NEC elections: Starmerites lead left on CLP nominations despite reps withdrawing to become MPs

Four sitting members of Labour’s national executive committee have withdrawn their candidacies in this year’s elections after being elected to parliament, as campaigners urge Constituency Labour Parties to nominate representatives before the end-of-month deadline.

Luke Akehurst, Johanna Baxter, Gurinder Singh Josan and Nesil Caliskan are all no longer on the ruling body as a result of their election as MPs, three following their last-minute selection by fellow NEC members, and have withdrawn their candidacies.

Party rules mean runners-up at the last NEC election are drafted in as temporary replacements until the elections, due this summer though with dates still to be confirmed. The temporary new representatives include Jane Thomas, co-director of self-describe Labour to Win group which has strongly supported the party leadership.

Akehurst, Baxter and Josan had been standing for reelection as CLP representatives, while Caliskan had been standing for reelection as a local government rep.

All four candidates had been part of the Labour to Win slate – the campaign group’s decision to initially field eight candidates means they still have five CLP rep candidates, the same number as in 2022, but cannot win four of the nine positions up for election.

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Nominations for candidates close at midday on July 31st, with prospective CLP reps requiring the backing of at least five local Labour Parties to make it onto the ballot of party members. The deadline for candidates to submit statements has already passed.

Update, July 16th

A total of 11 candidates have received the five CLP nominations needed to make the ballot for the CLP representative positions on Labour’s NEC:

Ann Black – 73 CLPs
Abdi Duale – 48 CLPs
Jane Thomas – 42 CLPs
Mary Wimbury – 40 CLPs
Anu Prashar – 39 CLPs
Angie Davies – 38 CLPs
Mish Rahman – 22 CLPs
Jess Barnard – 21 CLPs
Gemma Bolton – 21 CLPs
Yasmine Dar – 20 CLPs
John Wiseman – 9 CLPs

Labour to Win wrote to activists recently reminding them it was their “last chance”, with roles “more important than ever to ensure the internal Labour Party is fully behind Keir Starmer’s leadership”. Elections are also being held for the National Policy Forum, National Constitutional Committee and Women’s Conference Arrangements Committee.

Ann Black leads on nominations

Labour to Win’s remaining candidates for CLP rep – Angie Davies, Abdi Duale, Anu Prashar, Jane Thomas and Mary Wimbury – have received between 26 and 32 nominations, putting them ahead of the slate backed by the Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance (CLGA), an umbrella group of organisations on the left of the party.

But long-standing NEC member Ann Black has opened up a strong lead in nominations to be one of the NEC’s nine CLP reps, having received endorsements from 50 local Labour Parties as of Thursday evening. Black has the backing of the soft left Open Labour group.

The four left candidates backed by the CLGA, Jess Barnard, Gemma Bolton, Yasmine Dar and Mish Rahman – all of whom are sitting NEC members – have so far received between 11 and 13 nominations.

According to the Labour Party website, John Wiseman has also received the required five CLP nominations to make the ballot, while David Littlefair is on four, Adam Davies, Nick Palmer and Kaz Self are on two and Amanat Gul and Brendan O’Brien each have one.

READ MORE: ‘Aldershot’s had Tory MPs since 1918. Our win shows Labour can win anywhere’

Labour to Win: ‘Our loss is country’s gain’

Labour to Win said in an email to subscribers this week that the election of Akehurst, Baxter and Josan to parliament had “hollowed out” the group’s slate “a bit” but that “our loss is the country’s gain”.

Co-director Jane Thomas told LabourList: “We are delighted at Labour to Win that co-director Luke Akehurst has been elected as an MP and that stalwarts Johanna Baxter and Gurinder Josan, who Labour to Win were supporting for the upcoming NEC elections, are now MPs. Their contributions over the years are duly noted.

“At this late stage, it is unclear if we can or will add people we will be supporting. But what is more important is that we continue to build a cohesive, forward-looking party that is squarely behind Keir Starmer and the Labour government.”

The email to subscribers revealed that the group has replaced two of its candidates for National Policy Forum CLP reps for the Eastern region, Alex Mayer and Sam Carling, following their election as MPs, with Rosie Jackson and Alex Kyriacou taking their places, the latter standing as youth rep.

Left says members can’t be ‘sidelined’

A spokesperson for the CLGA said: “The Centre Left Grassroots Alliance are supporting candidates who will champion the role of grassroots members and trade unionists, and the anti-austerity policies democratically agreed by Labour conferences.

“The unprecedented sidelining of grassroots members in the run up to the election has caused huge concern and must be reversed for Labour to succeed in government. Labour has a once in a generation opportunity to reshape Britain’s economy in favour of the many rather than the few, but it will only do that if all party democracy and pluralism are respected.”

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