By Ray Goodspeed (Leyton and Wanstead CLP) [full internal Labour Party election results are available here]
The recent elections inside the Labour Party for various members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) as well as for the Youth and Student National Committees and the National Policy Forum (NPF), constitute a setback for the organised left wing of the party amidst a dramatic drop in turnout.
Of the nine Constituency Labour Party (CLP) reps on the NEC, just four were won by the left, as represented by either the Momentum-endorsed candidates or the more united Grassroots Five campaign. This is one fewer than last time. The right-wing faction of “Labour to Win” gained one place and one is held by Ann Black, who is more from the centre of the party.
The left did keep control of the Young Labour National Committee and now control the Labour Students National Committee, which is very encouraging for the future of the movement.
Gemma Bolton and Yasmine Dar were returned to the NEC, with the very welcome addition of Jess Barnard, the previous Chair of Young Labour and Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, the co-founder of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL). Mish Rahman, sadly, lost his position as did Lara McNeill, who had been the Youth Rep on the NEC.
The right received more votes in the NEC elections than the left for the first time since the Corbyn surge, about 44%, including 5% of voters that had previously gone to independent candidates. The right seems to be voting in a more disciplined and organised way. The left vote, meanwhile, slipped down about 3% points to 39%. This is obviously disappointing.
Divisions
The chances of victory were certainly not helped by the absurd divisions and lack of discipline of the organised left groups. Momentum ran a foolish social media campaign calling for a vote for four left candidates, while all the other main left groups backed the “Grassroots Five”, including Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi. For a more detailed account of this sorry episode see here.
Even worse, each faction put out detailed advice to members about which candidates to give their first, second, third etc preferences to, depending on region or postcode. This is crucial in an election run on a Single Transferable Vote (STV), to ensure that each candidate gets a good number of first or higher preferences to avoid being eliminated early on in the count. But, of course, this detailed tactical advice was different depending on which left faction was giving it! A more disciplined approach may well have seen Mish Rahman elected, as he was only narrowly defeated on the 14th count.
This split undoubtedly led to confusion, frustration, despondency and, frankly, embarrassment among left-wing members. It must not be allowed to happen again. At the very least those groups or individuals that cause it or allow it to happen need to be held accountable in front of the movement. Let them go and play their silly games elsewhere.
Since the elections, predictably but shamefully, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi has been the victim of scurrilous attacks from the right and their allies in some sections of the pro-Israel lobby and some Jewish organisations. In any rational world, such attacks on a Jewish woman, possibly the only Jewish person on the current NEC, would be evidence of antisemitism, but Naomi’s principled position in favour of Palestinian rights somehow makes her fair game for abuse and victimisation. She commented, “There’s a lot of left-wing members still left in the party. They want someone to speak for them on Labour’s ruling body. That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Within hours of her winning, a joint statement from three organisations, the Jewish Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust – all vehemently pro-Israeli organisations – called her election a “backwards step” and accused her, in true witchhunt fashion, of “defending individuals accused of antisemitism”. From outside the party, they demanded that she be kept away from any committees that are related to “party discipline”! The explicitly pro-Israel Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) and the notorious right-wing Labour MP Margaret Hodge then joined in.
Naomi has suffered even more of the vile abuse that she is sadly very accustomed to, and it is obviously part of a concerted effort, putting pressure on Starmer and his gang to find a ruse, or some excuse, for excluding her from the NEC altogether. All this in spite of the Forde report recommending that JVL be recognised and included more inside the party.
Collapse in turnout
The most notable feature of the election, however, more significant even than the results, was the collapse in turnout, falling from almost 130,000 just two years ago to less than 70,000 now. And the 2020 figures themselves were only half the turnout of 2016! These elections saw the lowest turnout since before 2014. This reflects the reported fall of 91,119 members over the course of 2021, from 523,332 down to 432,213 – a 17% drop. It is estimated that up to July 2022, this had fallen further, to about 390,000. 93 party employees were made redundant in 2021 alone – a 22% cut in staff.
