This was the first meeting since May, after the September meeting was cancelled because of the Queen’s death.  Regional director Teddy Ryan had good news on staffing, with new trainee organisers working in marginal seats and more positions to be filled in the New Year.  More than half of regional staff were now women, with more diversity on other dimensions as well.  Finances were stronger, with Labour able to support key areas in next May’s local elections.  The benefits of effective organisation were shown in Southampton, where Labour won the Bitterne by-election by just 13 votes, and Bella Sankey was elected in the Wish by-election as Labour’s first BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) councillor in Brighton and Hove.

All requests for funding would be judged by whether they would contribute to Labour victory at the general election, when south-east constituencies will make the difference between government and opposition.  Teddy clarified that councils would be prioritised where Labour had a chance of gaining a majority, but not where the Tories would merely be deprived of overall control, for instance in Adur and in Cherwell.  Nearly 2,000 council seats would be contested in May, including some all-out elections following council boundary reviews, and as always Labour was aiming for a candidate on every ballot.

At parliamentary level six south-east MPs had been endorsed by members in trigger ballots, Tan Dhesi was approved by the NEC for Slough which is still in special measures, and Alan Whitehead was retiring from Southampton Test.  Nine new candidates had been selected, with more to follow in 2023, though apparently the regional office find out who is next from leaks to LabourList same as everyone else.  Members pointed out that in addition to Slough a further 60 south-east CLPs had been unable to choose their own parliamentary candidate for the last two general elections, and supported a faster light-touch procedure for lower-priority seats as long as due diligence was not compromised.

Internal Matters

Teddy shared our frustration with the party’s membership systems, though I am pleased to report that after many requests CLP secretaries now get telephone numbers, dates of birth and gender included in downloads from Organise.  I am one of the volunteers involved in testing the new Labour.Hub, which is proving an interesting experience.  Regional officers are willing to help CLPs with lists and queries if necessary, but ask for adequate notice to be given.

The NEC had deferred reorganising CLPs along new Westminster boundaries until October 2023, after conference.  The south-east would move from 84 to 91 constituencies, with very few unaffected.  I was pleased to hear Teddy confirm that in our region local democracy will continue to run as normal, with AGMs at the usual time, and the forthcoming changes were not a reason to stop CLPs functioning.  The next regional executive meeting will start planning for a south-east regional conference, due at the end of 2023.

Partnership in Power

The national policy forum is back on the road and working towards the next manifesto.  The south-east is well represented, with Anneliese Dodds MP as chair and Naushabah Khan as vice-chair from the CLP section.  As well as five members elected in the regional ballot last summer Luke Akehurst, Gemma Bolton and myself are also on the NPF through our NEC membership.  A guide to the process through to the next election is at http://www.annblack.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NPF-Guide-December-2022.pdf.  All of us are keen to engage with members as soon as the party sorts out a GDPR-compliant way of allowing NPF representatives to communicate with CLPs and vice versa, and until then I can be contacted at annblack50@btinternet.com

A Local Voice

For many years the regional board has supported the principle of networks for Labour parish and town councillors, especially in areas where Labour is not represented at district or county level.  These are not  covered by the rulebook, and progress has always foundered on lack of capacity.  Labour Coast & Country have now picked this up and run with it, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, and I encourage everyone to have a look at https://labourcoastandcountry.org/cptn/.  .

Finally the dates of future meetings were agreed as Saturdays 11 March, 10 June, 9 September and 9 December 2023, hopefully in London and in person or hybrid.

Ann Black, Oxfordshire CLPs, 23 December 2022, annblack50@btinternet.com / 07956-637958