Inside « Labour Uncut

Willsman nomination shenanigans III

08/07/2010, 01:45:17 PM

It seems that Uncut was right: Pete Willsman is fulfilling a long standing ambition to move from south east London to east Oxford.

Sources in both constituency Labour parties (CLPs) have confirmed that the veteran left-winger yesterday transferred his party membership from Erith and Thamesmead – the south east London suburb in which he has lived for years – to Oxford East.

Cynics are suggesting that this move has been prompted by Erith and Thamesmead having declined to nominate Willsman for re-election to Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC). Without such nomination from his home CLP, he is ineligible to stand.

On this occasion, cynics are right. After failing to be nominated at their meeting two Fridays ago, Willsman tried to persuade members and officers in Erith and Thamesmead to reconsider their decision. Having failed, he decided to “move” to Oxford East, the (real) home CLP of national Labour party chair and fellow grassrooter, Ann Black. (more…)

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Shenanigans at the grassroots alliance II

07/07/2010, 02:42:25 PM

Strange developments over at the grassroots alliance. We reported last week that the savagely-wrought left slate for the CLP section of Labour’s ruling national executive committee has been imperiled by Pete Willsman’s failure to secure the support of his home CLP. Without which nomination you cannot stand.

Strangely, the name of Willsman’s home CLP has now disappeared from the online version of the grassroots alliance NEC election flyer. All the other candidates’ CLPs are listed, according to the rules. Willsman’s, weirdly, is not.

Uncut’s hard copy of the original is in the post. It will be interesting to see, when it arrives, whether it is similarly and bafflingly blank, or whether it says “CLP: Erith and Thamesmead”. We’ll post it up when it gets here.

Cynics are speculating that Willsman intends to attempt a last minute rebirth as a member of Ann Black’s Oxford East CLP.

This would require fast-track help from head office and a pyrotechnic interpretation of the rules. The world (or our little Labour corner of it) awaits with affectionate concern.

Anyone who may be able to help Pete with information or documentation should email Uncut and we will do our best to facilitate.

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Most recent list of elected Labour select committee members

06/07/2010, 12:00:58 PM

Business, Innovation and Skills

Adrian Bailey (c), Luciana Berger, Jack Dromey, Chi Onwurah, Rachel Reeves

Children, Schools and Families

Nic Dakin, Pat Glass, Liz Kendall, Ian Mearns, Lisa Nandy

Communities and Local Government

Clive Betts (c), Heidi Alexander, Clive Efford, Toby Perkins, Chris Williamson

Culture Media and Sport

David Cairns, Paul Farrelly, Alan Keen, Jim Sheridan, Tom Watson (more…)

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Ed Miliband’s desert island discs

05/07/2010, 03:41:17 PM

Ed Miliband has cool-blitzed his brother’s desert island discs. It may be that he is cooler. It may be that he took a lot longer to reflect; that he agonised and focus-grouped.

Whatever the explanation, David’s desert island discs were defiantly uncool. Ed’s is a clever selection of thirty something and socialist hat tips.

We speculated in advance on how the candidates would deal with the Billy Bragg dilemma: too obvious, or impossible to omit if you want to resonate with any Labour member under 50? (more…)

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Updated shadow front bench

03/07/2010, 12:13:24 PM

?Acting Leader of the Opposition

Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP

Acting Shadow Deputy Prime Minister

Rt Hon Jack Straw MP

Lord Philip Hunt (DPM issues in Lords + ECC)

FCO

Rt Hon David Miliband MP

Ivan Lewis MP

Chris Bryant MP

Baroness (Glenys) Kinnock

Baroness (Liz) Symons

Baroness (Christine) Crawley

(more…)

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Leadership candidates on Ken Clarke proposals and deficit

02/07/2010, 12:45:00 PM

This week’s prime minister’s questions posed at least two questions for Labour: first, how to react to Ken Clarke’s prison proposals. Second, whether to take up David Cameron’s invitation “to engage in this debate (on deficit reduction), rather than playing this pathetic game of pretending there wouldn’t be cuts under Labour.”

Some Labour contributions to PMQs and Jack Straw’s article in the Daily Mail suggest that we are about to attack Clarke from the right. Steve Richards, who chaired Wednesday’s leadership hustings in Lambeth, has since dismissed this as madness. Different views have been expressed on Labour Uncut. But what did the candidates have to say to Lambeth on this?

(more…)

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Coop leadership hustings in Lambeth: laughometer

02/07/2010, 12:02:53 PM

This is the laughometer from the Coop leadership hustings in Brixton on the evening of Wednesday 30 June.

As usual, tiny chuckles weren’t recorded.

We maintained our rule that to score you had to get a proper laugh from a significant portion of the room.

Diane Abbott – 2

David Miliband – 1

Ed Balls – 1

Ed Miliband – 1

Andy Burnham – 0

Taken by an experienced laughometer operator, these are by far the lowest scores so far. Lambeth is clearly not for laughing.

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We need a bang ‘em up motion on prisons next week

01/07/2010, 11:37:46 AM

Next Wednesday is an opposition day in the House of Commons. This means that the opposition gets to choose the subjects for debate. Labour’s ‘usual channels’ have yet to determine what next week’s motions will be.

Uncut would like to venture a suggestion: the debate should be about prisons. The motion should be strongly worded, along the lines of Jack Straw’s article in the Daily Mail. The thesis can be summarised thus: prison works; bang ‘em up.

Our view is not based on the rehabilitative efficacy or otherwise of prison. It is tactical. (more…)

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NEC elections: shenanigans in the grassroots alliance

30/06/2010, 02:51:52 PM

Intriguing news from the east London suburbs. Uncut has learned that Erith and Thamesmead constituency Labour party has declined to nominate sitting member Pete Willsman for re-election to Labour’s ruling national executive committee.

Why does this matter? There are, after all, many hundreds of other CLPs to whom he could look for support.

It matters because Erith and Thamesmead is Willsman’s home CLP, where his personal party membership is held. And candidates must be nominated by their home CLP in order to qualify for election to the NEC’s CLP section. (more…)

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New politics? Natascha Engel and the backbench business committee

30/06/2010, 01:35:26 PM

The Commons authorities have published the results of yesterday’s election to the new backbench business committee.

This follows last week’s defeat by Natascha Engel of Sir Alan Haselhurst for its chair.

The Parliamentary Labour Party might like to note it as an example of how easy it is to publish the results of elections.

One could hardly have hoped for a clearer contest between the old and the new. 74 year-old Sir Alan was the Chairman of Ways and Means (senior deputy speaker) between 1997 and 2010. In the new Parliament he was obliged, under the new rules, to give way to a Labour MP. Having first entered Parliament in 1970, he has been MP for Saffron Walden since a by-election in 1977. A gent from the shires, polite and well-liked across the House, he is the old guard incarnate. (more…)

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