Top marks to my former CLP, Hackney North and Stoke Newington for debating the Gordon Brown proposals, Extending and Renewing Party Democracy. The outcomes published by Luke Akehurst here illustrate vividly the dilemmas created by Gordon Brown's decision to rush into this particular initiative without consultation.
Gordon Brown's key Proposal 5 - to end Contemporary Resolutions to Conference and substitute Issues received NO votes in favour.
One thing that can be said about Hackney North and Stoke Newington is that it is emphatically not in the grip of raving, left-wing loonies. If the majority of CLPs adopt this approach before the Consultation ends on 14 September, then Gordon Brown faces a challenging first conference with the risk of acrimonious exchanges about gagging Conference and stifling dissent unless he listens.
My current CLP, Cities of London and Westminster took a different tack here calling on Gordon Brown to take take note of the LabOUR Commission's Interim Report, and look at Extending and renewing party democracy in the round to reverse falling membership trends, rebuild Labour's base in local, regional, and devolved government as well as win a 4th term in the Westminster Parliament, as well as sort out Party finances.
Save the Labour Party and some leading lights in the Campaign For Labour Party Democracy are sympathetic to reform of the Contemporary Resolution procedure. But not at the expense of stifling debate at Conference. The underlying problems for Labour remain the Command/Elite Party model, flirting with the right-wing press, trade union bashing and policy wonkery.
The inherent danger at Annual Conference 2007 is that Rule Changes to end Contemporary Resolutions will be tabled by the NEC, and the Trade Unions will be 'persuaded' over Warwick 2 to back the Leader, leaving CLPs and the individual membership out in the cold.