Posts Tagged ‘John Mann’

When David Evans was North West party director, trade unions were at the heart of his transformation of the region

25/05/2020, 10:16:56 AM

by John Mann

I was appointed by the unions in 1995 to co-ordinate the union links with the Labour Party and act as national union organiser for the 1997 General Election. Soon after starting David Evans was appointed regional director for the Labour Party in the North West.

Union organisation was coordinated regionally and union traditions and strength varied significantly across the countries.

By early agreement with Tony Blair and his General Secretary Tom Sawyer, the unions agreed to prioritise delivering Labour victories in Labours target 90 seats. In some strong union areas like the North West there were only four seats to target. In the North West there were more than a dozen, located in the smaller Lancashire town battlegrounds.

David Evans was at the heart of union involvement, but he had particular structural difficulties, more so than other regions.

The union heartlands were very strong, in Liverpool, Manchester, but also strong industrial towns around Ellesmere port, Widnes and St Helens, making the power bases of the unions the safe Labour  seats.

The North West tradition was locality, with key union figures providing people and money for those stronghold areas and with sitting MPs usually having very strong connections. Many were former union workplace convenors and part of the union powerbase themselves.

Evans had to negotiate through this, telling lifelong union activists and MPs that they would not get the level of support they had always relied on as it was being funnelled into the target seats. It was a battle for hearts and minds and skilled negotiations. Evans mastered both.

(more…)

Facebook Twitter Digg Delicious StumbleUpon

John Mann MP and the Bassetlaw Primary

19/09/2010, 11:38:32 AM

John Mann, MP for Bassetlaw, is calling for a “widening of democracy.” Or perhaps he just needs a few extra hands folding leaflets and knocking on doors in a local by-election.

Either way he is asking Bassetlaw Labour party members to vote for who he should back in the shadow cabinet elections. He is generously allowing local members the chance to pick 10 of his 19 votes. Of this 10, at least 3 must be women and 3 must be men. Still with us?

From: MANN, John
Sent: 18 September 2010 18:41
Subject: Shadow Cabinet Elections & Bassetlaw Labour Party Members Primary

Comrade!

Bassetlaw Labour Party are to be balloted on how I will cast ten of my votes in the Shadow Cabinet elections.  This widening of democracy is the direction in which, in my view, the Party must go.

Please let me know if you are standing by sending your CV to XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bassetlaw Party members are being given the password to this account so that they can view the CVs themselves and I will make them available to members without email access.

A quota system will operate, with at least three of the 10 chosen being women and at least three men.

Bassetlaw Labour Party are currently campaigning to win a By-Election and I am pleased to invite all candidates to the constituency to assist with the campaign.

John Mann

Facebook Twitter Digg Delicious StumbleUpon