Yesterday evening I picked up the phone to follow up an eMail from a CLP secretary concerned about the Labour Party's priorities. A council by-election has been triggered by the death of a sitting Tory councillor. At the same time the CLP has just had its share of membership subscriptions sequestered by the Labour Party nationally to part-pay a flat-fee of £1,200 towards the costs of the Euro-elections being outcharged to every CLP in the country. This is despite letters from the CLP to HO to offer to pay in instalments, so that the local party can continue to meet local campaign costs.
Questions are now being asked by volunteers locally whether to bother to field a candidate in the forthcoming local council by-election.
This example raises a number of issues. I don't want to detract from the importance of election cycle financial planning by branches, CLPs and other party units, about which HO itself is utterly silent. But foremost concerns the Labour Party's finances nationally. Are they in such a dire state that an equally important national political goal of fighting every seat is being undermined as a consequence? After all we keep on being reminded that every vote counts in the forthcoming European Parliamentary elections in June.
