As Labour Party conference approaches (25-9 September, Brighton), Keir Starmer’s assault on Labour democracy has accelerated.
In the run-up to and following the National Executive Committee’s ban on four organisations, dozens or hundreds of left-wingers have been expelled or suspended from the party, often on the most tenuous charges, and with no or little due process. A string of CLPs (local Labour Parties) have had elections for conference delegates manipulated to ensure pro-Starmer delegates.
Activists will challenge the conference confirmation (usually a formality) for the appointed general secretary, David Evans.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) will propose anti-democratic rule changes, at the last minute as is unfortunately its power and custom. On the pretext of responding to the Equality and Human Rights Commission report on antisemitism, these are set to include replacing the elected National Constitutional Committee with an appointed “appeals board”.
Some good rule changes (accountability to conference for the Parliamentary Labour Party, an end to the “three-year rule” restricting rule changes) will challenge the platform.
We can’t yet see clearly the shape of the policy debates. There will be lots of motions for Proportional Representation and a big variety of motions on climate politics (much will depend on the compositing meeting).
The organised Labour right (Labour To Win, combining Labour First and Progress) has issued 16 model motions; but it has made relatively little drive for them, and in some CLPs those model motions (on social care and trade union rights, for example) have been amended to become left-wing. Momentum Internationalists has motions on Build Back Fairer and Uyghur rights, and left-wing text on climate justice. Momentum has 11 model motions, but how many will get to conference we don’t know.
Having told the officers of Young Labour it would not allow a YL conference this year, the party has now thrown down multiple barriers to even a YL-themed day at the Brighton conference. YL’s leaders have rightly protested, but not organised an unofficial YL assembly to rally and discuss.
The Unite and GMB unions got ballot majorities for strikes of Labour Party staff after HQ threatened to cut 90 jobs, with some compulsory redundancies. Evans backed down, reducing the figure to 60 and saying compulsory redundancies will not be necessary “at this stage”.
We are no defenders of jobs for life for Labour Party apparatchiks. Still, 60 or 90 job losses must affect many backroom technical staff (call-centre workers and the like). Better to redirect funds from the Leader’s Office, an institution which did not even exist until Neil Kinnock and where the top officials are paid over £100,000.
Affiliated unions should use their positions and voice in the Labour structure to determine what the party does, and break their silence over the attacks on Labour’s democracy.
They should fight for their democratically agreed positions in the party structure, including at conference. If even the half of affiliated unions which claim to be on the left made a fight, the picture inside Labour would be very different. Even so, there will be scope in Brighton for the left from local Labour Parties to rally itself, around policy and democracy in the conference, and in fringe events.
Trade union and Labour activists should demand the unions speak out against Starmer’s attacks on democracy and members’ rights, and state openly now what policies, positions and rule changes they plan to support and oppose on the NEC and at conference.
