I can't help wondering whether or not our new Leader, Ed Miliband, has dropped the pretence of Party Chair.
No one was listed as such in the Shadow Cabinet line up yesterday.
If he has, it will be another small step for Party democracy.
There is a big job to be done on party renewal as I blogged about here. Extending a constitutional fiction by patronage, which is what such an appointment amounted to, is not the way forward. An early meeting of the National Executive Committee is needed to discuss and agree a programme for Party renewal. Contrary to what I was told by General Secretary Ray Collins that body is now not meeting until 30 November. That leaves the machine in control of the National Palicy Forum (NPF). Its chair, mandate long expired, Pat McFadden received a ringing vote of confidence (not) from the PLP in the Shadow Cabinet elections.
If that doesn't ring alarm bells in the new Leader's office. Then I hope this little snippet below does.
I'm told that the NPF has now been put back a week until 27 November as London Head Office overlooked an important event in the Welsh Labour Party calendar leading up to next May's Assembly elections. Talking to newly elected members in Manchester during Conference most had no idea what was being planned and when.
Hopefully, that will change soon.