A countermotion moved by Labour MP – and still Liverpool councillor – Ian Byrne at tonight’s emergency meeting of Liverpool City Council has passed by 39 votes to 22, preventing any further changes to the mayoral model without transparency from the party as to why three women candidates were barred from the selection process after being shortlisted.
An earlier attempt by a coalition of right-wing councillors and the small group of Labour fixers often referred to as the ‘north-west mafia’, to return to the old ‘leader/cabinet’ model and which would have allowed them to install their preferred candidate in spite of unanswered questions about her links to a heavily-criticised company and cash handed out to businesses, was resoundingly defeated earlier in the meeting.
The successful motion reads:
Motions for Emergency Meeting of Labour Group 27th February 2021
Calling for transparency regarding the decision to remove all three short-listed nominees from the ballot to select a mayoral candidate, by Cllr Ian Byrne MP
Three senior women in the Labour Party – Cllr Wendy Simon Acting Mayor, Cllr Ann O’Byrne former Deputy Mayor and Cllr Anna Rothery current Lord Mayor – have been removed from the ballot.
How can three senior members, with over 50 years’ service between them, be removed from a process that had followed the Labour Party Selection Process, with no explanation as to why?
0There should be transparency immediately from the party regarding the decision to block each of the previous 3 candidates, and time afforded to scrutinise and challenge these decisions.
We further believe that in any alternative model we adopt going forward, the wider Liverpool Labour membership should retain their ability to democratically decide the leadership, and we will seek an NEC rule change to that effect if necessary.
Popular left candidate Anna Rothery’s fight to be reinstated to the selection, after she was barred groundlessly by the party, will continue. She is understood to be applying to court for an injunction to overturn the party’s opaque and anti-democratic decision.
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