Hopes of shorter meetings this year were dashed, and even without a report from deputy leader Tom Watson we continued for more than seven hours. When I joined the NEC in 2000 many papers were tabled on the day, and we had to arrive early to check them for surprises. General secretary Iain McNicol now […]

The NEC met in Glasgow, welcomed by the new Scottish leader Richard Leonard. After a reception on Saturday evening hosted by Unite we convened at 9 a.m. on Sunday, and congratulated Paddy Lillis on his election as general secretary of USDAW. The membership of NEC committees and policy commissions was agreed. I will continue serving […]

The main NEC subcommittees met on Tuesday 31 October 2017, starting at 11 a.m. and running through to 5 p.m. With a four-month gap since the previous meetings in July there was much to discuss, and now that most members attend they have become, in effect, a mini-NEC.  Below are some of the main issues covered. […]

NEC Meeting, Friday 22 September 2017 The NEC met on the eve of conference and looked forward to the week ahead. Of the delegates initially excluded by the cutoff date of 23 June, 43 of the 61 were able to attend. The floor space was packed, and many ex officio attenders including councillors and MPs […]

Glenis Willmott is coming to the end of her year as Chair, and after another six-hour meeting I am sure she is looking forward to handing on the gavel. She wished Kezia Dugdale well for her future, welcomed Alex Rowley, the deputy leader of Scottish Labour, and joined all NEC members in mourning the loss […]

The NEC met in unexpectedly good spirits. As one speaker said, we may have lost the election but we certainly won the campaign. From staring into the abyss on 18 April, through 4 May when we lost nearly 400 councillors and trailed by 11% in the national vote, to removing the Tory majority five weeks […]

Thursday’s results surprised the pollsters, the media and almost everyone really, including me. I complained about local members being directed to Reading East because there was no hope of overturning a Tory majority of 6,520. In fact Labour won, and Matt Rodda is the new MP! So congratulations to returning and newly-elected MPs and thanks […]

I was away when the election was called – I mean, what could possibly happen in Easter week? – and have been catching up with meetings, emails and council elections since. Thanks to the wonders of technology I’ve been in on all the relevant discussions, so here is a diary of events during April and […]

The NEC paid tribute to members who had died recently, including Van Coulter, an Oxford city councillor and activist who was only 57 years old and my neighbour and comrade, a sad loss to us all. Giving his leader’s report Jeremy Corbyn said that good behaviour was important in meetings at every level of the […]

The NEC has settled back into its usual routine after last year’s turbulence, under Glenis Willmott’s calm and authoritative leadership. She had secured European committee positions for Labour MEPs despite our impending departure, and they were continuing to work on tax avoidance, air quality, zero-hours contracts and rail privatisation. She criticised Theresa May for putting […]