We need more local Labour leaders in the Lords

Here’s a question for your next Constituency Labour Party  (CLP) pub quiz – when was the last time the Labour Party appointed a local Labour Leader as a working peer. Well you have to go back to the last century – 1999 – to answer the question (and for those who really want to know it was Peter Smith Leader of Wigan).

We did have the grace to nominate Jeremy Beecham in 2010 but that was more to do with his national role at the Local Government Association.

It’s difficult to understand what Labour council leaders have done to deserve this treatment. Labour local government has overall an excellent record of delivering Labour policies and meeting the needs of its communities. It’s not as if this boycott was shared by other parties. Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats understand the value that an understanding of local politics can bring to national government. Indeed, of the six Liberal Democrat peers nominated last week five were existing or former councillors.

Does that it matter? Well, if we are to continue to have an unreformed House of Lords Labour as a party needs to think carefully about what it wants from its political appointments. My strong view is that we should be looking for those who bring a different work and life experience from that currently represented by our MPs. So Robert Winston, Doreen Lawrence and Gail Roebuck and others from similar backgrounds do add experience and knowledge to our Parliamentary Team. But to be frank can we say that all our appointments since 1999 have maintained such a high standard?

Equally if we are serious about preparing for government in 2015 we should be looking for experience and knowledge from those in local government who have front line knowledge of dealing with austerity politics and tight financial budgets. None of the present Shadow Cabinet has any direct experience of local government or the changed financial situation since 2010. It is not as if there is little choice available. Labour local government has a whole host of talent and experience including former leaders such as Ann John from Brent, Hazel Harding from Lancashire and Mehboob Kahn from Kirklees as well as existing leaders such as Steve Bullock in Lewisham and Richard Leese in Manchester. Any of these would add much needed knowledge and experience of local government and the practical delivery of our newly acquired localist policies.

There are always choices to be made about who we nominate to our political team in the House of Lords but 15 years is a long time for Local Labour to be kept waiting.

Paul Wheeler writes on local politics.