Last month, Luke Akehurst’s Labour First (LF) put out a call to its mailing list to vote for right-wing candidates for the two positions up for grabs on each of two vital committees: the Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC) and National Constitutional Committee (NCC):
The NCC deals primarily with disciplinary matters (an area in which Labour currently has serious problems) and the CAC controls the agenda for Labour’s national Conference each year – unglamorous-sounding but extremely important.
Akehurst – rightly – recognises the importance of these positions to Labour’s direction and is furiously organising – along with his employed ‘organiser’, Matt Pound – to try to win these positions for the right-wing faction.
Oops.
Also last month, Akehurst’s own CLP – Oxford East – voted on which candidates to support would get its supporting nomination: Akehurst’s ‘slate’ as its known – or the grassroots, left-wing slate of Seema Chandwani and Billy Hayes for CAC, Emine Ibrahim and Anna Dyer for NCC. You can just imagine how hard Akehurst – and probably Pound as well – worked to secure Oxford East’s nomination for their preferred candidates.
Oxford East voted for all of the left slate candidates.
LF’s ‘master organiser’ couldn’t organise a result in his own CLP. Mind you, last month his local members also voted him off as Membership Secretary, so it’s disappointment on disappointment for Mr Akehurst.
A couple of the candidates couldn’t resist thanking Mr Akehurst for his effectiveness in driving the vote toward them:
Wow thanks @lukeakehurst am sure it was your vote that made the difference 😉 https://t.co/IAbk4NqWG6
— Emina Ibrahim (@Emina_ibrahim) April 12, 2017
((Hugs)) @lukeakehurst your CLP nominated me for CAC tonight… Is it true you spoke for me? 'She's my fave lefty, I just adore her' << 😘
— Seema Chandwani #StayAtHome (@SeemaChandwani) April 12, 2017
This is only a small part of the battle, though. The actual election of the members of these CAC is on a ‘one member one vote’ basis, while NCC is decided by delegate vote at this year’s Conference – yet another reason we need the best delegates at Conference.
The left has far greater numbers in the Labour Party – but if left-wing members don’t understand how important the positions are, or which candidates they need to support and organise accordingly, then the right could still carry it.
So it’s essential to spread the word – and to vote for the four candidates shown in bold text above when you receive your voting papers.
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You’ve made my day. I will certainly try and spread the word And ask others to do same.
Ha ha! Sent from my Vodafone Smart
Can I make a suggestion? Last paragraph says LW candidates highlighted in bold. Actually RW candidates are highlighted and the LW ones are in bold. I would hate anyone to make a mistake and vote for the wrong ones. Unlikely I know as your regular readers politically savvy but maybe repeating the LW names would be less confusing for any newcomers.
Take a look and let me know if that’s better.
Well done. The left have now to step up to the mark with policies that are acceptable and costed. That is the way forward. Good luck to all the candidates selected. There is a lot of ground to make up.
We are getting there bit by bit. But every little helps. hahaha
Soon, Akehurst will have nothing to fall back on but his rancid, toxic reputation.
Great news. I hope Watson has to stand for re-election. Bring it on!
Hmmm. Akehurst has pulled of a magnificent defeat for his slate selections. I’m sure he’ll be back on the ball as soon as, banging his head on a brick wall about Corbyn’s lack of leadership skills!
need to spread the message and get akehurst clp that we are behind them.
How awful that someone has to use an inaccurate label (Hard-Left) to describe party members who are moderate democratic socialists in order to disadvantage them so that the Right-Wing minority of party members has a dominant say in a democratic party. How wrong this is.
Great news. About time too.
Great news! More news like this are needed to change the LP bureaucratic machine, which is undermining the majority of members’ wishes for radical policies.
Excellent news and about time someone put the word out about attending boring meetings and outmanouvring the devious Right whose ONLY advantage is their knowledge and use (or MISuse) of the rule book. Is this being organised centrally though? When i was active (live in France now) the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy ensured everyone knew who to vote for and for what position.
CLPD have published a slate – not sure how widely known it is, though
Reblogged this on perfectlyfadeddelusions.
The caption for that photo should be *seethes plottingly*
I just love reading about Oxford East.