Unison- and GMB-backed candidates come 3rd/4th of four
An attempt by the GMB and Unison unions to pave the way for their preferred candidates to win the Enfield North parliamentary candidacy has backfired, opening the way instead for the right-wing deputy mayor of Hackney to become Enfield Labour’s ‘PPC’.
Labour sources have told the SKWAWKBOX that the decision to eliminate all local left candidates from the Enfield North shortlist – to the outrage of local members bruised by years of having to tolerate Joan Ryan as their MP – was an attempt by the unions to set up a favourable scenario for their preferences.
However, this morning Feryal Demirci – who backed Yvette Cooper in the 2015 leadership contest long after Corbyn passed the required nomination threshold – won the vote. The SKWAWKBOX is waiting for the exact voting result but understands that Unison-backed Margaret Greer and GMB-supported Dean Gilligan placed third and fourth.
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So a right wing candidate had beaten two right wing candidates. Therefore the right wing unions will be furious because the right wing winner wasn’t their right wing nominee? Where is the left in all this?
Fuming! And fighting
They’re seeing today as the beginning of deselection campaign
The left didn’t exist in this. We were excluded from even the long list by the NEC after they took over the running of the selection procedure. Despite having a left wing councillor get the highest ward votes, him and others were overlooked.
It looks like certain vested interests haven’t turned out to be as clever as they thought they were.
I guess it was only a matter of time before a CLP’s members decided to teach the Unions a lesson. Who can blame them for being pissed off with the Unions for manipulating the candidate selection process and denying CLP members their legitimate democratic choice.
Is the current central control of the PPC selection process by the Unions and the vested interests within the NEC really any different from the Blair days of parachuting in favored candidates.
I seem to remember that there was once upon a time much talk about promising to democratise the party. We were apparently going to be a members led party where the members would be listened to.
What happened to all these promises?
Awful lot of union bashing going on here,they too can drop a clanger… But where would the Labour party be without them…!
Joseph – You could also ask where would the Unions be without the Labour Party,
Joseph, “Awful lot of union bashing going on here” – Right wing union bashing.
Without right wing views holding sway, we could have had ‘open selection’ and NO IHRA definition.
Jack T The right wing did not push through the definition of AS ,it was helped along by 2 Corbyn loyalist members…against Corbyns wishes.!
Joseph, powerful union voices on the left and right pressured Corbyn to adopt the IHRA definition.
Time to fight for open selection. The unions might think they have scored a victory against members but it will be short lived. From what I hear there were more spoilt ballots than votes for the actual candidate
drwilliamlarge at 4:36 pm
The results for the first round.
Feryal Clark – 87
Margaret Greer – 35
Sanchia Alasia – 31
Dean Gilligan – 28
227 ballots were returned in total, and 181 valid votes were counted. 46 ballots were void due to being spoiled.
Apparently protesters were handing out leaflets prior to the meeting encouraging members to spoil their ballot papers. The link below is to a copy of what was being distributed.
https://twitter.com/siennamarla/status/1188070096482254849
There is also some further details about a ‘planned’ vote of no confidence in their newly elected PPC