It is clear that the relentless attacks on the left of the party by an unfettered, nakedly-factional party apparatus, the arbitrary suspensions and expulsions, has led not only to resignations of socialist members but also to demoralisation among some sections of the membership who have remained. There is a lack of enthusiasm about campaigning and voting in internal elections when the right seems to be so dominant and so utterly unscrupulous. The irresponsible divisions on the left just compounded this feeling and led members into dejected passivity.
The election results in Young Labour and Labour Students were mixed, with some regional or other officer positions being lost and others gained. Nabeela Mowlana was elected National Chair with 53% of the vote, though, again, only 3,842 young members (under 27) voted in a national ballot. Hasan Patel took the London Rep and Chair of London Young Labour with 62%. Hannah Cousins from Cumbria only missed out on the Northern Region place by one vote! It was good to see Kat Harlow win the Young Labour LGBT officer position with 64% of the vote and Alex Charilaou win the new Trans post in Labour Students. Both made it very clear that they had a principled approach based on class politics and solidarity.
A cause for optimism
Overall, the fact that both Young Labour, ruthlessly suppressed and hindered over the last year by the Labour bureaucracy, together with Labour Students, are in the hands of a left majority is a cause for optimism. However, the votes showed up weaknesses in these organisations. The participation was low – in some YL elections based on regions only 200-300 members voted for any candidate. There is an urgent need to build real functioning and fighting Young Labour branches in each CLP, and to focus on face-to-face local organising in addition to social media campaigning. In some Labour Student elections, only 35-60 people decided the outcome in some whole regions! Of course, holding a student election in July and August was not the wisest decision!
The National Policy Forum elections were similarly mixed. The left candidates were trounced in London, but won three out of five posts in the Northern Region. That is a testament to the good local organising work of the Northern England Labour Left (NELL) getting their slate through. Congratulations to a member of Socialist Think Tank, in County Durham, Rochelle Charlton-Laine (and to Paul Daly who just missed out!).
Following these elections, Starmer, Evans and the rest will no doubt be celebrating. For them, a shrinking, demoralised and passive membership is not a problem – it’s a career goal! But they should be careful not to be too triumphalist. In spite of all their manoeuvres and dirty tricks, in spite of the most ruthless organisational attack on the left for decades, there is still a solid core of around 40% of members who are prepared to vote for a broadly “Corbynist” left slate, and among young members that is much higher.
And of course, current membership figures are well over double those of the later New Labour period. It is necessary, even in temporary retreat, to keep a sense of perspective.
In terms of broader policy questions, the overwhelming majority of party members support policies way to the left of the current national leadership. Nationalisation of rail, mail, energy and water, is supported by more than 80% or even 90% of members, according to some pollsters. The current cost-of-living crisis has pulled wide layers of the party, outside of the organised left, towards more radical positions.
Instinctive support
There is an instinctive support among party members for the RMT and ASLEF rail workers, the CWU postal and telecoms workers and all the other workers moving into action to defend jobs and living standards. And other unions with traditionally “moderate,” leaders will also soon be forced into fighting for basic demands around wages, terms and conditions. The comfortable “service model” trade unionism, obsessed with holiday packages and cheap insurance is not sustainable in the face of such an assault of workers’ living standards.
Fierce battles are inevitable between workers and bosses, and workers and the government. These are bound to be reflected inside the Labour Party, through affiliated trade unions and ordinary party members. Those members who seem passive now, grimly holding on to their party cards, hoping for something to happen, will move into more activity. They are already appearing on picket lines in ones and twos, soaking up the confidence and the fighting spirit. Campaigns like Enough Is Enough are galvanising opposition to the Tories and, therefore, putting more pressure on the opposition to provide some alternative.
Many of these people, both inside and currently outside the Labour Party, will be won to the ideas of socialism and play their part in building a large, principled socialist current in the labour movement ready to challenge capitalism.
