As the SKWAWKBOX broke exclusively just minutes ago, Unite NEC representative Jennie Formby has announced that she is applying for the soon-to-be-vacant role of Labour Party General Secretary. If successful, she will be the first woman to fill the role in decades.
Ms Formby said:
I have today decided to apply for the post of General Secretary of the Labour Party. Before setting out my reasons for doing so let me pay tribute to the work done by Iain McNicol in that role and to join every Party member in thanking him for his service and wishing him well for the future.
Our Party is now united, as it has not been for years, under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. The General Secretary of the Party needs to be someone who can build on that unity to mobilise and organise the entire party and the wider labour movement behind a Labour victory at the next general election whenever this callous and crumbling government decides to call it. Labour’s strength rests on three pillars – the support of millions of voters, an individual membership far larger than that in any other British political party, and our link with our affiliated trade unions. I believe I am well-placed to help our party build on all three.
My service as a party member for forty years, as a member of the National Executive Committee for the last seven, and as a senior official of my union in industrial, political and administrative posts has given me the breadth of experience to lead the whole party in meeting the challenges and seizing the opportunities ahead. I will work with all parts of the movement to ensure that the Party democracy review empowers the party membership, opens up policy-making, and ensures democratic best-practice throughout. I will ensure our exciting new community organising initiative is developed to help entrench Labour in the communities we serve and win the seats we need at the next general election.
I stand for a tolerant and welcoming party, with no place for anti-Semitism, racism and misogyny or any form of abuse or intimidation; a party in which complaints are handled both fairly and speedily. I value the commitment and hard work of party staff and will ensure the whole party machine is working in support of our Leader and our policies, embracing the new campaigning tools and methods which we used to such effect in the 2017 election.
I would be proud to be the first woman to serve as Labour Party General Secretary in a generation and only the second ever. I have fought for gender equality – often the hard way – throughout my lifetime in the labour movement. Labour has only one objective – to bring to Britain the socialist change it desperately needs. And it has only one means of delivering that – electoral victory at all levels, and above all in a General Election. As General Secretary, I will devote all my time and energy to ensuring that we grasp the historic opportunity before us.
Ms Formby had no personal ambition for the role but is understood to be standing at the request of senior Labour figures because of her outstanding suitability.
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Very pleased to see the leadership putting her forward. An outstanding candidate and the fact that she happens to be a woman is a plus. John Lansman appears to have signalled that he feels he could be a candidate – hopefully he will get this message from the leadership.
I’d personally love to see a choice of great left wing candidates and John ,I feel , would make a great GS .He leads the fastest growing most active/successful group committed to Corbyn and the left and has just as good credentials as Jennie IMO. It is only this stupid rule of giving one’s place up to the looser on the NEC that seams to be thwarting a choice of the left .So I hope that he stands aside in this instance , keeps his place on the NEC and continues to steer Momentum in it’s efforts along with those of us members who want to see a Labour Govt lead by CORBYN.
We need to see the unions having a say, again, not as it was in the 60’s and 70’s, but a real truth, the coal face truth, no more sucking up to parliament, we, we, not them, need to care for each other, I was a rep for USDAW for ten years during the early naughties, and saw the problems with gov interference, we need a strong voice, not a yes man/woman
Jennie would be my choice. Jon has only just been elected to the NEC now is not the time for him to stand for GS.
I cannot believe
We have turned on Jon Landsman
His work saved Labour
He did a remarkable job in creating Momentum which has become an incredible campaigning organisation BUT he exhibits very worrying autocratic tendencies.
I think Momentum is his baby and no one else’s ….. understandable but worryingly undemocratic.
Thousands have been expelled by the Blairite bureaucracy. A 100% commitment to reinstate everyone of them is needed and to support mandatory reselection too.
Re John Lansman, the following is very interesting:
https://mailchi.mp/3e80dbaaa994/press-release-on-the-resignation-of-iain-mcnicol-1823337?e=b4fc07f0cb
Definitely Allan…. he needs to put personal prejudices to one side. With McNicol gone we need a clean slate.