Party democracy: Time to get our own house in order

By Diane Abbott / @dianeforleader

My fellow leadership candidates are slowly beginning to pay lip service to the need to revive party democracy. But it is too little, too late. And it comes oddly from people whose careers flourished when party democracy was in lock- down. And, like a lot of things that they are now wringing their hands about, they never murmured any dissent at the time.

For instance David Miliband’s Movement for Change is certainly a step in the right direction. But at present, ordinary party members now have as much chance of influencing the policies of their own party as they have of influencing the management of Tesco. New Labour preferred listening to lobbyists rather than its own members. As leader, I will give the Labour Party the democracy, empowerment and pluralism that it badly needs.

Instead of real, outward-looking and meaningful democracy, Labour members were taken for granted. For the past 13 years they have been expected to obediently deliver leaflets in the rain, begrudgingly blow up balloons at stage-managed conferences and then smile graciously when the latest bright young thing from London gets parachuted into their CLP.

Under my leadership, the way the party organises itself will change. A Labour Party where ordinary party members had a real say would have avoided some of our most damaging mistakes: scrapping the 10p tax rate; the introduction of tuition fees; the failure to regulate the banks properly; the attempt to introduce 90 days detention without trial; locking up children in immigration detention centers; the failure to bring the railways back into public ownership; creeping privatization in the NHS and (above all) the war in Iraq.

We are at a crucial point in our history and we need big changes. Our membership currently stands at less than 200,000, the lowest it has been since Ramsay McDonald split the party in the 1930s, and less than half the number it was in 1997.

As leader I will lead Labour in a new direction, and not merely by re-establishing the post of elected party chairman. In fact we always used to have one. It was the Blairites who imposed an appointee. We should also seriously consider a Charter of Labour Party Members’ Rights, together with a new post of Ombudsman, and a Code of Ethics. I will also review Partnership in Power and create processes for policy formulation and party operations, including a transparent separation of functions between the party in government and party HQ. It used to be an article of faith that the party General Secretary and the whole party machinery worked to the National Executive rather than the parliamentary leadership. It was Tony Blair who smashed that system and brought the entire party machinery under direct control of Number 10. The whole thing reached its nadir with the “cash for honors” scandal. People were soliciting money in the name of the party, in an operation that the actual Labour Party treasurer knew nothing about.

New Labour loyalists scorn how conference used to be. They point out how embarrassing the public rows about policy were. But at least then we had real debates about real issues and ordinary party members felt that they had the chance to shape policy. Gradually conference has become zombified, manipulated by full-time officials and overrun with lobbyists. And the number of genuine delegates has plummeted, because they see no point in attending.

Under my leadership, there will be an opening-up of the annual conference, with an increased role for outside voices and organisations; a re-alignment between its formal and fringe aspects; a fresh look at the contemporary resolutions process, which would allow for more discussion in the run-up; and a move away from the stage management. I also will look at ways of establishing rights of policy amendment at conference together with a resolution procedure in the event of a conference vote against either a party in government or an NEC policy recommendation. If people are worried about vigorous debate, we can hold some sessions without TV cameras present.

We need to make sure that we are making best use of all the talented young people coming through the party. As leader, I will review the state of the party’s youth organisation and its appeal to young people, starting by constituting Young Labour as a socialist society, increasing its funding, allowing the independence and creativity that it needs and deserves.

But my renewal of democracy will not be confined to the Labour Party. As leader, I will make a start by driving forward; a statutory register for lobbyists; a fully elected House of Lords; reinstate mandatory reselection for Labour MPs and a statutory duty for MPs’ expenses to be published online.

This time around, it does not have to be the same old way. As Labour Leader I will revive party democracy, create structures that empower members and help build a strong vibrant party again.