By Ray Goodspeed (Leyton and Wanstead CLP)
Ballots are now going out for elections to the Labour Party National Executive Committee (NEC), as well as for a number of other posts, such as for the National Policy Forum. It is vital that party members unite to support the left slate of candidates agreed by the groups involved in the Centre Left Grassroots Alliance (CLGA) in order to resist the further stripping away of the democratic rights of members and to fight against any more moves to the right by the Labour Leadership.
Over the next couple of years, the left of the party will be under increasing pressure from an arrogant right wing fresh from their election victory – however grudgingly that victory was given to them by the electorate. They will seek to reverse the democratic gains achieved by members over the last few years, or even the last 50 years, as they try to make the Labour Party a completely safe space for capitalism. They want to shut and bolt the door against working class participation in the higher reaches of the democratic process, and return all powers to MPs and their big money backers.
There are nine positions vacant on the NEC for constituency member reps. The CLGA have decided, sensibly, to stand four left candidates – all of them existing EC members – as that is the best way to maximise the vote, and avoid spreading the left vote too thinly.
How to vote
CLGA have also set up a postcode-based link so as to encourage members in different areas to prioritise different candidates to make best use of the Single Transferable Vote system. Just enter your postcode and vote in order of the suggested preferences for your area.
The Labour Hub website has the full list of left candidates and the link to the postcode search.
The four CLGA NEC candidates are
- Jess BARNARD
- Gemma BOLTON
- Yasmine DAR
- Mish RAHMAN
The CLGA also suggest giving your fifth preference vote to Ann Black, another incumbent. She is certainly not on the “Corbyn left” by any means, but has stood up for party democracy in the past and is not regarded as part of the organised Labour right.
The election for members of the National Policy Forum are carried out on a national/regional basis and by a first-past-the-post system, so just an “X” against left candidates is required. The full list of the left candidates in each region/nation can be seen in the images in this article.
There are also elections for the:
- NEC Youth Rep: Vote – India Rees
- Wales Rep: Vote – Jackie Owen
- Two local councillor reps: Vote – Soraya Adejare and Minesh Parekh
The CLGA candidates are standing on a broad platform based on the ideas of the Corbyn manifestos of 2017 and 2019. Left Horizons recognises, of course, that such policies, if implemented, would greatly benefit working people, and would support them on that basis.
Maximum unity on the left
We recognise that maximum unity on the left is essential at this stage to fend off the attacks planned by the Labour right.
Left Horizons, however, believes that it is necessary to go much further, to challenge the power and control of the capitalist bosses and prevent them from de-railing or bringing down any future socialist government. While fighting hard for every reform, however minor, we also call for a full socialist programme, including the public ownership of the banks and all the major companies that dominate the economy, with compensation paid on the basis of proven need (see “what we stand for”).
Of course, even if all nine CLP reps were left socialists, they would still not control the NEC, which has 39 members. The key to the left fightback on the NEC and in the party in general is the power of the trade unions in the party who have 13 direct representatives and have half the votes for some other key NEC positions.
When union members are forced into opposition to the Labour government, they will need to make their union leaders take that battle to Starmer, not just in industrial action outside the party but inside the party as well, or to replace them with leaders who will.
