The first meeting of the new board elected at the regional conference ran for four hours, and I was glad I had brought sandwiches. The first hour was spent on electing a Chair: after two ballots Lisa Fricker and Vince Maple each had 12 votes. The rules are silent on how to break a tie, […]
Party conferences are best judged by those watching at home, so I am interested in your impressions whether or not you were there. The mainstream media were unusually positive, highlighting policies which strike a popular chord on childcare, workers’ rights, green energy and housing, the party relatively united and Jeremy firmly in charge, laying down […]
The full NEC election results showed 506,320 eligible members casting 164,580 votes (118,594 by email and 45,986 by post) with 1,131 invalid or blank, giving 163,449 valid votes and a turnout of 32.5%. The End Is Nigh As I walked up from Victoria station to party HQ for the last time, my primary emotion was […]
The NEC was preceded by a disputes panel which cleared the cases remaining after two smaller panels had spent twelve hours working through outstanding referrals. The backlog had built up due to pressures on investigating officers, the absence of a Chair for four months, and the failure to convene extra meetings in May and July […]
There will be a special NEC meeting on 4 September to discuss the democracy review. Some candidates in the NEC election are saying that Jeremy’s plans “hang in the balance” and could come “down to a single vote”. In fact existing NEC members will decide, as newly-elected representatives only take their positions after conference. So […]
Jeremy Corbyn spoke first, highlighting Tory chaos over Brexit. He recognised the continuing debates within Labour, but the party could unite around the six tests and a way forward which prioritised jobs, living standards and the environment, aiming to bring Remain and Leave voters together. The government could collapse at any time, and Jon Trickett […]
Party Democracy Review, 30 June / 1 July 2018 I was privileged to attend the national consultation events for BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) members on 30 June, and for women on 1 July. Katy Clark provided draft documents listing issues where there seemed to be consensus. Discussion was intense, and participants’ views would […]
Jeremy Corbyn was in Manchester, joining other leaders on the anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing. The Chair Andy Kerr congratulated Shabana Mahmood on completing the London marathon (the last 18 miles with an injured knee), Paddy Lillis on his birthday, and myself on being elected as Chair of the national policy forum. He welcomed […]
The NEC had to complete business in under four hours because the general secretary interviews were scheduled for 2:30 p.m. This was achieved, but only by skipping questions to Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson and merely noting most of the reports and subcommittee minutes. As usual we began with obituaries, including Stephen Hawking, a lifelong […]
The main NEC subcommittees all meet on the same day, to save on travel and time off work. On 6 March we began with a subgroup of women members, charged with finalising arrangements for this year’s women’s conference. This will be on Saturday 22 September, immediately before annual conference, and we agreed, again, that each […]