Last November I asked here whether the Labour Party's National Executive Committee was operating a scorched earth policy in Stoke on Trent. The field has narrowed to the Stoke Central constituency labour party (CLP) and leading members of a cross-party local campaigning organisation, Democracy 4 Stoke. The Labour Party National Executive Committee's Organisation Committee (aka Org Sub) is due to meet shortly.
As a member of the NEC, but not the said committee, at the time of blogging I have not received any papers, so I don't know if Stoke Central CLP will be on its agenda. But I am aware of reasons why it might. There are clues here, here and here.
If it is, I can only hope that my two Centre Left Grassroots Alliance colleagues Ann Black and Pete Willsman are able to persuade the rest of the committee to reflect very carefully on recent events and ask themselves whether the time has come to accept my suggestion that it is time for peace and reconciliation as set out here on 30 November 2009.
Sitting Labour MP for Stoke Central Mark Fisher is facing a challenge from BNP deputy leader, Simon Darby, candidates have still to be selected for four wards in the forthcoming City of Stoke Council elections. On the basis of the facts known to me, the NEC has to back off and allow local members to reunite to fight these elections.