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Labour Party Conference 2021
The conference was held in Brighton from Saturday 25th September to Wednesday 29th September, and as expected was a fight over the future direction of the Party.
The key issues were not about policies (which the leadership will ignore anyway if they don't like them) but about changing the democratic processes within the Party, i.e. shifting the balance away from members towards both the PLP and those at the top of the Party.
In the run up to conference a number of delegates were suspended from the Party. Some were suspended whilst travelling down to Brighton and some even expelled/suspended during conference itself. Supposedly these were due to legacy complaints, but considering they were all aimed at left delegates and occurred just before and during conference it smacked of gerrymandering. According to the Conference Arrangements Committee it was 'only' 20 delegates.
In the days and hours prior to conference Sir Keir tried to reintroduce the Electoral College. Such a change would have meant the 200 MPs having the same level of voting power as over 400,000 members! So much for the concept of all being equal. Just that some would be 2000 times more equal than others. In the end the leadership did not push this forward as they could not get the majority of unions to back it.
The leadership did however get their way over changing the rules for when there is a leadership vacancy. The number of MPs nominating has gone up from 10% to 20% just to get on the ballot. This is aimed at keeping a clear left-wing candidate out of the running, i.e. denying members the opportunity to choose from a wide range of candidates. A figure requiring 40 MPs to nominate, i.e. just out of reach of the 34 members of the socialist Campaign Group of MPs.
Also introduced was a six month freeze date before being allowed to vote in leadership elections. Never again will young people be able to join and vote in the excitement of a leadership campaign for a candidate that inspires them.
Another rule change now makes it even more difficult to get rid on an MP that is either useless or not reflecting the views of the local membership. Instead of either 1/3rd of branches or affiliated organisations being able to call for re-selection, it now requires a majority of both sections.
A very worrying rule change also gave huge powers to the General Secretary to exclude from membership anyone he feels does not have the Labour values.
Palestine: A historic motion was carried without the need for a card vote, which means that not only did CLP delegates vote overwhelmingly for it, but the unions also.
An important victory, though already being ignored by the leadership, was the policy carried that backs a minimum wage of £15ph and sick pay at the living wage.
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