“We are seeing dubious practices against left MPs in trigger ballots and well-supported candidates from the centre-left and trade unions excluded from parliamentary selections for no good reason.”
By Rachel Garham, Campaign for Labour Party Democracy
Labour Party democracy is in a fragile state. Forde has exposed a damaging ‘monoculture’ at HQ and serious issues with racism and sexism, which remain unaddressed. Many members have no confidence that they will get a fair deal from Labour’s disciplinary processes, with proscriptions meaning members who have given so much to Labour locally being expelled for minor retrospective associations, with appeals seemingly unforthcoming.
We are seeing dubious practices against left MPs in trigger ballots and well-supported candidates from the centre-left and trade unions excluded from parliamentary selections for no good reason.
But there is still much to fight for. Despite the factional suspension of Jeremy Corbyn from the Parliamentary Labour Party, multiple CLPs have once again put forward a rule change that would ensure fairer treatment – we will not give up on Jeremy! We must support Labour’s Women’s Committee in demanding that our standalone, policy-making Women’s Conference is maintained and listened to; and support Labour Black Socialists and Disability Labour in challenging the Party’s racism and ableism.
Finally we must fight for a policy agenda to make the Labour Party worthy of the name, that will support trade unions and public ownership and take the fight to the Tories
- This article was originally published in print in the Labour Outlook Labour Party Conference Edition – you can view it here.
- Rachel Garnham is the Vice-Chair of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD). You can follow her on twitter here; and follow CLPD on Facebook and twitter.
