by Chris McLaughlin
Labour chiefs are facing formal calls for an emergency meeting of the party’s ruling National Executive Committee following the humiliating council and European election results.
The next meeting of the NEC is not due to take place until July 21, which some members believe is too long to postpone a post mortem on the results.
Support is rallying behind a call for a meeting to be held before the end of June in order that any analysis of the failures and lessons to be learnt can be fed into the party’s policy-making machine in time for a full debate at national annual conference in September.
The move comes amid deepening concern among party activists that the party leadership has been paralysed in the wake of the scandal over MPs’ expenses. An internet survey among 600 members suggests increasing exasperation with the perceived failure of the leadership to articulate a clear and positive message in recent weeks on what the Labour Party stands for.
Those behind the call for an emergency NEC believe a debate on the issue should be held urgently and not left hanging for another four weeks.
A resolution is circulating among party branches, constituencies, trade unions and socialist societies calls on “the chair of the NEC to convene an extra NEC meeting before the end of June to review the results of the European, English county council and new unitary authority elections, party strategy and organisation”.
The resolution, which emerged from the City of London branch last week and has been sent to Gordon Brown, is being canvassed by Save the Labour Party NEC member Peter Kenyon and is circulating on the growing internet network of Labour activists.
It states that the aim is to ensure that “all party members are fully involved in current and future policy making” and that “the next manifesto fully reflects Labour values, which are both essential if the party is to mobilise all members and supporters in the forthcoming general election campaign”.
The activist survey showed that party members believe the party nationally should be focusing on policies linked to job creation, social justice and equality, investment in housing, a radical environmental agenda and constitutional reform.
Almost 80 per cent of respondents said the leadership had handled the expenses scandal badly and 65 per cent said the party is still not taking a sufficiently firm stand against misbehaving MPs.
Eighty per cent thought those found to have brought the party into disrepute should stand down or be de-selected.
Among other findings, 40 per cent favoured the introduction of open primaries for MP selections and almost 50 per cent declared they felt less likely to campaign in elections under current circumstances.
