All change at Victoria Street

Iain McNicol announced today a “radical reform” of Victoria Street to put it on an election winning footing. It has been announced that Labour’s two Deputy General Secretaries – Alicia Kennedy and Chris Lennie – will be stepping down, following the abolition of their posts. The Charles Allen review, the interim report of which was completed recently, proposed replacing the two deputy GS’s with a team of six “executive directors”, which is intended to

“move away from a multi layered hierarchical organisation towards a flatter, more modern and more efficient executive structure.”

The areas these executive directors will work on are:

• Communications
• Rebuttal and Policy
• Field Operations
• Commercial
• Governance and Services
• Membership and Supporters

In an email to staff this afternoon, General Secretary Iain McNicol said:

“Chris and Alicia have both, in their different ways, been fantastic servants of the Party over many, many years. Chris, in overseeing a difficult period for the Party and for putting the Party finances on a more stable footing. And Alicia in delivering great successes in many elections. Both Alicia and Chris will continue to play important roles for the Party over the transition period. Alicia will work closely with the Deputy Party Chair and Campaigns Co-ordinator, and the Leader’s Office, on building campaigns capacity across the movement. Chris will continue to work with us on developing relations with important stakeholders. In the meantime and over the next few months, I am really grateful for their commitment to helping with implementing the Review and in providing continuity and support as we head towards important elections.”

“Importantly we also intend for the new organisation to provide opportunities for better career paths and for personal development – starting with the opportunity to fill the new Executive Director positions.”

The new structure for Victoria Street should be in place by February 2012.