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Labour NEC elections

Nominations for the Constituency Labour Party places on Labour’s National Executive Committee have closed. All six Grassroots Voice candidates are on the ballot, and the battle for votes is on. Labour CND Co-Chair CAROL TURNER reports.

A total of 454 local Labour Parties made nominations, which LabourList claims is the highest number in any NEC election, Of the 66 candidates who sought nomination for the 9 CLP places, 42 have won the 5 nominations needed to make it onto the ballot paper.
Labour CND urges support for ‘the #GV six candidates. We did so because they are the  one group of candidates standing on an internationalist manifesto, explicitly committed to peace and nuclear disarmament.

Momentum, Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, and Labour Representation Committee are among the 13 Centre Left Grassroots Alliance organisations backing #GV candidates. A CLPD spokesperson welcomed the good results for the six, saying that nominations showed ‘there is mainstream support amongst Labour members for defending a socialist policy agenda and democratic rights for members’.

The campaign to win support is far from over. The first time use of an STV voting system, as opposed to first past the post, makes it much harder for candidates to cross the finish line. A divided vote for the NEC by-elections in February saw progressive candidates lose places that could otherwise have been won. Watch this space for information about STV, and tips on how to rank your favourite candidates.

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Corbyn backs NEC candidates

Jeremy Corbyn was quick to tweet his support for the Centre Left Grassroots Alliance candidates for Labour’s NEC elections which take place over the summer. The Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs has also backed them, saying: ‘As the left grouping within the Parliamentary Labour Party, the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs formally endorses the @CLGALabour slate for the National Executive Committee Elections.’

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The NEC candidates we need

Labour CND is pleased to support the Centre Left Grassroots Alliance (CLGA) slate of candidates who are standing for election as CLP reps in the forthcoming NEC elections. All six candidates make clear their commitment to nuclear disarmament in a joint statement:

An ethical foreign policy – Labour should have an independent, internationalist foreign policy the core objectives of which should be peace, conflict-resolution, and nuclear disarmament. Rather than participating in illegal foreign wars, we should support people struggling against oppression across the globe.

Candidates are standing for a transformative Labour government, socialist policies and party democracy. The campaign statement, Campaigning for a Labour Victory also includes commitments to:

– defend people’s lives and jobs as the priority in the coronavirus pandemic
– a socialist Labour government as the best vehicle for transforming society in the interests of the majority
– an economy for the many, rejecting the Tories austerity agenda
– a socialist green new deal, investing in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure and building support for a rapid and just transition to a zero-carbon economy
– stand with the Black Lives Matter movement to achieve lasting structural change, and campaign against all forms of racism, discrimination and prejudice, and
– party democracy – to build an inclusive party which represents the interests of the majority in society.

This united left slate is supported by Momentum, Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, Labour Assembly Against Austerity, Labour Representation Committee, Campaign for Socialism Scotland, Wales Labour Grassroots…. and many more.

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Labour NEC election results

Congrats Rachel, Jasmine, Jon!

Elections results are in for the three additional Constituency Labour Party places on the National Executive that 2017 annual conference agreed on. The three Centre Left Grassroots Alliance (CLGA) candidates swept the board. Chosen to represent the CLGA coalition from among 48 would-be contenders, when the results were announced on 15 January, they’d swept the board – beating the right wing Labour First / Progress slate by an overwhelming majority.

Rachel Garnham, a former member of Labour CND Executive Committee, is a constituency secretary and former rep on Labour’s National Policy Forum. Standing for an NEC place for the first time a first time, her running mates were Jasmine Dar and Jon Lansman. Jon, a founder of Momentum stresses his commitment to a transformative government; and Jasmine, a Manchester City councillor emphasises she’s committed to ‘actions not just words’.

Click here to read their statements in full.