NB a pdf version of this report is available here.
This was the shortest meeting I can remember, with just two main items: electing a new general secretary, and arrangements for conference. On the first I was involved in longlisting and shortlisting as well as the final decision, and had no doubts that Hollie Ridley was the outstanding candidate. I therefore voted with the majority to appoint Hollie (25 in favour, none against, six abstentions – unusually not a secret ballot), and look forward to working positively with her as I have with her eight predecessors. During the session I asked how she would strengthen and maintain good communications with local parties, especially those which do not have Labour MPs. Hollie agreed that members are the lifeblood of the party.
The NEC paid tribute to two stalwarts of the movement: Andy Kerr of the CWU, a serving member of the NEC for 17 years through good times and bad, and Nicky Gavron, London politician and deputy mayor to Ken Livingstone. They will both be much missed.
Change Begins
The chair Ellie Reeves looked forward to Labour’s first conference in government for 15 years, a brilliant opportunity to promote progress: Great British Energy, more teachers and NHS appointments, ending the ban on offshore wind. Keir Starmer was right to focus on fixing the foundations: Labour had to be trusted on the economy and on national security, and simply papering over the cracks would lead to defeat.
The NEC approved Shabana Mahmood, Carwyn Jones, Gavin Sibthorpe, Wendy Nichols, Elsie Greenwood and Abdi Duale as assistant chairs, and promised to consider the disabled members and BAME representatives for slots next year. Lynne Morris, chair of the conference arrangements committee, ran through the practical aspects. More than 20,000 people had registered to attend, including 842 CLP delegates, and she would check how many of the 650 CLPs are represented. This year visitors have only been accepted if they have been members for 12 months, apparently a new restriction after the glitter-throwing incident last year and the need for extra security. I believe the qualifying period should be six months, the same as for delegates, and will take this up for future conferences.
Constitutional Amendments
We started with deciding attitudes to three proposed by CLPs:
Leyton & Wanstead and Lancaster & Fleetwood sought to define the grounds on which due diligence checks could disqualify candidates. However these evolve over time, and the NEC needs flexibility. I therefore opposed the amendment, and the NEC voted against it by 20 votes to 8 with 4 abstentions. However all candidates excluded for due diligence issues should be able to find out what these are. Some applicants were passed over and still do not know why.
Mid-Bedfordshire, Exeter and Birmingham Perry Barr proposed that party staff should be neutral in internal democratic processes, and above factionalism at all times. This was recommended in Martin Forde’s report but previously rejected by the NEC on the grounds that staff work in a political environment. In 25 years as a candidate the general secretary’s office has worked to stop me getting elected at some times, and to help me get elected at others. Both are wrong, and I supported the amendment, but was not surprised that the NEC opposed it by 20 votes to 8, with 4 abstentions.
Nottingham East proposed removing the three frontbench MPs from the NEC. We have rebalanced the composition of the NEC several times, but I did not believe it made sense to delete one section, and voted against. Overall the NEC opposed the amendment by 21 votes to 6 with 4 abstentions.
No Smoke Without Fire?
We then moved on to rule changes put forward by the NEC. Contrary to rumours there were no moves to change the method of electing the leader. Either these never existed, or they have been put on the backburner. Interestingly, while most of my correspondents thought that members should have the final say, a significant number were sympathetic to MPs making the choice when Labour is in government, some influenced by recent Tory fiascos. So the only alterations remove references to electing the leader every year at conference, something which has not happened for decades. Another set of amendments bring references to election insurance into line with practice since 2011, with these costs paid centrally from membership subscription income rather than collected from CLPs.
Full-Time MPs
There is already a rule whereby councillors who are elected as MPs have to resign except in exceptional circumstances. This was expanded to cover all categories of office-holder, with clarification requested on how Scotland and Wales are affected. Also, while parliamentary candidates are not formally endorsed by the NEC until just before an election, they will now be able to promote themselves as soon as they are selected. I would have liked some form of earlier NEC endorsement, rescinded if there are changes of circumstance, as last-minute removals damage the candidate and the party, but this was not forthcoming.
Internal Structures
Changes to rules for regional executive committees (RECs) and local government committees (LGCs) will be put to conference as a single block. Most are sensible, aimed at keeping these bodies to a manageable size. For RECs, the number of CLP representatives will be reduced by having slightly larger county groupings, and regional NPF members and police and crime commissioner representatives will no longer be entitled to attend in a non-voting capacity.
For LGCs the list of potential attenders is extensive, including all MPs and PPCs, and the only proposed deletion was of non-voting councillors. I think the NEC agreed that all additional attendance should be at the discretion of the chair. All LGCs must have an executive comprising the four officers and the group leader and deputy leader. Instead of councillors, CLPs and unions having equal numbers of members, these numbers may vary while retaining equal weighted votes for the three sections, because large LGCs may need more CLP representatives. The rules will also clarify that the Labour group, not the LGC, determines the manifesto, and that the LGC does not decide on whether to enter into coalitions. And they reaffirm that “the LGC shall select and convene an interview panel for the selection of candidates” despite selection by regional panels becoming more common and raising questions about what LGCs are for.
Finally some changes to subscription rates were endorsed, including an “Other” rate set at 20% of the standard rate, and applied to under-20s, students and current or former members of the armed forces. The business board agreed a year ago to raise the minimum £3 rate to £12 a year, so that it covered administrative costs and could be paid by monthly direct debit, and to index it to inflation like the other rates. I asked that when the business board, or the NEC officers, make decisions affecting all members, these should be communicated to the full NEC and preferably more widely, so they don’t get forgotten.
To Stand or Not to Stand …
The report of the working group on participation by members in Northern Ireland, including whether to put forward candidates in elections, is awaiting sign-off by the NEC later in the year. Apologies for the delay.
The Elephant in the Room
Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner were unable to attend, and there was no opportunity for wider political discussion. While pleased with many of the changes in policies and attitudes, and with Keir’s leadership, some issues need urgent attention, with winter fuel payments at the top of the list. Ironically Gordon Brown created this problem in the first place by sticking rigidly to his own rules, which specified raising state pensions by inflation. In 1999 that gave a rise of 75p. To quell the uproar he threw money indiscriminately at all pensioners regardless of circumstances: £100 WFP immediately, £200 the following year, and £300 for over-80s from 2003, and Tony Blair apologised to conference: “75p. I tell you now, as Gordon made crystal clear yesterday, we get the message.” Twenty-five years later this has come back to bite us.
Like perhaps 75% of pensioners, I do not need the WFP and would happily see it redistributed. I am not keen on means-testing but it is so baked into our system that the only immediate way out is to increase the cut-off level significantly. Victims include 750,000 pensioners who are eligible but do not claim pension credit. But they also include people on the full new state pension which, at £221.20 per week, is just £3 over the pension credit threshold of 218.15. One member told me that he paid in £1,600 so he would get the full pension. He has now lost WFP and other benefits linked to pension credit eligibility, and is worse off in cash terms. Does Labour really want to punish people for trying to do the right thing?
At last July’s national policy forum, which refused to scrap the two-child benefit limit, I said to a shadow minister that it reminded me of 1997 when Tony Blair and Gordon Brown forced through cuts to single parent benefits. As a new MP then, they remembered vividly: “I wondered why on earth they made us do that?” they said. I hope they are making the same points now in private. When in a hole, stop digging.
As always, comments and questions are welcome – please contact me at annblack50@btinternet.com / 07956-637958. Ann Black, constituency representative