GRASSROOTS LABOUR

I never meant this blog to be a long-term thing but two years on from its original incarnation as a Labour leadership call to arms things have moved on and, although sometimes I'm pretty uninspired, I intend to carry on.
Grimmerupnorth was never going to delight the Labour establishment but the way I see it grassroots members who are utterly fed up with New Labour's "command and control" of Party democracy, Labour Party Conference, selection of PPCs and by-elections need to have a place where they can have their say. And more and more members are aghast at the way things are looking. More and more of them are contacting me personally.
I spoke this morning to someone who loyally trundled up to Norwich to help Chris Ostrowski in what turned out to be a pretty hopeless battle in the constituency. Her tales of bland election leaflets written by Party HQ, control freakery by paid Party officials, constituency members not doing any campaigning as they were so angry at Ian Gibson's treatment, were all horribly familiar. So incensed is she that she is hoping to organise direct action at the Labour Party Conference. As all the old channels have been more or less abolished ie resolutions, speaking from the floor, this seems to me an excellent idea. And let me make it clear.
This is not an LRC member, this is not a hardened leftie hack, this is an out and out Labour loyalist who has been radicalised by personal experience of the mistakes which contonue to be made by a Party machine which chooses favoured sons and daughters over local candidates in any winnable seat, stamps out dissent and most importantly ignores the common sense on policy and strategy from ordinary members whose only wish has been to see Labour succeed. The peson in question happens to be a PPC. She tells me she will write her own election leaflets because she cannot bear the meaningless guff which emanates from the powers-that-be. Unfortunately, and inevitably, she happens to be standing in an unwinnable seat.

STAYING IN......

I spent much of yesterday with Alice Mahon while she was doing media interviews in the idyllic environs of Hebden Bridge. In the evening, it was my civic dinner over in Mytholmroyd and someone asked me had I thought tof resigning from the Labour Party.
Quite frankly, if I'm not going to do it now then I probably never will. But I must say I feel more disillusioned than ever before. As Alice said yesterday, the old ways of changing policy just aren't there any more. And, after what has happened to me as a candidate in Keighley and Calder Valley, I honestly think left-wingers do not stand a chance of beating the machine. The selection process would have to change radically to maje it a fair contest with a level playing field.
I think the only way forward would be possibly a truly OMOV process, an upper limit on campaign spending of around £1000 and an end to the "nomination" process by trade unions which to be honest is an uter stitch-up for favoured candidates. In both Calder Valley and Keighley, UNITE actively campaigned against me. As someone who has spent 25 years as an active trade unionist, I think that's a disgrace.
I used to have faith that the unions would help us "re-claim" Labout but the truth is they do their damndest to stop the left having a voice in the Party. Last yar at Labour Party conference, their cabals joined forces to ensure our resolution on leadership challenges was defeated. I was actually told by a senior union official that they did not want candidates like John McDonnell, someone whose voice is among the strongest in Parliament for trade union rights, having a chance. The resolution was actually one suggested, not by the LRC, but by the Campaign For Labour Party Democracy. Didn't matter - they trashed it
The truth is that at the moment democracy is not something we have, either as Party members nor as PPC candidates.It's all decided in rooms which may not have smoke any more but which still serve to block anyone who might not toe the line.
I've come to the conclusion that nothing will change until after the General Election. If it doesn't, then even lifetime Labour members like me may well vote with our feet. I am truly sorry Alice Mahon has left Labour, but I understand why she did.