Ed Miliband: party reforms ‘strike the right balance’
Ed Miliband changes his plans to reform Labour’s leadership contests to make them more “diverse”, ahead of a meeting of the partys National Executive Committee.
The NEC meets on Tuesday to consider a package of reforms to Labour membership rules, including the option for trade union members to choose to affiliate to Labour as individuals and gain rights to vote in future leadership contests.
One of the reforms that had been mooted would have seen MPs needing to gain the backing of 20 per cent of MPs in order to run for the Labour leadership.
However, at a parliamentary briefing on Monday night, Mr Miliband said this was being changed to a 15 per cent threshold, following concerns that the higher threshold would narrow the field too much.
‘Right balance’
MPs had pointed out that is a 20 per cent threshold had been used in the 2010 Labour leadership race, only Mr Miliband and his brother David would have been able to stand.
Under the 15 per cent threshold, contenders would need 39 nominations and as many as six candidates could go forward for a ballot of party members.
Mr Miliband said: “This strikes the right balance between protecting the role of MPs and ensuring a diverse range of candidates going forward.”
The current electoral college for leadership elections – which gives a third of voting power each to MPs, members, and trade unions and other affiliated organisations – would be abolished and replaced by a new system based on the principle of one member one vote.
The proposals received “overwhelming” support at the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting and will go forward to the NEC meeting.
‘Strong grassroots’
If they are approved by the NEC, the changes – prompted by the public row over the selection of an election candidate in Falkirk – will be submitted for final approval at a special conference on March.
Last month Labour MP Diane Abbott told Channel 4 News that Labour’s link with the union is what keeps it diverse, and that without it the party is “just a bunch of Oxbridge PPE graduates”.
Concerns have been raised that the reform to membership could cause the Labour party millions of pounds in union affiliation fees if too many individual members choose not to affiliate with Labour.
Mr Miliband told MPs: “Of course change has a risk, but we have got to build a mass party, we have got to have a strong grassroots.”