Now that the Labour Party has officially launched its recruitment campaign for a new General Secretary, I thought I would have a close look at the Job Description. Two bullet points are particularly interesting to students of political party models:
- The implementation of the constitution of the Labour Party, and
- Setting up and administering - with the agreement of the Leader of the party and of the National Executive Committee - effective means of continuous consultation and co-ordination between the National Executive Committee and the Party Leadership.
According to the Party's Constitution, the Leader of the Labour Party is a member of the National Executive Committee. So what's the significance in the second bullet point of the phrase, "with the agreement of the Leader of the party and of the National Executive Committee"? The Job requirement in this bullet point then refers to: "continuous consultation and co-ordination between the National Executive Committee and the Party Leadership." The phrase "Party Leadership" does not feature in the Constitution.
For a glimpse of what might be at stake, there are three articles in the latest edition of Chartist dedicated to Labour's internal crises. In short, who's going to be in charge of the Labour Party post-recruitment: the NEC or the Party Leadership?