A Free Left Blog

Privileges and patronage are wired into the party's institutions. Falkirk is merely the latest example. This article was first published in a slightly different form on the New Statesman Staggers blog on 4th July 2013. Labour’s troubles in Falkirk are just one symptom of a bureaucratic culture that doesn’t merely tolerate the practice of fixing by insiders and groups but institutionalises it. In Falkirk, Unite stands accused of signing up its members to Labour without them even knowing about it, in order to get its favoured candidate, Karie Murphy, selected as the prospective MP. There have also been claims that the union plotted to get the seat declared as an all-women's shortlist in order to exclude a male rival. As I have found since I joined Labour in 2010, these sorts of practices are not exceptional. They are standard, and not exclusive to the unions by any means. Of the New Labour years, former party general secretary Peter Watt  has said : "Th...

This article was first published by Labour Uncut on 6th June 2013 Electoral Reform Services will have received my ballot paper by now. I had thought of writing rude messages on it, or tearing it into small pieces and dropping them into the envelope as a mark of my disdain, but on the balance I plumped for a classic piece of English fudge/moderation: a big X scrawled across the page and a little message offering my unsolicited opinion on the Labour Party’s approach to democracy. This is the first time I have ever treated a ballot paper in such a way. I used to approach them with a form of reverence, taking voting as a privilege and a pleasure. Then I joined the Labour Party. These latest selections for European Parliament candidates are just the latest example of an approach to democracy within Labour that Erich Honecker would have recognised and admired (and which I like to call ‘ Institutionalised Fixing '). Let’s put aside the ceaseless cascade of emails...