As usual the first meeting after conference was an extended session, setting strategy for the year ahead, with general election victory the over-riding objective. Presentations showed an impressive level of organisation on the ground and increasingly sophisticated online operations. The Tories will massively outspend us and regular donations from thousands of individuals were making a […]
September was a strange month, with the lead-up to annual conference dominated by suspense over Scotland. The NEC meeting scheduled for Tuesday 16 September was moved to Glasgow so we could all pitch in, and then cancelled as bad weather disrupted travel. Many staff and activists came straight from the campaign to Manchester. Opening the […]
NEC meetings always start with tributes to members who have died, and in July these included Bob Jones, the police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands, who was just 59. The by-election for the PCC was triggered, disrespectfully, even before his funeral, and would be held on 21 August. Because there was no time […]
The national policy forum met in Milton Keynes from 18 to 20 July 2014. Like the last pre-election forum in 2008 this was held on the hottest weekend of the year, but there the similarities ceased, and not just with the move from Warwick University to Milton Keynes. For the most part constructive dialogue and […]
The NEC congratulated newly-elected councillors and MEPs and thanked members, trade unions and party staff for their hard work. In July David Sparks will become Chair of the Local Government Association, as Labour is now the largest group, and he hoped to welcome Ed Miliband to their annual conference. The figures showed significant swings from […]
The NEC stood in silence to pay tribute to Tony Benn and other comrades, including Bob Crow whose untimely death had shocked and saddened us all. David Sparks then reported on a successful local government conference. He shared NEC concerns about the effect of continuing pay restraint on staff and the services they provide: the […]
This meeting was called to agree the proposals for party reform which will go to the special conference on 1 March. The paper before us was labelled Draft 18, and someday I would love to follow its evolution through the previous 17 drafts. The final version, after amendment by the NEC, is attached. Ed Miliband […]
Ed Miliband opened the meeting. He said that at conference Labour had set out important policies on energy bills, childcare, housing and the bedroom tax, and was now moving on to bigger long-term changes, including banking systems which served business, not self-interest. The cost of living crisis was not just about prices rising faster than […]