Labour general secretary Jennie Formby announces resignation

Labour’s current general secretary Jennie Formby has announced that she is standing down after holding the most senior party post for just over two years.

Commenting on her resignation, Formby said: “When I applied for the role of general secretary in 2018 it was because I wanted to support Jeremy Corbyn, who inspired so many people to get involved in politics with his message of hope, equality and peace.

“It has been a huge privilege to be general secretary of the largest political party in Europe for the last two years, but now we have a new leadership team it is the right time to step down.

“I would like to thank Jeremy, our members and my staff colleagues who have given me so much support during what has been a very challenging period, in particular when I was suffering from ill health.

“I wish Keir and Angela the very best of luck in taking the party forward and leading Labour to victory at the next general election.”

Responding to the move, new leader Keir Starmer said: “I would like to thank Jennie for her service, and for the personal and professional efforts she has made in advancing the cause she has fought all her life for.

“Jennie has led our party’s organisation with commitment and energy through a period of political upheaval, including a snap general election last year. I wish her the very best for the future.”

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner added: “As a trade unionist and party activist as well as general secretary, Jennie has been a great servant of our movement for many years and blazed a trail as one of our highest achieving women.

“She goes with our thanks and gratitude, and I’ve no doubt she will stand squarely behind us as we continue to fight for social justice and the Labour government our country so desperately needs.”

Considered to be aligned with the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, talk of Formby resigning in light of Starmer’s election had increased particularly over the last week.

Former Unite political director Formby succeeded Iain McNicol, who resigned in February 2018 after the Corbynite left won firm control of Labour’s national executive committee.

Formby was shortlisted along with former NUT general secretary Christine Blower who had only joined the Labour Party as a member two years prior. Other candidates included Crowdpac co-founder Paul Hilder.

LabourList understands that a meeting of NEC officers will be arranged soon to discuss a timetable for the election of a new general secretary.

Until the new general secretary is in place, the responsibilities of the role will be delegated to senior staff who will work with party chair Rayner to carry them out.

Commenting on Formby’s resignation, a Momentum spokesperson said: “As the leaked Labour report shows, Jenny became general secretary at an incredibly difficult time.

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She inherited a party bureaucracy that was often hostile to Jeremy’s leadership, with senior staff members allegedly misusing members funds and attempting to sabotage Labour’s general election campaign in 2017.

“Struggling against this while undergoing chemotherapy must have taken a herculean effort. We thank her for everything and wish her well for the future.”

A Jewish Labour Movement spokesperson said: “The Jewish Labour Movement has consistently taken the view that the governance and leadership of the Labour Party is fundamentally broken and no longer fit for purpose in its handling of antisemitism.

“It was on this basis that we asked the EHRC to launch an investigation into the Labour Party in September 2018 and we anticipate their final report in the coming months.

“We wish Jennie Formby well in her continued recovery from ill health and for the future. We hope that her successor as general secretary will be in post in good time to implement the recommendations of the EHRC report.

“JLM will be prepared to reengage with Party HQ once new management is in place and it has demonstrated the necessary contrition and willingness to change.”

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey thanked Formby for her service and said she had “shown true and strong leadership in the face of many challenges”.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said Formby “brought together a high level of professionalism with an unwavering commitment to the values of the labour movement”.

Rumoured potential candidates to succeed Formby include Unite political director Anneliese Midgley, former Scottish Labour general secretary Brian Roy, and GMB’s director of external relations Lisa Johnson.