Gray Allan; Falkirk East CLP
Elections to the Labour Party’s national executive committee (NEC) are under way with emails sent to Party members containing a link to the on-line ballot paper. Party members will have received a ballot for the section they are eligible to vote in. For most readers of the Left Horizons website this will be the Constituency Labour Party (CLP) section.
Voting closes on August 27 at 12 noon
Momentum, the largest left grouping in the Labour Party, along with the “Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance” (CLGA) are urging Party members to vote for their candidates Gemma Bolton, Yasmine Dar and Jess Barnard. There were originally four candidates on the slate but CLGA supporter, Minesh Parekh, withdrew. In doing so he called for supporters to vote for Bolton, Dar and Barnard, but also “Mainstream” candidates Cat Arnold, Kerry Postlethwaite and Jovan Owusu-Nepaul.
The ascent of Andy Burnham to the leadership of the Labour Party and to the Premiership has raised the hopes of many members that there will be a swing to the left both in the position of the Government and within the Party. Fertile ground, one would have thought, for the election of left delegates to the NEC. Momentum may have missed an opportunity.
Left Horizons has carried articles in the past, such as here, which have been critical of Momentum, specifically following the coup by Jon Lansman. There has been a steady move away from its founding principle of a member-led organisation, with a tendency to accommodate to Labour’s right wing. Momentum’s opposition to ‘Open Selection’ of MPs at the Labour Party Conference in 2018, when the majority of CLP delegates were in support, was a case in point.
There are nine seats in the CLP section on the Labour NEC, but because of what is, in effect, a proportional voting system, Momentum has chosen to stand only three. What many left Labour members are unclear about is the relationship between Momentum, the CLGA and Mainstream and candidate ‘slates’ all seem to be selected over the heads of members. Nevertheless, if enough left candidates are elected it would give a left majority in the CLP section of the NEC and make a significant difference to the NEC as a whole.
While a left majority in the CLP section would be welcome it is not in itself the key to control of the NEC. That lies in the hands of the trade unions, where the influence of Momentum is much weaker. Unfortunately, instead of making serious attempts to win control of the NEC for the left, there is a lot of discussion in some of the major affiliates, like Unite and UNISON, about re-examining their relationship to Labour, or possibly disaffiliation.
The rethink within these big unions largely revolves around the squeeze on members’ living standards and ongoing cuts in services. The only ‘sop’ offered has been the Employment Rights Act, which is imperfect at best and full of holes at worst. It still shows, however, that it is important for the trade unions to fight under a Labour government and within the NEC, for reforms that benefit workers. There will be fierce debates in both Unite and UNISON in the coming months about these issues and a stronger left voice within the NEC will make an important contribution.
Despite our disagreements with Momentum, the election of their candidates to the NEC would be a gain for the left.
Vote
- Jess Bolton
- Gemma Bolton
- Yasmine Dar
In the CLP section of Labour’s National Executive Committee
