Peter Kenyon

This is not the time for an election

Travelling back from Save the Labour Party's national committee in Manchester, I am just catching up with the Sunday papers or at least the headlines online. We have worked out a contingency plan in the event of an early General Election. Our AGM is set for 3 November - again in Manchester (we alternate between London and the north to try and enable members in all parts of the country to take part in live debates.) The Leader in today's Observer newspaper sums up my thoughts This is not the time for an election, Mr Brown.

Reviewing the outcomes of the 2007 Annual Conference , STLP committee members are opposed to a snap election. Soundings suggest membership has stalled and is in danger of falling again in the light of Gordon Brown's Extending and renewing party democracy plans agreed in Bournemouth last weekend. These are understood by most active members as a gagging device.

But we in Save the Labour Party are ever willing to engage in positive debate. So we intend to share ideas about how the vast majority of members, whom we believe support party democracy and renewal, can get out of their sectarian silos and work together more effectively. Hopefully this vital work will not be interrupted by an opportunistic and entirely unnecessary General Election.

More reasons for waiting until 2009

This morning's papers include a sober assessment of Labour prospects if a snap election is called this autumn. The headlines range from the Scotsman's Brown has to call poll after hype, say MPs to the Guardian's Northern Rock fallout adds to Brown's snap poll dilemma The most thoughtful I have spotted so far is from John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University in the Independent newspaper here.

He focusses on the Brown mandate:

But if Mr Brown wants a "personal mandate", he needs to do more than win. He has to do as well as Mr Blair did in 2005 – an overall majority of 66 – and preferably better. Anything less will be regarded as a setback, not a mandate.

Curtice then carefully dissects the factors tending towards caution rather than cut and run.

Jon Cruddas' diary in the same paper concludes more gently:

I can't see why we can't wait myself.

IMHO there are compelling reasons why we should wait as I posted yesterday.

Labour recruiting for the Parachute Regiment now

OK, the Labour Party is recruiting more staff, and that might mean a General Election is imminent. But as a party member in a CLP that has not yet selected a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, I am as much, if not more interested in the 'Parachute Regiment'. The brave political activists who risk reputation, career and prospects to ensure there is a Labour candidate in every constituency. This elite corps are the Leader's crack troops. The moment a General Election is called, the Labour Party's National Executive Committee takes control. Members of the 'Parachute Regiment' are assigned to engage the electorate wherever an opening exists - safe seats, marginals or unwinnables. Hot favorites for winnables, are those with the ear of those closest to ....you have guessed...the Commanding Officer. Loyalty is everything. Am I just being overly, cynical? Or as Tom Watson said to me at Conference - you are a trouble-maker. Spot-on, Tom. I think our democracy is the poorer for taking away the right of CLPs to choose who represents their constituency in the interests of political opportunism. That is what a snap election would be - roll on fixed term Parliaments as part of the new constitutional settlement proposed by .... the Commanding Officer.

Brownies to Leader - rebuild Labour/trust, poll later

While Gordon and his closest advisors are peering over the polling data and weighing Labour's prospects of winning an early General Election, Save the Labour Party's national committee will be meeting in Manchester to review the prospects for Party renewal.

The latest Council by-election results are less encouraging this week than last. There is no public demand for an election. Polls suggest the opposite. Where is the greatest clamouring? The payroll vote - Labour MPs. Yes, and even in marginals. Ah, so it's the one's most likely to lose their jobs who want to cut and run?

Let's no forget how we ended up behind the Tories in the polls - mainly due to Labour MPs lamentable failure to rein in their last leader, or tolerate anyone else in the Party who dared to criticise him.

Looking on the bright side, and there should be no doubting there is one - Gordon has done a fantastic job turning round Labour's standing in the eyes of the electorate. I had breakfast with one of my brothers in law in Poole yesterday. He runs a furniture business. Before I could even ask he was telling me how impressed he was. He is not a man prone to flattery.

So on balance, I have concluded that Gordon's command of events is such that he can be confident of winning after rebuilding trust, and converting support into increased Labour Party membership and activism. I'm sure, if asked, even his closest advisors will say that we need a red army in every electoral ward and constituency to recover from those electoral losses in local, regional and devolved nation elections as well as secure a 4th term.

In the meantime, a firm cap can be placed on election spending, party finances can be rebuild from small donations, more homes can be build (including Council flats and houses), matrons appointed , crimes solved, jobs created....

Just think - another majority - built on trust - underpinned with more Labour achievements, not just promises. 

As for the payroll vote - set them tough targets for increasing membership and activism - if they can't persuade their own members to work for them, why should the electorate vote for them?

Think on it, Gordon. You know it makes sense.

