“There is a crisis in the Labour Party & the way out is Party Democracy.”
Report by the Labour Outlook team
Labour MPs, Party Members, some members of the National Executive Committee and Trade Unions including the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs, UNITE, the Fire Brigades Union, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union, Don’t Leave Organise and Momentum, have come together to launch a campaign for an emergency Recall Conference of the Labour Party.
Arguing that there is a crisis in the Labour Party and the way out is Party Democracy, in a press release they say “Discussion in local Labour Party meetings has been suppressed; motions banned; scores of activists suspended; and anger and disillusionment is exploding across our lay membership across the Party. Members are leaving in droves and many more are expressing frustration and dissatisfaction at the attack on democracy and free speech. Many members are saying it doesn’t feel like the Labour Party anymore.”
The campaigners argue Labour’s National Executive Committee does have the power to call such a conference and that there is no practical obstacle to holding such a conference online as the Party is already planning to hold this year’s Labour Women’s Conference online and last years’ TUC Congress was held online.
Commenting on the campaign Ian Hodson, National President of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union said, “We have a real battle on our hands. We are fighting for the very soul of the Party and are confident we have the bulk of the membership behind such a move.”
NEC member Nadia Jama added, “Labour Party Members are our greatest asset. We can no longer allow their voices to be silenced as the very fabric of our party democracy is being ripped apart. Conference, our sovereign body for decision making, is the only way out of the mess we find ourselves in. I’m fully behind this call to reclaim democracy by calling for a recall conference.”
- The campaign is asking members as a matter of urgency to take the following motion to meetings of their Constituency Labour Party and branches of affiliated organisations. You can access the motion here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1klQM3mj_rEZr1Tdv9Vr_C-9wvXtmNunH/view?usp=sharing
