National
Executive Committee, 31 January 2008
Back in
November the NEC referred Walter Wolfgang’s motion
opposing longer pre-charge detention to the crime,
justice, citizenship and equalities policy commission,
and he was unhappy that it had disappeared into the
waffle system. A full report was promised for next
time, and the NEC agreed that in future, proposers and
seconders of motions would be invited to discuss them
with the relevant commission. This will help to take
forward an emergency motion from Andy Kerr and Mary
Turner, supporting Andrew Miller’s private member’s bill
giving equal rights to agency workers. Many spoke in
favour, and Gordon Brown said that he was talking with
the unions and the CBI and expected movement within few
weeks. He would also look at the Lords’ judgment
denying compensation to asbestos workers who developed
pleural plaques, a possible precursor to mesothelioma.
On the
wider picture, the prime minister believed the Tories
were wasting their opportunities in point-scoring while
Labour developed its vision for the future. We must
protect Britain against fallout from the US recession,
and despite difficulties with rising utility bills and
public service pay, employment is at record levels.
This year celebrates the 60th anniversary of
the NHS, and in April Labour would roll out universal
neighbourhood policing, with direct telephone numbers
for people to contact local officers. The right to ask
for flexible working would be extended to those with
older children and other dependants: so far, six
million requests have been made, of which 90% were
granted. And there would be more help for under-5s,
encouragement to stay at school, extra apprenticeships
and expansion of higher education, most of which the
Tories oppose. Internationally Gordon Brown was working
for faster progress towards the millennium goals: at
current rates it will take until 2115, not 2015, for
every child to go to school, and one in seven mothers in
Sierra Leone still dies in childbirth.
Prime
Minister’s Questions
Members
welcomed the positive agenda. Some were anxious that
Labour was denying its own success: plans for giant new
prisons suggest that crime is rising, not falling, and
this is not the best way to reduce reoffending. Gordon
Brown said that some of the pressures arose from
indeterminate sentences, with numbers set to rise from
3,000 to 11,000, but criminals could not be released
simply because there was no room. Others highlighted
the single equalities bill and the need to sort out
equal pay chaos in local government. Christine
Shawcroft complained about private health clinics being
paid for operations whether or not they did them, and
Gordon Brown said contracts were cancelled if they did
not provide value for money. He told Pete Willsman, who
criticised the treatment of asylum-seekers and the
deportation of a woman with terminal cancer, that abuses
of the system must be dealt with, and home secretary
Jacqui Smith was tackling people-trafficking. Walter
Wolfgang called for immediate withdrawal from
Afghanistan, but Gordon Brown believed this would simply
hand back control to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. However
economic and social development was essential, rather
than relying on military solutions. In Iraq British
troop numbers were down from 44,000 to 2,500.
I
pointed out that while we should obviously enable
everyone to realise their full potential, some have more
potential than others: however hard we work, few of us
will run as fast as Kelly Holmes, or win a Nobel prize,
or make a million. Is it fair for the biggest rewards
to go to those with natural talent or luck, with no
attempt at equality of outcome? On a related theme, a
union member contrasted the remuneration of the new NHS
commercial director – salary £185,000 plus £4,800 a
month housing allowance and many other perks – with that
of a carer on less than £100 a week. If the carer has
unrealised potential, should she quit her job and go to
college, in which case who would do the caring? And if
she doesn’t, should she stay content at the bottom of
the pay and status hierarchy?
A
Confusion of Chairs
Harriet
Harman suggested trying to rationalise the proliferation
of titles and functions which few people inside or
outside the party understand. In addition to deputy
leader, she holds the title of party Chair. The NEC has
its own Chair and a vice-chair. The national policy
forum has a Chair and three vice-chairs, but its
steering body, the joint policy committee, is chaired
jointly by the prime minister and another NEC member.
In addition there are six vice-chairs of the
parliamentary Labour party, and Ed Miliband is
developing the manifesto, with 16 MPs who chair groups
which report to him.
She
also stressed the importance of the May elections,
particularly in London: the Tories could not dent Ken
Livingstone’s record on transport and policing, and were
resorting to personal smears.
Mike
Griffiths presented a paper on positive action.
Labour’s achievement is impressive: in 1982 there were
ten Labour and 13 Tory women MPs, while today there are
97 Labour and 17 Tory women. Labour has 13 ethnic
minority MPs, the Tories two. However the goal of 40%
women after the next election is not realistic: it
would require 46 more male MPs to retire, all replaced
by women and all holding the seats. The NEC agreed that
a panel of committee Chairs and officers should make
recommendations for further vacancies, in consultation
with local parties, aiming to increase the numbers of
women and ethnic minority MPs. A proposal to ban
all-male shortlists for by-elections was not put to a
vote. It was noted that only 30% of party members are
women, and fewer women stand as councillors and in
non-priority parliamentary seats, so work is needed at
these levels as well.
Internal
Matters
Interviews for the general secretary would be held on 10
March. The Chair Dianne Hayter promised a full review
of issues around the contest for leader and deputy
leader, including spending limits and the threshold for
nominations, after the May elections. Spending limits
were also suggested for candidates for parliamentary
seats, where current rules favour those with money or
union backing. The local government committee reported
that councillors still owed £45,000 in unpaid ALC
subscriptions, and I shall again be helping to ring
round, so constituencies don’t end up with the bill.
National policy forum Chair Pat McFadden had circulated
a timetable through to the final meeting in July.
Walter Wolfgang and Pete Willsman submitted a motion
asking that proposed amendments should be sent to all
forum members, not only regional representatives. There
seemed to be general support for the principle, and the
joint policy committee on 27 February will discuss the
details.
Sound
and Fury
But the
most heated debate concerned annual conference. Just a
week after advising members to book from Sunday to
Thursday, the officers now recommended starting at 2
p.m. on Saturday and finishing on Wednesday afternoon.
In recent years interest has gone downhill after the
leader’s speech, with the hall half-empty by Thursday.
Instead the week would build to a crescendo, climaxing
with the leader and the launch of the ballot on the
manifesto. Also more people could attend because they
would only need three days off work. We were assured
that hotels would switch booking dates without penalty,
and that delegates could reach Manchester by public
transport on Saturday morning.
The
atmosphere was not helped by the fact that some members
knew about the plans in advance, while for others it was
a complete surprise. A two-tier NEC will never be
united. I resented being unable to consult, and though
I was told that confidentiality was essential, is
“Labour conference may start early” really headline
news? Personally I thought that rearranging the order
of business, and maybe using Sunday morning, were
reasonable. However I was worried about the hassle and
expense for members who have already made arrangements.
Christine Shawcroft asked if delegates would need to
arrive on Friday to meet the conference arrangements
committee, but this had not yet been decided. Some
argued that more students and young members would be
able to take part, while others asked for analysis of
why attendance has declined: was it the cost, or the
perceived loss of a role? Nevertheless the proposals
were agreed in principle by 20 votes to four (Christine
Shawcroft, Pete Willsman, Walter Wolfgang and myself)
and one abstention. The officers will make a final
decision soon.
Back to
the Real World
Gary
Titley MEP reminded us of the European elections in
2009, with the decline of UKIP likely to assist the BNP.
He was demanding the expulsion of Tory MEP Daniel Hannan
for comparing the German president of the European
parliament to the Nazis. And international officer
Rachel Cowburn outlined the positions of our three
Serbian sister parties on Kosovo’s bid for independence,
and a planned campaign on human rights in Burma,
centring on Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday in August.
Top