Beware primaries. They anoint money and the media as the most important factors in candidate selection. Many of us thought the idea of open primaries for the selection of candidates was dead and buried following widespread rejection by members in a Party consultation process a couple of years ago. But the anti-union wing of the Party don’t give up easily and they have persuaded Ed Miliband to put it forward for the next London mayoral election.
Expect a beauty contest of personalities, some of whom were touted in the past as alternatives to Ken Livingstone — Trevor Phillips, Alan Sugar, Richard Branson, to name a few. All are pretty wealthy and associated with Labour’s right wing, if they have a connection with the Party at all. Continue reading
A turnout of over 2.5 million voters in the French Socialist Party (PSF) presidential primary: more than 5% of the electorate, well over twenty times the membership of the PSF, paying at least €1 to participate and each allowed to cast their vote at one of almost 10,000 polling stations across France. An impressive exercise, there is no doubt, a level of “engagement” way beyond what anyone expects for our own Labour Party “registered supporters” scheme. So what can we learn from it in Britain? 