Tagged with selections

Tory right circulates “swivel-eyed” Euro slate

Daniel Hannan, one of the recommended candidatesThose Labour party members among our readers should have received a ballot paper in past month or so to choose candidates for the European parliamentary elections next year. But Labour aren’t the only party running this process at the moment – the Tories too are balloting their members as to who should run.

And for all their talk of Labour’s warring factions in the past few weeks, they’re not exactly a united church themselves. Their hardline-Eurosceptic and Thatcherite division, Conservative Way Forward, has issued a slate of candidates to vote for in the Euro selections: a team which it describes as “solidly Eurosceptic and unabashedly patriotic”. You can’t say they don’t say it like it is. (Or can you?)

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Labour European selections: who are the left candidates? (NOW UPDATED)

Where next?

UPDATE 31/07/13 – last chance to vote today! You can vote online at labour.org.uk/Ballot2013 – and if you can’t find the email with your login details, search “electoral reform” in your inbox.

The ballot is now underway to select Labour’s candidates for the 2014 European parliament selections. Under party rules which make a full re-selection process difficult, all of Labour’s sitting MEPs who are seeking re-election have been re-selected by a “trigger ballot” (sitting MEPs are not required to face the ballot box unless demanded by a large majority CLP meetings in their region).

Yet Labour’s performance in 2009 – the last European elections – was pretty abysmal, and so we can expect to grow our MEPs in number by at least a few. Members have until 31 July to cast their votes either by post or online – some have already received an email with details of how to vote. Below, we’ve listed who activists on the Labour left and the trade unions are supporting in each region. The list is currently incomplete, and we’ll update as we hear from left-wing activists over the next couple of weeks. Feel free to contribute to the debate by commenting below.

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Is Barking becoming the new Tower Hamlets?

Barking Labour Party went through a very difficult period in 2008 to 2010 when it saw a lot of previous councillors step down or be deselected. Some of these councillors that found themselves deselected decided to stand as independent Labour but all were unsuccessful.

As someone who grew up in Barking I was glad to see the BNP wiped out but did feel sorry for some of those councillors that did not win this time round. I had hoped however that this would be the end of the party shenanigans and that Barking CLP would start afresh and move forward in a more open and democratic manner.

It appears not.

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Labour success spoilt once again by selection shenanigans

It is sad that Labour’s election bonanza yesterday at Corby, Manchester Central, Cardiff South and many Police Commissioner elections is once again tarnished by selection shenanigans.

Rotherham CLP two days ago selected their candidate to succeed Denis McShane, or rather were prevented from selecting candidates whom they might well have selected if they had been given the opportunity to do so. Continue reading →