Nottingham East members must finally get a say in our candidate selection

I arrived to live in the Nottingham East constituency just after the sitting MP, Chris Leslie, announced that he had publicly defected to the new Change UK Party (remember them?). Although I’d worked in Nottingham for years, and only came from down the road in Derby, my first CLP meeting was an eye-opener for the level of hurt and anger that was felt towards Leslie. Some of it, understandably, was ideological — but the emotional response came from across factional divides.

Members complained that the MP wasn’t from Nottingham, didn’t bother to move here after his election in 2010, didn’t come to party meetings and was rarely seen in the constituency. All of these things were amplified by the feeling that he was centrally-imposed in 2010, in the dying embers of the last Labour government, perhaps as a reward for running Gordon Brown’s leadership campaign in 2007. Despite serving in Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet, Leslie was characterised as the archetypal “Blairite”, associated forever with “think tank” methods. In the very different atmosphere of 2019, and with votes of no confidence in the offing, it’s no wonder that he jumped before being pushed.

This was not the first time Nottingham East had been saddled with an imposed candidate. In 1987, the candidate chosen by the constituency, Sharon Atkin, was deposed by the NEC in a row about “Black Sections”. Mohammed Aslam, the imposed candidate, unexpectedly lost in that year’s general election, perhaps hindered in his campaign by the level of anger amongst locals at the party’s decision.

It’s easy to imagine the frustration, then, that since Leslie’s defection in February there seemed to be little progress in starting a new selection process. At every meeting, in every social media group, at every campaign session,  the same question has been on everyone’s mind:  when do we start? Conspiracy often grows when there’s a vacuum of information, and the idea that there might be yet another imposition was growing.

It came as a relief to all when the NEC finally allowed the process to begin in August, as an all-woman shortlist. Members have thrown themselves into the campaign and with branch nominations made, union and affiliate endorsements gathered, speeches and videos made, and finally a feeling shared amongst the vast majority of members that we had a fair and democratic process to choose our own candidate. The selection committee met last Thursday to draw a long-list to be interviewed on Sunday  —  excitingly, a list of five candidates, including three local and four BAME women.

Then, on Friday, rumours began circulating that the selection had been paused. This seemed ridiculous  —  why halt a process that had already begun and got so far ? But by Sunday it was confirmed that the interviews were not going ahead in lieu of an NEC decision on Tuesday. NEC members took to social media to express their bewilderment. This seemed to come from within the leader’s office. Those old feelings returned with a vengeance  —  in the absence of information, conspiracy often takes hold. Were we going to be imposed on again? Surely the party, now committed to being member-led and thoroughly democratic, wouldn’t do something so brazen?

Members from across factions met on Monday evening to express their dismay. Petitions have been raised, letters of protest sent  —  but post-NEC meeting, we remain in the dark. With many of the selection committee supposed to be heading off to party conference later in the week, timetables are having to be put on hold. Candidate campaigns, with timings and plans often hard-worked on are in limbo. Other constituencies report similar.

Running a political party can be a tricky business. We all know, and understand, that things can happen which are unexpected and need direction from the top.  But the membership is the heart of a party, and it expects and deserves a say in important matters. Choosing your representative is perhaps the best example of direct democracy that we have, and any organisation should be very careful not to take that right away  —  especially one that prides itself on democratic structures, and being different from the mistakes made in the past. Nottingham East has the largest membership in the East Midlands. It would be wise to listen to our voices.