Labour's alternative voice

Graham Bash Hackney North & Stoke Newington CLP

Agreement has now been reached between the Labour left and centre on a slate for the Constituency Section of the National Executive Committee and on a political statement on which the slate will be based. (See Support the candidates of the centre/left grassroots alliance).

Labour Left Briefing, Socialist Campaign Group News, Tribune, Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, Labour Women's Action Committee, the Network of Socialist Campaign Groups and Labour Reform have made a significant step towards unity around the basic issues of Party democracy and Labour's core values. The statement is moderate in content and tone (more moderate than some of us would have liked!) and is a compromise between the different wings of the alliance. But it inevitably brings the alliance in direct collision with the centralising and anti-welfare tendencies within New Labour, and clearly represents an alternative voice for disaffected constituency members to support.

Seven names so far have been agreed. The closing date for nominations is 5th June and then the slate will be reduced to six for the elections.

Party HQ has changed its rules and now nominees need no longer be delegates to Party Conference. No doubt the leadership was worried that its own celebrity choices couldn't get delegated. This is a big chance for the Party membership to express its opinion on the Government's record and for the left to break out of its isolation and speak once more for the Party majority.

NEC Slate: Liz Davies, Andy Howell, Cathy Jamieson, Annie Marjoram, Mark Seddon, Christine Shawcroft, Pete Willsman.

previous article ·  May '98 index of LLB ·  write to LLB ·  LLB home page ·  next article