Labour First: Tuesday Bulletin to Party Conference

As conference comes to an end. here's our final daily bulletin. The rule change clamping down on anti-semitism was thankfully passed with only 7% of CLPs voting against, but we lost heavily on the reduction in the leadership nomination threshold.

FOR UNITY – but it needs an end to hubris and bullying

We had hoped that the unanimity at last week's NEC heralded a unified, but pluralistic, Conference and a continuation of the spirit of united campaigning that characterised Labour during the General Election.

Whilst platform speeches have thankfully reflected that unity and there have been impressive policy contributions by several frontbenchers, in some other respects this Conference has left a sour taste that has ruined the happy memories and comradeship created during the election.

The culpability for this rests with Momentum and other smaller Hard Left factions. Their attitude both internally and in terms of the external political challenges facing Labour has smacked of incredible, almost laughable, hubris.

Silly references by Len McCluskey and others to having "won" the General Election make us look like a party of the delusional and don't reflect the horrific reality that we have lost a third General Election in a row and the Tories and DUP are imposing deeply reactionary policies. It doesn't take much subtlety or nuance to celebrate our unexpected advance AND ask the serious questions about why we lost and what needs to change for us to win.

Control-freakery that blocked a vote on Brexit when it is the most important issue facing the UK will have alienated many of the young voters who gave so much support to Labour in June.

Bullying of anyone who dissented from the Momentum line, from heckling to intimidation within delegations, to trying to block a speech by Sadiq Khan, is the antithesis of socialism.

Whilst the result of the antisemitism rule change was reassuring, Conference cheering rants against the Jewish Labour Movement, antisemitic tropes about Jewish control of media, and insinuations that antisemitism hasn't been a real problem in Labour was grotesque.

Obsessional boring procedural motions derailing conference and stopping it being the showcase for Labour's leaders and policies it should be have been self-destructive.

Sadly Conference showed the sectarian Hard Left have learned no lessons from the way their antics in the 1980s kept Thatcher in power and led directly to privatisation, cuts and attacks on union rights.

We have a moral responsibility to fight for a Labour Party that is not controlled by these factionalists, whose obsessions are so distant from the values and concerns of the ordinary people who need a Labour Government so badly.

They may be very much in the ascendancy now, but their hubristic behaviour this week contains the seeds of their own nemesis.

My Conference

First time youth delegate James Cleverley (Wrexham CLP) is only 17 but became a Conference hero by speaking against the rule change lowering the nomination threshold to 10% and against the attempt to stop Sadiq Khan speaking.

He says:

“Yesterday, I stood up for what I believed in and spoke against the rule change to cut the threshold for PLP nominations from 15% to 10%.

In response, Momentum members booed, heckled, and jeered to try and drown out the points I was trying to make.

As a first time delegate, I’ve found it deeply disheartening to have my opinion drowned out in this way.

However, getting heckled by the Hard Left has just proved to me that what I say is worth listening to.

We moderates need to continue to speak out against their undemocratic and bullying tactics which seek to silence the sensible voices in the party. Whether I’m cheered or booed I will continue to stand up for what I believe in, and I hope you will too.”

Time to build locally

Moderates need to be just as organised as Momentum in local CLPs if we are going to get better results at Conference 2018 than this year!

We need strong local structures so we can organise to stop deselections of hard-working MPs and councillors, win elections for delegates and CLP officers, develop and put forward policy ideas, show solidarity with like-minded members and campaign together for Labour to win elections at every level.

Can you help organise a local Labour First group in your area?

Contact Matt Pound, Labour First National Organiser, on matt@labourfirst.orgfor advice, speakers, and support in setting up a group, or to link up with an existing group near you.

Dan Jeffery, Labour First organiser in Southampton says:

“It’s really important for Moderates to have a dedicated space to discuss issues that the local party feels unable to talk about.

“Labour First has provided a model for our group to flourish. I hope other CLPs will follow suit.”