“The extremely limited window of opportunity for members to have any influence on who goes on the ballot paper is disappointing to say the least.”
By Emine Ibrahim
The starting gun has been fired and we are now in a race against the fast-ticking clock set by the NEC to elect the Deputy Leader of The Labour Party. MPs have less then 3 days to secure the 80 nominations needed to get on the ballot. The extremely limited window of opportunity for members to have any influence on who goes on the ballot paper is disappointing to say the least. However, Clive Lewis has asked his CLP to arrange an emergency online meeting of members so he can consider their priorities and views in casting his nomination.
All MPs should endeavour to do this. The twenty percent (80 MP) threshold means that a maximum of 4 candidates will be presented to members and that’s only if the nominations fall relatively equally. We don’t know how many candidates will step forward and there could even be a situation where lots of candidates split the nominations and only one or two make it over the threshold. It’s possible that it could all be sewn up by Friday.
I am a member of a large North London CLP where the logistics of our MP consulting us before casting their nomination would be quite a task. However in the age of selections on Zoom, is it really too big an ask for MPs to take a pause, invite us into a Zoom call and take some well-managed soundings from members on where to cast their nomination? I am not suggesting we mandate our MPs, but ultimately the Deputy Leader should be the bridge between the leader and the party membership.
I am writing this while listening to Radio 4, where Health Secretary Wes Streeting has just been probed on what the role of the Deputy Leader actually is, or indeed what it should be. Wes quickly and sharply fired back with “Campaigner in Chief!”. I absolutely agree with Wes. MPs need to think very carefully about how to cast their nominations and talk to the membership and indeed elected councillors, who face difficult elections next year in the shadow of some challenging national polling. A campaigner in chief needs to be able to galvanise our demoralised membership. We are the foot soldiers who will need to be fighting door by door the rising spectre of the far right outside London and the patchwork quilt of parties pitching to the left and right of Labour in London depending on the borough. We face a challenging time over the next few years as Reform, the Green Party, the Liberal Democrats and the yet-unnamed TBA Party / Your Party try to capitalise on low turnout and voter malaise.
Members need a real choice – Bell Ribeiro Addy’s declaration will generate enthusiasm from members who want to see the broad church of our party reflected at the top. And there is no harm in MPs seeking our views before they cast their nominations.
Of course members will get the opportunity to nominate through their CLPs and will ultimately vote. However the window of opportunity to nominate as CLPs is extremely curtailed too. CLPs will need to organise an all member meeting between Saturday 13th September and Saturday 27th September. Get on to your CLP officers to make sure this happens. May the best woman win !
- Emine Ibrahim is a councillor in Haringey.
- Read a sum-up of the enthusiasm Bell Ribeiro-Addy is creating here.
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