NEC (National Executive Committee) Chair Glenis Willmott MEP is retiring as a Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands.
This has led to questions from various quarters about her position as Chair. However, the SKWAWKBOX can confirm that Ms Willmott will retain her position until her term ends at Labour’s annual Conference in Brighton in September and then step down as a member of the NEC.
However, according to a very senior Labour source, machinations have already begun on the right of the party to try to dictate her replacement. The source told the SKWAWKBOX:
Really it should be [CWU union representative] Andy Kerr who takes over but Watson and [Labour peer] Alicia Kennedy have been contacting everyone to lobby for Sion Simon. Watson and Simon are close. Alicia works for the Labour party so really shouldn’t be doing it.
Sion Simon lost the Birmingham mayoral election disastrously for Labour because of his dire campaign. He was busy meddling in the Unite leadership election when he should have been building his own campaign. He doesn’t have a problem-free record with his expenses, either.
The idea that he’d be on NEC is ridiculous and needs needs to be put to bed. With everything else that’s going on, Tom Watson is in no position to promise anyone anything, so what he’s telling people to try to get them on board is anyone’s guess.
There’s simply no way Watson’s going to be allowed to lever yet another right-winger onto the NEC and stack it against the members.
Watson’s days in any position of influence look numbered, but it appears he’s trying to use whatever waning currency he has left to stack the NEC – again – against the clear, democratic will of the vast majority of Labour’s membership and the leadership team it backs. But he’s backing a hobbled horse and the leadership is alive to the move.
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Tom Watson seems to think that he owns the Labour Party and that he can go around giving away key roles in the party to his friends.
That type of attitude and corrupt behaviour may well be tolerated by the Tories but it has no place in the Labour Party.
Thank you Tom Watson for bringing this to my attention I will be raising this at my next CLP meeting and asking them to support Andy Kerr and not your candidate
I also shall be raising the question of why Alicia as an employee of the Labour Party is canvassing for a particular candidate. She should surely be impartial and be seen to be impartial .
Rest assured that I shall definitely be voting for Emily Thornberry when she challenges your position as deputy leader can’t wait for that to happen time for you to go !
Reblogged this on sdbast.
‘Kingmaker Tom” at work again. Simon is a three time loser but was so confident of the Birmingham Metro Mayoral appointment he didn’t bother campaigning too hard for it! Ergo. A massive fail. Now it’s another gravy train he’s being groomed for. He’ll fail again as he carries too much Blair baggage and Tom will end up with egg on his face again!
Its up to the members in the West Midlands to put a stop to this. Only they can put a shot across Tom Watsons bows and tell him to get in line with the membership. Otherwise this will go on for ever with small clique factions playing stupid and damaging games. The majority have to speak up and make those involved know the trouble making has to stop.
Elimy Thornbury would be absolutely superb as deputy. Hurry up women
IS THERE NO END TO TOM WATSONS INDIVIDUAL MEDLING TO FINANCE HIS OWN PARLIAMENTARY DEALINGS ON THE RIGHT?
THE SOONER HE’S TOPPLED THE BETTER!
I VOTED FOR WATSON WITHOUT INVESTIGATING HIS LEANINGS, ONLY BECAUSE I WAS TOLD ON GOOD AUTHORITY HE WAS A MAN ON THE LEFT!
HOW WRONG WAS I, ALONG WITH THE GOOD AUTHORITY.
NEXT TIME I’M LEAD BY THE NOSE I SHALL LOOK INTO THE PERSONS PAST!
Sion Simon (a columnist for Conrad Black’s Daily Telegraph before becoming an MP in 2001) were all members of the New Labour ‘Praetorian guard’. That Sion Simon
Please don’t let facts interrupt you, but you appear to be confused here, let me try to clarify as simplistically as possible so even village idiots like yourselves can understand: Ms Willmott is the representative of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) on the NEC which, under Party Rules, is guaranteed one ex-officio position, therefore her replacement on the NEC has to be a member of the EPLP under Party Rules, as Mr Simon remains a Member of the European Parliament (thus a member of the EPLP) he is eligible to take the NEC position reserved for the EPLP and chosen by colleagues within the EPLP (which I assume will be seeing two other changes to their membership following the election of Annaliese Dodds and Afzal Khan to Westminster). As Mr Kerr is already a member of the NEC, nor a member of the EPLP, he cannot replace Ms Willmott as a member of the NEC (you can’t replace someone on something of which you’re already a member). The position of Chair is traditionally voted on by the NEC before Conference, so if Ms Willmott is continuing up to Conference as you stated, the new Chair will have been elected prior to her EPLP replacement joining the NEC, thus making s/he ineligible to be considered for the position of Chair until next year. It really is very simple to any half literate moron so I can understand why you’re struggling.
Blah blah. Read the article again.
Done that, now refute anything I’ve said: do you dispute that Willmott’s NEC place is reserved for EPLP members only and that Kerr is a) already on the NEC and b) not a member of the NEC? Do you disagree that the Chair of the NEC is elected pre-Conference and thus Simon would be ineligible as Willmott is not leaving the NEC until after Conference? If you cannot disprove either of the above your story is, simply, fake news worthy of Fox News Channel.
b) should read “not a member of the EPLP”
‘Village idiots’
‘Half-literate morons’
Had any death threats recently?
He’s made a mistake with this I think. I can’t quite believe he would do this after overtures to Jezza. It’s madness that he hasn’t assessed the zeitgeist