Momentum and Labour to Win unveil candidates for London regional board

Both Momentum and Labour to Win have revealed their endorsements for candidates standing in the London regional board elections ahead of a conference due to take place in July despite some objections from the party’s left.

The London Labour regional executive committee (REC), also known as the regional board, is elected every two years at regional conference. There has not been a London conference since March 2019, when the current REC was chosen.

Labour is going ahead with the July date for the next conference, although a majority of the REC is opposed and wants it to be held in November instead. London chair Jim Kelly has accused Labour of breaching its own rulebook.

Members opposed to holding the conference next month argued that, while the REC must be re-elected after coming to the end of its two-year term, local parties needed more time to elect delegates and nominate candidates for the positions.

Proponents of the July date say the London conference is more than a year overdue and the REC election is two months overdue, and these would be further delayed if the next conference takes place in November as suggested by some.

The REC is made up of local parties representatives, trade union reps, a socialist societies rep, one Co-op rep, two local government reps, one MP, one London Assembly Member and one London Young Labour rep.

Some of these representatives are assigned to their posts by the organisations they come from, while 23 REC members are elected at the London conference – including the equalities posts of women’s, LGBT, BAME and disability officer.

Under new rules, there will be one chair and two vice chairs elected from the newly elected REC members at the regional conference. Local Constituency Labour Parties have therefore not been asked to nominate candidates.

Labour’s London REC oversees party activities in the capital, for example mayoral trigger ballots, and performs functions related to local government, such as hearing appeals from local councillors who have had the whip removed.

Momentum

• CLP Representatives – Section 1:  Rheian Davies and Ranjeev Walia 
• CLP Representatives – Section 2: Mura Qureshi and Katrina Ffrench
• CLP Representatives – Section 3: Julie Setchfield and Sam Foster 
• CLP Representatives – Section 4: Munir Malik and Amy Rushton
• CLP Representatives – Section 5: Bob Littlewood and Sabia Kamali
• CLP Representatives – Section 6: Emina Ibrahim and Tom Taylor
• CLP Representatives – Section 7: Jumbo Chan and Shezan Renny
• London-wide CLP representatives: Aydin Dikerdem and Sasha das Gupta
• CAC: Kathryn Johnson, Sophia Naqvi, Conor Bollins

Momentum has not yet made endorsements for women’s officer, disabilities officer, ethnic minorities officer and LGBT officer positions.

Labour to Win

Labour to Win, the umbrella group that comprises Labour First and Progressive Britain, has asked local parties to nominate the following London REC candidates:

• CLP Representatives – Section 1:  Callum Anderson and Candice Atterton
• CLP Representatives – Section 2: Lisa Homan and Martin Whelton
• CLP Representatives – Section 3: Gemma Doyle and Maxine James
• CLP Representatives – Section 4: Brenda Dacres and Linda Perks
• CLP Representatives – Section 5: Saima Asharaf and Asma Islam
• CLP Representatives – Section 6: Sam Talbot and Sarah Williams
• CLP Representatives – Section 7: Izzy Lenga and Shama Tatler
• London-wide CLP representatives: Emma Whysall and Jamal Uddin
• CAC: Lucio Buffone, Miriam Mirwitch, Linda Perks
• Disability officer: Patrick Moule
• LGBT officer: Lucio Buffone
• Women‘s officer: Alex Sanderson
• BAME officer: Abdi Duale