ON Sunday 15 June in a quiet country house Hertfordshire, eleven men and discuss the future of the Labour Party — a party of half a million members.
This 'commission of inquiry' was established last year by the party's NEC to CALLY thorough overhaul of the party's organisation and structure.
The weakness of the party's finance and membership was one question on which it had to report; but the most controversial part of the commission's work concerned questions of inner-party democracy, especially the debated at last year's Labour Party conference: the election of the party leader; mandatory re-selection of MiPs; and control party's manifesto.
The commission was made up of leading trade unionists, members NEC, representatives parliamentary party.
Teeth In the teeth of bitter position from party leader Jim Callaghan, they recommended that constitutency should re-seedi their before each election. This was a victory for the left: a victory for democracy.
It was a victory made possible by the decision Evans, leader of largest union the Transport and General Workers' Union, to vote the members of the NEC. Ranged against the proposal Callaghan and his Michael Foot, and all the other trade union leaders present at This was the last victory for the left. Moss Evans deserted his temporary alliance with the left and two disastrous posals were voted through.
It was agreed that in future the party leader is to be chosen by a completely new body, electoral college, which will be overwhelmingly weighted favour of Labour MPs and the trade unions. This decision was later described by left MP Michael Meacher as 'a coup by those who wish to preserve the status quo'.
Manifesto The commission then went on to discuss the procedure by which the party manifesto is crawn up. At manifesto is agreed "jointly' Shadow Cabinet and the NEC but there has been strong pressure from the consuluency barnes 1or the executive alone to be responsible..
The commission came with a new proposal, the brainchild of David Basnett of the General Municipal Workers Union, that the electoral college will be responsible for the manifesto.
At one fell swoop the commission had decisions of the last party contie say the inquiry decided The alternatives:
out a issues cent affiliated bodies.
The alternatives:
Mb) election by conference;
Pd) a national council of Labour.
trade union representation.
and the college The alternatives:
opcabinet); b) the NEC to have the final say. parties MENS of time-honoured ritual: the forging of a bloc between the right wing of the parliamentary val Ly trade union bureaucracy. of Moss distinct camps Britain's explained the 20 June issue of Tribune. 'On one side were the union leaders and Messrs Foot left-wing and Callaghan.
were the six NEC members.' WCIC deputy MICHAEL FOOT The flouting of democracy was completely cynical.
T&G's evidence to the inquiry callea ior no change system of deciding manifesto. Evans flouted this decision. 200-plus constituencies submitthe ting evidence, only four called for no change manifesto, and everyone else called for the NEC to decide. one called college control.
The up Jenkins. His union passed by 45,000 to 9,000 a motion endorsing the demands of 1979 Labour conference and urging its leader to position on the commission to apply maximum pressure support' of these recognising the alter or LOTIN sabotage' them!
Jenkins who actually proposed a large part of the alterations. ion leaders want to to avoid What the commission of 1 Mandatory re selection of MPs Constituency Labour Parties should automatically re-discuss and, if necessary, change their parliamentary candidate before each a) the present system (no re-selection procedure);
b) optional re-selection (a selection conference will be held if two-thirds of the general management committee agrees).
Some constituencies (about 55) called for a new selection procedure in which every party member could vote.
2 Election of the leader by an electoral college This college to consist of 50 per cent MPs, 25 per cent union representatives, 20 per cent constituency representatives, and 5 per a) the present system (MPs elect the leader);
c) election by every party member;
A minority proposed an electoral college consisting of every MP, a delegate from each constituency, and around one-third 3 The manifesto to be approved by the electoral a) no change (manifesto 'jointly' agreed by the NEC and the party themselves wine-and-port discussions with the bosses. and the the right in power to ensure "Two that they don't have to fight the Tories. bosses hold the threat ofa, the tre party over their heads to On the other discourage too-radical change, with the verv real chance thai Duffy could take a section of the unions with him in a split.
To defeat trade union LaKCI Ol Labour Party Democracy has called on the constituences to bombard the NEC with resolutions urging rejection of the majority commission report in favour of the minority, calling electoral greater strength for the unions and constituencies, and for the NEC to have the final say on the manifesto.
But to defeat the right the campaigu must be taken to tne rank and file of the unions.
Union branches The bombarding both their leaders and the NEC with resolutions the to decide. openly stop the block vote being used Of yet again to smash democracy in the Labour Party.
on the Dangerous It isn't necessary, for electoral fact it is dangerous, to accept the principle was college. The danger now is that the Party's diverted to bickering about the the size and shape of But an electoral college in any his shape or form is a manoeuvre to take power away from party members and the union rank demands, and file. It has no place in the 'strenuous atotherwise But it was membership's right to decide must be raised: select on of MP's, to decide on the leader, and the _ too NEC to decide the manifesto in leaver line with conference policy.
CLIVE JENKINS free hand for They want to keep the right, the leaders must be The Campaign for college should be conference's right The fight is on to and in Re-selection:
of an electoral (a) mandatory* (b) optional attention will be (c)
this body. Manifesto:
(b) against change Leadership: (a) electoral college • demand for the (b)
(c)
GMC re- (d) conference against change (a) for NEC's authority election by conference every member in the country National Council of Labour The commission MPs: Frank Allaun, Norman Atkinson, Tony Benn, Eric Heffer, Joan Lestor, Jo Richardson, James Callaghan, Michael Foot.
Trade Union leaders: Moss Evans (TGWU), David Basnett (GMWU), Terry Duffy (AUEW), Clive Jenkins (ASTMS), Bill Keys (SOGAT).
The votes Mandatory reselection FOR: Allaun, Atkinson, Benn, Evans, Heffer, Lestor, Richardson; AGAINST: Basnett, Callaghan, Duffy, Foot, Jenkins, Keys.
Electoral College with 50 per cent MPs to elect the leader FOR: Basnett, Callaghan, Duffy, Evans, Foot, Jenkins, Keys; AGAINST: Allaun, Atkinson, Benn, Heffer, Lestor, Richardson. (The minority proposed instead a 30:30:30 composition for the electoral college)
Electoral college to have the final say on the manifesto The same voting pattern as on the election of the leader.
MOSS EVANS - voted with the left-wing members of the Labour Party executive CLPs TUS (53 CLPs wanted mandatory re-selection, through a mass meeting of members and 13? wanted it through general management committees. LP Regions Socialist societies
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The composition of the commission and how it voted