LABOUR PARTY LEADERSHIP ELECTION LTB No. 624/10

[TrueBlueTerrier]

No. 624/10


Ref GS 14.0


Date: 15/07/10

To all Branches)

To: The Branch Secretary

Dear Colleague

LABOUR PARTY LEADERSHIP ELECTION

Following the resignation of the Leader of the Labour Party, the process commenced to elect a new Leader.

At our Annual Conference in June, it will be recalled that the NEC placed a motion before conference. The motion, together with a motion submitted from a Branch, were both carried unanimously. Following on from the carriage of the motions, the General Secretary wrote to all members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to encourage all MPs to nominate all the candidates who had declared. As matters progressed, the CWU call was echoed by others. A copy of our position was outlined in LTBs 471/10 and 478/10. In the event, and as a result of our activity a number of candidates encouraged some of their supporters to nominate other candidates to ensure an open field.

Following the nominations, all the candidates contacted the General Secretary to arrange a meeting. Steps were then put in place to arrange a hustings involving all the candidates. This hustings took place on Wednesday July 14th. The event was a credit to the CWU's ability to organise and take in the views of all the candidates.

As in previous such circumstances, Branches have been allowed to make their own recommendation during the period of the election. It has also been accepted previously, that given the importance of the issue, that should Officers decide they want to support a particular candidate in a personal capacity, this should also be allowed

It is clear from the various sources of information that there are a number of competing factors as to who the CWU could nominate and support. No elections are simply determined by a ‘tick box' approach to policy and what has to be borne in mind at times is collective responsibility. This is particularly so in the case of people who have been Members of the Cabinet and have been bound by collective responsibility. The issues of credibility and leadership skills, also must be taken into account.

Taking all the factors into account the CWU National Executive Council decided to recommend:

Nominate : Rt Hon Ed Balls MP

Second Preference : Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP

Third Preference : Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP

Any enquiries on this LTB should be addressed to the General Secretary quoting the reference GS 14.0.

Yours sincerely

W HAYES
General Secretary

[Big Daz]

[Big Daz]

CWU nominates Ed Balls in leadership contest

15th July 2010

The Communication Workers Union has today (Thursday) decided to nominate Ed Balls for leader of the Labour Party.

Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: "Ed Balls has a sense of purpose and vision that can rebuild the Labour Party.

"He values the contribution that trade unions make to the country and to the Labour Party.

"We also believe that he is tough minded enough to lead the country and are certain that he is the right leader for Labour."

CWU hosted a hustings meeting in central London yesterday where candidates spoke directly to CWU activists. An important message from all five candidates was their support for a three-line whip in opposition to the coalition government's decision to privatise Royal Mail.

[Big Daz]

Ed welcomes CWU nomination

Ed Balls said:

“I’m honoured to have received the CWU’s nomination following this week’s hustings and the recommendation they will make to their members in the one member one vote ballot in September. I want to strengthen Labour’s link with the trade unions – not just nationally, but on the ground in every constituency and union branch. That is the best way for Labour to stay in touch with millions of working people who depend on Labour to stand up for them.”

Jim Knight, campaign coordinator for Ed Balls, added:

“We are of course very pleased to have received the CWU’s nomination and UCATT’s second preference recommendation. This shows that Ed’s strong performances at the hustings, his harrying of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition and campaigning on issues like the unfair VAT rise, cuts to jobs, public services and new school buildings, are now translating into real support for his bid to be Labour’s next leader.”
Posted July 15th, 2010 by Ed's team

[BELIAL]

Funny sort of union we got!
Even Unite are managing to ballot the membership on the leadership choice.
Still it's good that our leadership are so in touch with the views of the members that they feel they can vote on our behalf without consultation . And they wonder why people are leaving