Time is rapidly running out for Labour Party members in Stoke to have an opportunity to exercise their rights to select candidates for either the local elections on 6 May.
Those rights were partially restored in Stoke North two weeks ago when the Party's senior constitutional officer asked the CLP secretary to arrange selection meetings for outstanding vacancies, and delegated recruitment to local party officials, subject to NEC endorsement.
In contrast, neighbouring Stoke Central CLP has effectively been suspended. It is threatened with having candidates imposed. Quite how those candidates are even being recruited remains a mystery.
What is now claimed in a comment on this blog is that of candidates selected to date across the City only ONE has been picked by a quorate meeting of local branch members and endorsed by her/his CLP.
I'm still waiting for is evidence of explicit NEC authority banning the three Stoke CLPs from getting on with the job in the normal manner in the first place. It is time that my colleagues on the Organisation Committee (aka Org Sub) and the NEC itself took a "long hard look " at the actions of the West Midlands Regional Office. That's right, just like we are asking the electorate to do when it comes to choosing between Labour and the Tories.
My next job is to complete a timeline of inappropriate, unwarranted and unauthorised interference in the rights of Labour Party members in the City.