Labour Conference ends without a vote, even on housing

As I blogged last week Annual Conference 2007 was likely to end without a vote on policy. So it proved even after the debate on Housing. The critical words were included in Housing Minister Yvette Cooper's speech - Councils will be allowed to build more houses. So the delegate from Gravesend CLP, when asked by outgoing NEC Chair Mike Griffiths if he was prepared to refer to the new policy making process, the mover said the supporters of Composite 6 believed they had been listened to.

Yvette got a standing ovation for her speech - a rare event for a minister.

That's good. I'm looking forward to our Leader opening the first new Council house/flat as soon as possible to add to the social housing stock.

Labour Treasurer parachuting into Wolverhampton?

Rumours are swirling around the bars in Bournemouth that Labour Party Treasurer, Jack Dromey, is headed for selection as the PPC in one of the Wolverhampton constituencies. Watch that place.

Labour winning on the web - cancelled

Some 20 comrades braved the hill climb to the Highcliff Hotel from the Conference Centre to attend an official Labour Party Campaign Seminar "Winning on the Web". Sadly, the slog for the blog was in vain. The event was cancelled,  a bit like Tribune's fringe event last night. Or as the notice at the Royal Exeter Hotel read: "Cancelled - Leftalive! The Left is alive and kicking." Aagh....!!!!

Some of us exchanged contact details and experiences about e-ngagement. Pity the Party couldn't have responded similarly.

Hello Bournemouth, Save the Labour Party calling

I have trawled through the Labour Party website and checked my MpURL inbox. Still no news from official sources about who is going to represent me, my branch, CLP and region on the National Policy Forum. Still early days, yet. I'm off to a Party briefing about How to win on the web. We'll see.

National Policy Forum results - now where do they live?

National Policy Forum results are available here, thanks to a comrade dictating them and my trusty laptop..more later.

Update 1800 : Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance failed to get any of its NPF candidate slate elected. This begs the question of whether it should shut-up shop and leave the Labour Party to its own devices. Or whether it should redouble its efforts to increase awareness among the membership as a whole about how the current system works (not).

The casualty as ever is LabOUR democracy. Two broad lines of enquiry suggest themselves:

1) Forward looking and trusting

2) Analytical and reflective

In the first instance I headlined this blog: National Policy Forum results - now where do they live?

Let's be clear, as a former Councillor, I am aware of potential personal security issues arising from full personal contact details being available in the public domain. As a former local councillor, I am aware that is an occupational hazard - my postal address appeared on public election notice. It may or not have enabled a person unknown to deliver a death threat to my home on Christmas Day 1995. My home telephone number was always in the telephone directory, and more recently my mobile number has been available on the internet, as is my email address.

As a first step to enabling members to take part in Labour Party policy making as proposed in Gordon Brown's plan Extending and renewing party democracy, I wonder if Head Office can be persuaded to send an eMail to every e-literate member via their MpURL with the eMail address of every NPF delegate for their region before the end of Conference. This should be followed with arrangements for notifying the rest of the membership by the most cost-effective means of a postal contact facility - PO Box perhaps. I will be including this information in my next Branch mailout next week, if available.

This needs to be followed pdq with the Joint Policy Commission work programme arising from Conference. I would have thought this should be in place within a fortnight, if Gordon decides that now is not to go the Palace to ask for the dissolution ask the Speaker about the recall of Parliament to vote on dissolution (and then go to the Palace).

As for 2) on reflection when will the CAC publish the results of card votes by CLP/affiliate/socialist society? To date I don't recall disclosure of last year's votes. How can there be openness and accountability without transparency. There is no material difference between a Conference delegate and an MP. As Party members we have an absolute right to know how our delegates to Conference have voted, and Party officials have an obligation to publish in a timely fashion.

So how about it, Peter? Just in case you are wondering Peter, who? Peter Watt, Labour Party General Secretary.

More Labour dirty tricks.....?

This morning's unofficial Conference bulletin Campaign Briefing, published by the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy here reports, "Threat to local union link".

Among the Rule changes agreed on Sunday under Gordon Brown's bogus Extending and renewing party democracy plan was one to Rule VI.1 (e) headed Method of Organisation which reads:

Add at end:

"The NEC encourages requests by a CLP for all member meetings as its method of organisation."

Explanation

"Supports CLPs which wish to move to all-member meetings."

As briefing reminded its readers,

"The Blairite Project has always proposed the abolition of GCs [General Committees], since this would destory the formal link between the party and the unions, and at the same time, undermine the influence of party activists."

All member meetings have their place in the party's range of activities. But all organisations need to have the means of coming to decisions, recording them and acting on them. The Labour Party's problem nationally is that is run by people who have remarkably thin CVs when it comes to good governance practice.