Starmer Wins Battle To Water Down Left-Wing Presence On Ruling NEC
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Keir Starmer has further entrenched his authority as Labour leader after the party’s ruling body agreed to reforms expected to water down the influence of left-wing activists.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) passed plans to change the election of its own local party reps from first-past-the-post to single transferable vote, a move likely to ensure the presence of “moderate” activists.
The NEC elections – which allow members to pick nine of the 39-strong body – will also go ahead this year despite protests from some Jeremy Corbyn supporters and trade unions that they should be paused during the coronavirus pandemic.
The NEC voted by 19 to 12 in favour of the change, a larger victory than had been expected given fierce opposition among some on the Left.
Many on the Left of the party are feeling bruised after a week in which Starmer sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey from his shadow cabinet over her refusal to delete a tweet linking to an anti-Semitic trope.
Since he became leader on April 4, he has also acted swiftly to install a new general secretary David Evans and the change to NEC election was seen as a further test of his authority.
Some trade unions such as Unite, the Bakers’ Union, Aslef and Fire Brigades Union had backed moves by some activists to threaten legal action, claiming the full party conference should make the decision not the NEC itself.
Under the first-past-the-post system, all nine seats for constituency representatives were won in a “clean sweep” for Corbyn supporters under his leadership.
If proportional voting had been in place, representatives from the centre-left of the party would have won more.
The so-called ‘JC 9’ went on to become the standard bearers for Starmer’s predecessor, ensuring his own NEC majority. One member of their number, Pete Willsman, has been suspended since last year over...
