NEC Elections
Most Labour Party members will have received their ballot papers for the National Executive Committee (NEC) elections today.
Hopefully members will go for candidates who actually want to be on the NEC to build for a 4th term victory not to undermine Blair and Brown.
A helpful "who not to vote for guide" is produced by the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (sic) http://home.freeuk.net/clpd/NEC2006.htm
- Mohammed Azam, Ann Black, Gaye Johnson, Christine Shawcroft, Pete Willsman and Walter Wolfgang.
As a "throw-back to the 1950s" I will obviously not be voting for people who want to take us kicking and screaming into the early 1980s, though Walter Wolfgang was probably off-side in the '50s as well as every other decade in between. Of their slate of 6, Ann Black is at least independent minded rather than a doctrinaire oppositionalist. The 2 it would be really good to get rid of are Christine Shawcroft, who if I had my way wouldn't even be in the party let alone on its NEC, and Pete Willsman, who whilst a nice bloke, was the backroom organiser behind much of the Bennite lunacy of the '80s.
Labour First are backing Azhar Ali, Philomena Muggins, Ellie Reeves, Bill Thomas and Peter Wheeler. I'll be voting for them plus former MP Lorna Fitzsimons.
In between are Helen Jackson, who is on the Board of Compass, Mehboob Khan, and Naz Sarkar who is a good local councillor and campaigner in Waltham Forest.
posted by Luke Akehurst at 7:08 pm
10 Comments:
Oops forgot sitting NEC member Louise Baldock who is also non-aligned.
9:32 pm, July 03, 2006
I'm glad that yuo remembered Louise, but sorry that you are not backing her. She's made a conscious choice not to stand as part of a slate, and has an excellent track record as a councillor - see her weblog at www.louisebaldock.blogspot.com
10:06 pm, July 03, 2006
Will deffo be voting for Ellie Reeves, Peter Wheeler, Azhar Ai, Ann Black.
Possibly Louise Baldock/Bill Thomas.
May also vote for Pete Willsman as I met him at conference and he seemed like a really nice guy and not as mad as the press make him out to be.
11:39 pm, July 03, 2006
No offence, Lorna is a lovely person but I cannot stand her politics.
11:40 pm, July 03, 2006
Luke,
Yet again, you deliberately mistake "loyalty" with silent obedience and aquiescence with a leader who has shown no proper direction for this government since the beginning of second term and who is now content to sit by and watch our party and government fall about around him as he can't bring himself to drag his hands from the levers of power.
Having said all that - people like Shawcroft are a disgrace to those of us on the left of the party. Shame more of the sensible centre-left of the party won't stand and be a credible force. Am amazed you think the NEC is a significant body anymore - Blair has removed its authority as he has every other possible body which holds him to account with the Party. Reeves et al are the sort who think that the NPFs are a legitimate way of debating policy with the wider membership!
I note interestingly though that you are positioning yourself as pro-Brown. You never were before! Maybe times are a-changing if you're now talking about Blair and Brown - hedging your bets maybe?!
9:16 am, July 04, 2006
The problem with Willsman is that he is a really nice guy BUT his politics are completely unreconstructed Bennite - and he is a key organiser for the Hard Left so having him on the NEC with access to loads of info really helps them.
9:23 am, July 04, 2006
Not hedging my bets - responding positively to Brown's statements in favour of Trident replacement and nuclear power, and to my impression that there are attempts being made by both No10 and No11 to recognise that right vs. left is the real fight that needs to be had, not Blair vs. Brown.
9:36 am, July 04, 2006
I would certainly support Tim's comment about Louise. Having worked for the party at the same time as her I can say that she is a valuable asset on the NEC representing the type of hard-working member who is always out campaigning.
6:15 pm, July 05, 2006
Is the number of CLPs that nominate a candidate usually indicative of their support among members? (aka do the candidates with more CLPs nominating them get in and the ones with few CLPs nominating them not?)
8:35 am, July 08, 2006
The number of nominations reflects how much campaigning the candidate or the organisation(s) backing them have done and what limited factional networks exist on the ground. In many CLPs there will only be one or two individuals plugged in to national internal party politics and whoever they propose gets nominated. My own CLP (Hackney N) is one of the few where there are people from both sides of the party so we ended up nominating a mixed bag after a very close vote.
1:21 pm, July 10, 2006
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