was through this that he learned how politics works and that in order to have an effect it is important to go to the people at the top or at least to those whom the people at the top listen to. He also said that sometimes the most unlikely leads can turn out to be the most important and it was obvious that he valued communication and saw it as an important part of his role to make personal communication with the CSM members in his region. When I asked him what his thoughts were on the mix of politics and faith he said that Jesus didn't come to set up a government, and that it is the same with CSM, that we should encourage policies with Christian principles. He said the state is there to administer justice and that we need Christians in Parliament to interpret Jesus' teachings in a modern context, with policies focussed on justice, fairness and respect. I asked Martin about the changes he has seen within CSM and what the future looks like for CSM, and he said that he thinks it has been a strategical strength to be affiliated with the Labour party and that it was a good thing not to have all executive meetings and AGMs in London in order to rally people in other parts of the country. It was interesting to meet Martin, who obviously holds his role as a regional representative in great esteem and who has a huge amount of committment towards this role. It was also great to meet a member of the organisation who was not from London and to see that indeed the organisation does extend beyond Westminster. I noted how the regional representatives have such an important role in communicating the Christian Socialist Movement to the rest of the UK and ensuring that the CSM does not become too London and Westminster focussed.

My meeting with Helen Dennis, Vice Chair of CSM, followed on the heels of my meeting with Martin. Helen currently works for Tearfund and in the past has worked as a CARE intern for Rt. Hon. Stephen Timms, MP. It was through Stephen that Helen got involved with CSM and with the Labour party. I noted how fondly she spoke of him, saying that he acted with a lot of integrity and was an inspiration to her. As CSM Vice Chair, Helen is on a five year term and says that she sees CSM as helping the Labour party to rediscover its committment to community and to help policy direction. Helen is an extremely friendly and interesting person who is really easy to get on with. I really admire the work she is doing for CSM as Vice-Chair while working for Tearfund and studying for her masters in Public Policy. Unfortunately, our meeting was very short ,which was a shame, as it would have been great to have chatted to Helen for longer and have quized her a little more.

Grace Vanstone-Hallam, 24/07/2009