[ad_1]
The saga of Labor factions took its final turn tonight when Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters won a series of seats in the party’s ruling body.
Candidates backed by Momentum, which was created to support the former leader and his left-wing agenda, won seven of the 15 seats at stake on the National Executive Committee.
Among the Momentum teams joining the 39-member group was former Congresswoman Laura Pidcock, who lost her seat to the Tories in December.
But several rival groups came to the governing body because of a complex new voting system that reached 37 rounds of counting.
Of the nine constituency seats up for grabs, five were claimed by the Momentum-backed ‘Grassroots Voice’ list, while three were claimed by the ‘Labor to Win’ ticket.
The winners of Labor to Win included the great Corbyn critic Luke Akehurst, who won by far the most votes in the first round of all the CLP candidates.
There was also a comeback from NEC for veteran member Ann Black, who was removed as head of disputes in 2018.
Momentum said that he had done better than expected. Co-chair Andrew Scattergood claimed that Labor Party members had rejected “the anti-democratic crackdown implemented in recent weeks by a group of factions around the leadership.”
He added: “Keir Starmer has shown worrying signs of breaking with the party’s values of unity and the socialist politics for which he was elected; this result should warn against such a course of action.”
But an ally of Keir Starmer responded, saying that support for the “far left” had generally declined.
They added: “For the first time, Keir has a clear majority in the NEC.”
Ms. Black tweeted: “I am proud to have run a positive campaign and to have won.”
It comes after Corbyn was suspended for his response to a report that found that the Labor Party violated the equality law on anti-Semitism.
The former leader faces an investigation for saying opponents had “dramatically exaggerated” the magnitude of the problem.
The balance of power in the NEC could prove crucial in shaping the Labor response to the anti-Semitism report.
A stronger left-wing list could also exert more influence over Keir Starmer’s attempt to reform the Labor complaints process and any broader party reforms.
The elections were for nine representatives of the Labor Party from the constituency, two representatives of councilors, treasurer and representatives of Wales, youth and disabled.
Treasurer Diana Holland was re-elected, while former Prime Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones was appointed Welsh representative by a narrow margin. Alice Perry and Nick Forbes will represent the local government.
From the Momentum roster, Mish Rahman, Gemma Bolton, Laura Pidcock, Nadia Jama, and Yasmine Dar won positions in the local party, while Ellen Morrison was named a disabled member representative and Lara McNeil became a youth representative.
The other local party representatives elected were Luke Akehurst, Johanna Baxter, Gurinder Singh Josan and Ann Black.
(Image: BBC)
Voice singer Jermain Jackman narrowly missed his bid to become the first black man elected to the NEC.
He tweeted: “For a party that talks about equality and justice, it is disappointing that we have not yet seen a black man in the NEC.
“I hope it doesn’t take another 120 years to try and do it.”
[ad_2]
