Left groups release candidate slates for upcoming Labour NEC elections

Momentum and other groups on the left of the party and within the Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance (CLGA) have released their slates of candidates for upcoming internal elections to determine who sits on Labour’s governing body.

Coming together under the CLGA, an umbrella group including Momentum, CLPD, the Labour Representation Committee, Jewish Voice for Labour, Red Labour and others, the groups had been in negotiations to arrive at an agreed list of candidates.

A source close to the negotiations told LabourList earlier today that the member organisations had arrived at “unanimous agreement in the CLGA on endorsing the incumbents and Jess Barnard”. The incumbents are Mish Rahman, Gemma Bolton and Yasmine Dar.

But Jewish Voice for Labour, Grassroots Black Left and Red Labour – groups within the CLGA – announced this afternoon that they would be endorsing the four listed above as well as a further three candidates: Maryam Eslamdoust, Deborah Hobson and Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi.

Momentum has since expressed its support for Barnard, Rahman, Bolton and Dar on social media, tweeting that it was “delighted” to announce that the left-wing group would be backing the “four fantastic CLGA-backed candidates”.

Commenting on the slate of four, a Momentum spokesperson told LabourList: “Today’s factional attack on Young Labour underscores the urgent need for left NEC members who will stand up for party democracy and due process.”

Labour restricted access to Young Labour’s Twitter account this morning. The youth wing was accused of being “actively detrimental to the party’s core objectives” following a clash with the leadership over NATO and the Ukraine crisis.

The Momentum spokesperson added: “Not only do these four candidates have experience doing just that, but they also represent the best of our movement, from seasoned campaigners to youth leaders to anti-racist activists. To beat the right, we need a united, coordinated team: this CLGA-backed slate fits the bill.”

Nominations closed today for the 2022 set of internal contests, which will see party members elect new local party representatives on Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) and national policy forum (NPF).

There are nine local party rep places on the NEC to elect. But since the voting system for the elections changed from first-past-the-post to single transferable vote, it has been considered wise for factions to put up fewer candidates.

Bolton told LabourList this evening that she is “delighted to be restanding” and said that if re-elected she would “continue to fight for a transformative labour government and a democratic party “. She added: “Despite consistent attack of party democracy and a rightwards drifting policy agenda, it has been a privilige to stand up for members on the party’s government body.”

Rahman commented that he is “proud to have the endorsement of the CLGA and Momentum”, saying: “It’s more important than ever to fight for a democratic party that harnesses the potential of its members instead of silencing them.”

Individual young and student members of the party will also be able to nominate candidates for the national committees of Young Labour, to which all Labour members under 27 belong, and for the new Labour Students organisation.

Labour to Win – the umbrella group that brings together Labour First and Progressive Britain in support of Keir Starmer – unveiled a slate of five candidates for the internal elections at the end of last month. The group endorsed Luke Akehurst, Johanna Baxter, Abdi Duale, Gurinder Singh Josan and Jane Thomas.