UK

NEC member: Labour attempting to “disempower members from marginalised groups”

Morgan Jones

 8th October, 2023, 

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National executive committee (NEC) member Mish Rahman has described proposed rule changes, which would remove the obligation on Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) to have equalities officers on their executives, as an attempt to “disempower members from marginalised groups”.

“While the Labour Party likes to think it is the party of equality”, Rahman argued, ‘in my opinion its actions say otherwise”. He also described the changes as an “attack on members’ rights” and on “member democracy”.

Rahman was speaking at a protest against the shakeup which took place outside the ACC Liverpool this afternoon, which is hosting Labour’s annual conference. The protest featured speakers from Disability Labour, Momentum, Young Labour, Labour for Trans Rights, and Labour Black Socialists.

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell described the proposed changes as a “huge retrograde step”, saying that he was “asking the Labour Party leadership to think again”.

Momentum co-chair Hilary Schan told the small crowd which assembled: “I spend an awful lot of my time thinking this Labour leadership can’t sink any lower, and somehow they always manage to”.

A Disability Labour campaigner also said that opposing the changes was not a matter of “left and right” but of “right and wrong”.

The rule changes were first revealed by LabourList at the end of September, shortly before they were approved by the NEC. They will be voted on by this week’s party conference, with results expect on Monday morning.

But one party source previously told LabourList changes reflected the will of many smaller CLPs outside cities in particular, who found the process of recruiting for so many officers “cumbersome”.

“CLPs always used to be divided into an executive who had voting rights, who are supposed to be able to make rapid decisions, and a larger group of functional officers, so it’s restoring that difference.

“A requirement to have a big group of executive officers with voting rights politicises certain roles so instead of going to the most suited person, people get elected on political slates.”