The challenges facing Iain McNicol

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Ask Iain your questions here.

In a room in Central London this week, an expert panel gave a grilling that could decide the next election.

But I’m not talking about a select committee.

While the rest of the world was distracted by the hoopla surrounding Tuesday’s select committee apearances, Labour’s NEC scrutinised and probed the final two candidates aiming to be Labour’s next General Secretary. Chris Lennie and Iain McNicol told the representatives of our movement their plans and their aspirations for our party. Iain was the successful candidate, and will be responsible for getting the party machine in the necessary shape to win the next election.

The selection of a General Secretary has been a murky process in the past. In reality the exact circumstances of the selection remained murky even in recent weeks. We still have no idea how the shortlist is draw up or what the criteria are for the selection are. But we’ve tried to shine as much light as possible on proceedings, and will certainly continue to do so in future. Iain has made many of the right noises about transparency and we’ll certainly be holding him to his promises. We’ve always been clear that LabourList stands up for the interests of party members – and that’s what we’ll expect Labour’s new General Secretary to do as well.

Some have suggested that the General Secretary selection is of as much importance as last year’s leadership election. While it’s important not to get carried away, the task facing McNicol is significant. Our finances need to be diversified and strengthened, our organisational capacity needs to be improved (and built on best practice) and the party needs to embrace members, not just through meetings or doorknocking, but by genuinely and consistently taking account of their views.

To that end, we’ll be speaking to Iain over the summer about his plans for the party, and his priorities. He answered a few of your questions already, but now he’s in the role we need to make sure he does what’s best for members. So we want to put your questions to him once again. Tell us what you think the party is doing right or wrong. This is your opportunity to influence the future direction of the Labour Party – don’t miss that chance.

Ask Iain your questions here.