By Alan Gibbons, secretary, Liverpool Walton CLP
Errant footballer Mario Balotelli once wore a tee-shirt emblazoned with the slogan: “Why always me?”. Some Labour Party members in Liverpool might be screen printing their own versions this week. The politics of the city of Liverpool are never, ever boring.
Just days ago, it seemed that we were emerging from the local political difficulty caused by the arrest of Mayor Joe Anderson and the selection process to elect his successor. A panel had shortlisted three women candidates with fifty years’ experience as councillors between them.
One was Wendy Simon, the acting City Mayor, one was former Deputy mayor Ann O’Byrne, long-term adversary of Joe Anderson and the last was Liverpool’s first black Lord Mayor Anna Rothery. Many women members in particular voiced their delight that they had the choice of ‘three strong Liverpool women.’
Contest abruptly suspended
Then, dramatically, on the day ballots were expected to drop, the contest was abruptly suspended. The candidates discovered what had happened when a tweet by Labour List editor Sienna Rodgers appeared, followed by a letter from the party.
The three candidates had to attend second interviews before a meeting by the selection panel on Monday evening. Rumours circulated that there might be questions related to the conduct of contracts in the city, to social media posts and other issues. Nobody really knew and few expected what happened next.
This was Labour’s announcement: “After careful consideration, Labour is reopening the selection for Liverpool Mayor.”
None of the three were eligible to reapply. The reason was given in an email to Liverpool members on Tuesday. “The role of Liverpool Mayor,” it read, “is a high profile and hugely important figure. The people of Liverpool deserve a Labour Mayor and the Labour Party needs to select the right candidate who can deliver an election win, stand up against the Conservatives, lead Liverpool out of the coronavirus crisis and fight for the regeneration and the resources that the city desperately needs.”
Could run seminars on winning elections
This caused some wry smiles. Two of the now rejected candidates are members of the Walton constituency, Labour’s safest UK seat with 84.7% of the vote. The third is a member of the Wavertree party, with a vote share of 72.2%. Surely, they should be running seminars on how to win elections.
There are rumours that Labour’s actions have something to do with investigations related to the arrest of Joe Anderson, but no such concerns have been made public – and it wouldn’t explain why Anna Rothery, who never held a cabinet or executive position under the previous leadership, was also excluded.
Careerists parachuted into safe seats
There have been a number of responses to Labour’s draconian actions. Many see this as a return to career politicians close to the leadership being parachuted into safe seats, the very culture Keir Starmer said a year ago he was standing to change. Others find it deeply ironic that a party that pioneered all-women shortlists has blocked three experienced Labour women. This was not a designated AWS, but in practice was just that.
Still others point to the surging election campaign of Anna Rothery, the only black candidate in the race. Anna, supported by former leader Jeremy Corbyn and other prominent left-wing figures, would have made history as the first black woman mayor of any UK city. It might have been thought that a leader of her calibre would have been a feather in the party’s cap in a city with a shocking past of deep racism rooted in its slave trade.
Rothery is now talking about legal action. She is “shocked by the party’s chaotic handling” of the selection and is looking to seek an injunction if the party fails to reverse its decision. The City Council is meeting on Saturday and there are rumours that the position of City Mayor, an unpopular one with many local people, may be voted down, with the council reverting to a leader/cabinet model.
7,000 members denied their right
The danger is that it would take the decision away from members altogether, with the Labour group of councillors choosing the Leader. Ian Byrne MP, also an Everton councillor, has said in a tweet: “7,000 Labour Party members in Liverpool have just been denied their right to select a Mayoral candidate. They now face being excluded from having any say at all. At the extraordinary council meeting on Saturday, I will be fighting for party democracy for our members.”
Some of the city’s Constituency Labour Parties are tabling motions about the failures of process involved in the selections. The chaotic and arbitrary conduct of this selection process has done something no political figure has managed in a while, it has united the party in anger at the Labour leadership. As Mario would have said: “Why always us?”
Alan Gibbons is Secretary of Liverpool Walton Constituency Labour Party, candidate for Warbreck ward and a member of Momentum’s leading body, the National Coordinating Group. His suspension from the Party for permitting a motion supporting the return of the whip to Jeremy Corbyn was recently lifted.
