The posting, sometime in the past couple of weeks, of the national policy forum annual report on membersnet, Labour members’ private intranet, reveals that little has yet changed in the way Labour makes its policy since the bad old days of New Labour. No press release, no email to members, no reason why anyone would […]
Posts Tagged ‘Policy Review’
Labour’s policy statements published in secret, members’ opinions suppressed
Sep 18th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.
Labour’s policy review – time to get your views in
Jun 6th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.Six new (but very short) policy statements (which you can view or download here) were circulated to local Labour parties, affiliated organisations and other stakeholders after the May elections and the national policy forum meets again in Birmingham on 16/7 June. Although timescales are short, you and your local party do have the opportunity to […]
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Making Labour policy: who calls the tune?
May 28th, 2012 by Ann Black.Excellent election results and rising polls have brought a mood of unity and created space and time for serious work on policy. Francois Hollande’s victory shows that austerity is not the only option, and Labour must start to develop an alternative agenda, rejecting the Tory politics of resentment and division in favour of policies which […]
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Ten good reasons to welcome the appointment of Jon Cruddas
May 16th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.It’s been a while since Jon Cruddas was a Labour Left pin up boy and even then the status was contested by some sections of the Left — his campaign for the deputy leadership being seen as a distraction from the non-event that the main event turned out to be. Since that campaign, he clearly […]
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A new Labour Policy Review is urgently needed
May 12th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.The report in today’s newspapers that a Labour shadow cabinet reshuffle may be in the offing is to be welcomed if at last it enables the party to get a grip on one of the essential components for electoral success – the Policy Review. For 18 months now this has been stranded in the doldrums […]
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The question now is not will we win with Ed, but how we win with Ed
May 4th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.Who says we cannot win with Ed Miliband as Leader? It was only in January that a meeting of leading Progress MPs decided not to challenge him this side of a general election — not because they really back him but because they couldn’t bring themselves to back Balls or Cooper, and they didn’t have a […]
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Labour’s policy review: Susan and Melanie and why one head is better than two
Dec 23rd, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Labour’s policy making process has two heads but has shown little sign of life since Ed Miliband became Leader promising to re-create a “living, breathing party“. The two heads are Peter Hain, Chair of the National Policy Forum, who theoretically oversees the policy making process, and Liam Byrne, charged with overseeing the policy review. The National […]
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Peter Watt is boring and irrelevant
Aug 18th, 2011 by Jon Lansman.According to Peter Watt, a former New Labour General Secretary who writes at Labour Uncut today, “politics is boring and irrelevant“. What he really means is that the politics and concerns of politicians and activists are boring and irrelevant, that is they are out of step with what real people are thinking. This is his […]
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Labour party managers meet tomorrow – to fix or to facilitate?
Jun 14th, 2011 by Peter Kenyon.Ed Miliband’s leadership faces a key test tomorrow. It is unlikely to be reported in the conventional media. But it concerns preparations for forthcoming set piece events. A week on Saturday the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum meets in Wrexham. Three months later Annual Conference takes place in Liverpool. At the centre of a web […]
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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 […]
