Hackney North results
Unlike Hackney South, Hazel didn't carry Hackney North, though I had the consolation of defeating the Hard Left on the Leadership.
Respect is due to Graham Bash of Briefing for some heavy duty organisation, and Diane Abbott for a very effective pro-Cruddas speech.
Results:
Procedural motion to not take item on leadership: defeated 11-9
Leadership: For Brown 13, Against Brown 6, Abstentions 2
Deputy - settled on 1st round as only 2 candidates nominated:
Cruddas 14
Blears 7
Benn 0
Hain 0
Harman 0
Johnson 0
posted by Luke Akehurst at 11:25 pm
8 Comments:
Results from tonight's Tower Hamlets GC.
Cuddas had a fairly emphatic win
Harman had no votes
Johnson second but a way behind given JimFitzpatricks endorsement and presence at meeting.
Benn campaign a bit cheeky - 3 of his staff turned up but who have never ever done any work for the party locally
Cruddas endorsed by ex-Council Leader Michael Keith
Plently of frustration amongst sensible Cruddas supporters that their candidate also backed but non-campaigning hard left
Lots of evidence of Cruddas / Blears AND Blairs / Cruddas support - from members who take their electioneering seriously
11:51 pm, May 31, 2007
So can you explain what happens with these results ?
How does it all work ? does the winner get the block vote from that area ? or is it just an opinion poll on what that area thinks ?
I am interested in the GB vote that nearly a third of the party didnt want him. Would have been interesting if there had actually been a true vote off in the Labour party.
So do these votes actually effect anything ?
8:02 am, June 01, 2007
It's not binding in any way - our 550 CLP members now go on to vote in a one member one vote ballot. But it gives an indication of activists' opinions and the nominations are published, creating momentum and members can see whether there own CLP backs a particular candidate.
Explanation of the micro politics of the Hackney North GC - there were 6 delegates on the Hard Left (mostly active in groups like Labour Left Briefing and Socialist Action), 7 from the pro-Blair/Brown wing of the party, and 8 in the middle who backed Brown but then voted for Cruddas for Deputy.
There were also another 24 delegates who either could not or chose not to turn up and vote.
Not many of them would have voted Blears 1st preference but they might have backed, for instance, Benn, if they had been there - the left were very cohesive and disciplined and got almost all their people out last night, whereas some people who would normally vote with me voted Cruddas, and others just weren't there.
8:10 am, June 01, 2007
Interested to hear that some who usually vote with you voted for Cruddas on this occasion. On what basis did they do that?
8:28 am, June 01, 2007
I can't imagine what it must be like to be a member of Hackney North CLP, Luke. My CLP GC is a friendly affair, about fifty people turn up, we have a speaker, hurry hurry hurry through any boring business, and have our MP's report. Then we all have a glass of wine and adjourn to a curry house or pub. I can't remember having a contested election - we've had a quiet coup over the past three years to get rid of some of the older crapper people and replace them with enthusiastic campaigners in key positions, but we've managed that with no unpleasantness. And the only contested election we tend to have - for conference delegate - is always friendly, and there tends to be a consensus about whose turn it is to go, once a few people have declared an interest.
Yet we have active members of Socialist Appeal and Workers' Liberty at most CLP meetings, as well as a strong McDonnell faction and some big Brownites. The only group we don't really have many of are out-and-out Blairites - the one really bitter political argument I can ever remember was when one turned up and called for state funding of political parties, and every other person present turned round and looked at him in sheer amazement.
Perhaps CLPs should be a venue for political discussion and vehement debate, where votes matter, or perhaps not. The only vote I can ever remember mattering was one about money, early on when the spend-on-campaigning tendency didn't quite have the upper hand over the hoard-in-the-bank tendency, but that's changed, slowly and without acrimony.
Your CLP sounds like a complete throwback, and must be nightmarish for new members.
8:39 am, June 01, 2007
Anon - no idea why!
Antonia - the paradox in Hackney North is that although it is highly factionalised and is conducted in sometimes vitriolic terms (e.g. speech last night that was 3 minute personalised attack on Hazel, concluded with "so I suppose we should vote Cruddas") the level of debate is reasonably high, it's exciting and unpredictable, feels very plugged in to what's going on nationally, and actually comradely in the sense we all have a good scrap but the atmosphere is friendly. It was all a bit nasty a few years ago when Liz Davies was on the GC, but I think that we all have a grudging respect for each other's positions now.
8:54 am, June 01, 2007
I like the way Luke describes the Hard Left mobilising for the vote. Sounds far more exciting and organised than it is. Personally, I'll always come to the GC unless I really am unable to (eg. last week when I was actually at a meeting chaired by Liz Davies...)
There wasn't any ringing around to ensure a big turn out AFAIK.
Honours just about even last night, I think. I was particularly pleased the motion criticising McShane and Mandelson went through unanimously.
RM
9:48 am, June 01, 2007
In reality who the CLP backs or doesn't back is basically pretty irrelevant. OK, it's a marker which campaign teams can use but that's about it.So if I were a keen champion of any of the candidates (which I'm not) I wouldn't get too upset about these results nor write anyone off.My guess is the last three will be Benn/Cruddas/Johnson. Under OMOV, who knows......
10:18 am, June 01, 2007
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