Deficits, disaffiliation and internal democracy – what we know about today’s NEC meeting

LabourList understands that the Labour Party is in deficit in 2026 – though it is not clear by how much.

The state of the party’s finances was discussed at a meeting of the full national executive committee (NEC), held at 10 Downing Street earlier today.

The recent decision by Unite to slash funding for the party by 40 percent was discussed as part of the broader conversation about funding, with concerns raised that other unions might do the same.

This comes at a time when Labour is entering the campaigning period for a very difficult set of local and devolved elections.

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LabourList was told that the NEC were informed that internal polling for these puts the Labour Party in a distant second place behind the SNP in Scotland and a dismal third behind both Plaid Cymru and Reform in Wales. However, both the Scottish and Welsh leaders reported much more positive responses on the doorstep than these numbers suggest.

NEC members were also presented with the findings of a report into Labour’s loss at the Gorton and Denton by-election, which had two key flashpoints.

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The first was around the process about the decision on whether or not Andy Burnham should be able to run as a candidate, which was not taken by the full NEC but by the officers’ group.

It was reiterated that the officers’ group did have the powers to take that decision, but it was also acknowledged that the communications and timetable around this process had been unclear. The Party also recognised that this put NEC members in a difficult position when faced with questions from members and the press without the full information on what was happening.

Secondly there was discussion of the Party’s messaging in the campaign, setting up the contest as a straight fight between Labour and Reform which some felt had failed to account for the threat from the Greens. There was an ongoing division about the effectiveness of this tactic, which might be a concern if this message is taken into the local elections where Labour will face a variety of challengers besides Reform in England and will be fighting the SNP and Plaid as well as Reform in Scotland and Wales.

However, the report said that Labour won the postal vote in Gorton and Denton, meaning the election moved towards the Greens in the final week of the campaign – with a number of tactical voting websites recommending a vote for the Greens to stop Reform and a left wing anti-Labour vote hardening.

The NEC also discussed the results of the survey recently sent to members from the Deputy Leader Lucy Powell which she reported on to the meeting.

The survey found that 46 percent of respondents who joined the party to support a Labour government and 40 percent who prioritised supporting the values and beliefs of the Labour Party. Party members top priorities were action on the cost of living, clearer communication and faster and more decisive decision making.

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