The opening of Labour’s conference in Liverpool was marred by the attempt to stitch up the debate on conference voting — inadequate time for debate and voting on the whole package, take it or leave it. Speaker after speaker rose to criticise it. The elderly delegate from Richmond Park was particularly loudly applauded (together with […]
Posts Tagged ‘Conference 2011’
Control freakery still rules OK at Labour conference
Sep 23rd, 2011 by Jon Lansman.If you are in any doubt about the extent of control freakery operating still in the Labour Party, take a look at the contemporary motions. Gordon Brown had abolished these back in 2007 just after becoming leader – they were the last chance left for conference to vote on policy issues. Until then, most had […]
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Labour Conference to agree Balls line on strikes
Sep 22nd, 2011 by Jon Lansman.There is little doubt that Labour Party conference will agree to back the line argued by Ed Balls on the public sector pension strikes – representing the union case as reasonable and pinning al the blame on the government for the threat of strike acton. The clear implication is that, if strikes happen because of […]
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Party democracy is being stitched up at Labour’s conference
Sep 22nd, 2011 by Michael Meacher.Two key changes were needed to make good Ed Miliband’s promise of a change of direction at his election to the leadership. One was obviously a shift away from New Labour’s Faustian deal with neo-liberal capitalism and Blair-Brown’s accommodation with the banks, big business and Murdoch press in support of deregulated finance and privatised free […]
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Refounding Labour – avoiding a shabby stitch-up is still (just) possible
Sep 22nd, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Yesterday, we reported on the transparency and accountability in how Refounding Labor has been handled and the shameful farce of putting the whole package to conference as a package with a single debate and vote. Today we discover that there isn’t even going to be a real debate, time perhaps for two or three CLP […]
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Refounding Labour: political homeopathy
Sep 21st, 2011 by David Osler.Interestingly enough, Peter Hain is one of the few people with credibility in public life openly to champion homeopathy. So to his way of thinking, it presumably follows that by diluting the influence of unions in the Labour Party, Refounding Labour will ultimately make them that much stronger. The only snag is that the particular form […]
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Refounding Labour – lacking democracy in process and content
Sep 21st, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Ed Miliband promised change. A real voice for members. A “living, breathing party”. We think he does believe in that, but he hasn’t delivered it in Refounding Labour, not in form or content. Taking it as a whole, which is how party managers are forcing us to take it with just one vote on the […]
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Why has Ed initiated a policy review that by-passes the party?
Feb 22nd, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Ed Miliband wants to undertake a policy review which reconnects with the lives of people with whom we lost touch to develop a programme for government. He also wants “to give party members a proper voice” in “a living breathing party of which people are proud to say they are members and proud to call their […]
