Labour Party NEC Elections 2002   Dear colleague/comrade   Since election to the NEC in 2000 I have done my best to represent ordinary members. I am seeking re-election as part of the GrassRoots Alliance, independent candidates with different views on specific policies but a shared commitment to listening and reporting back.   I hope you find my accounts of NEC and National Policy Forum meetings useful, and look forward to continuing with your support. Past reports are available at http://www.labourcounts.com/AnnBlack    Mark Seddon and Christine Shawcroft, current NEC members, are also standing on their record. Pete Willsman will bring unparallelled constitutional experience, Kumar Murshid will strengthen the voice of ethnic minorities, and Rozanne Foyer will add a Scottish dimension too often lacking from London-based discussions.   Below are brief statements from each of us, followed by our common platform. More details are in the voting booklet – please read it carefully and consider supporting some or all of us. With thanks Ann Black   PERSONAL STATEMENTS:   Ann Black Labour has just three years to renew public services and restore trust in politics. Openness and democracy must prevail over stitch- ups and spin.   From the NEC I report directly to members, and their feedback sets my priorities: for comprehensive education, better student funding, working railways, environmental sustainability, international co- operation, strong union links, valuing local councillors and fair candidate selection procedures; against fox-hunting, privatisation and National Missile Defense. For personal accounts by e-mail, please contact ann.black@unisonfree.net or ring 01865-722230 with your views. Experience: Joined Labour and UNISON in 1982. Secretary, Oxford East CLP. Member of UNISON's National Political Committee, the National Policy Forum and the NEC. Member of Oxford East CLP.   Rozanne Foyer I'm standing because I want Labour to overcome fully the inequalities dividing Britain. I'm 29 and as a party activist and senior official with the Scottish TUC, I have a proven track record in campaigning for equality and social justice. I believe I can effectively promote policies reflecting the aspirations of party members to the NEC. I think it is important that the NEC has strong representation from constituency members in Scotland and Wales so that we can maintain our strong links in the context of devolution and continue to learn from one another. I’m a Campaign for Socialism (Scotland) executive member, and support the renationalisation of our railways; a £5 minimum wage regardless of age; redistribution of wealth through progressive taxation; increased public sector funding; and a 50/50 gender balance in public life. Experience: Party member since 1995, holding a range of branch and constituency positions. Assistant General Secretary of Scottish TUC. Member of Glasgow Maryhill CLP.   Kumar Murshid I believe the NEC must lead the party by promoting a vision of social transformation which allows for the full inclusion of significant communities that remain marginalised within the party and society. A more humane and acceptable policy on asylum and immigration must be adopted. Labour needs to reassert the primacy of democratic and accountable mechanisms in the running of our public services. Local authorities must retain their responsibility for housing. The NEC must restore a sense of idealism which goes beyond simply managing capitalism and promote Labour's commitment to the values of equality and justice.   Experience: Party member since the early 1980s. Constituency Chair, currently councillor in Tower Hamlets, Cabinet Adviser to London Mayor, Chair of the National Assembly Against Racism, member of London Development Agency, Co-operative Party, Union and Labour Black Representation Committee. Member of Poplar and Canning Town CLP.   Mark Seddon Labour Party membership and grassroots activism is in sharp decline. That decline must be reversed. Only when Labour is seen to be democratic, accountable and progressive, and not increasingly distant from many communities it has historically sought to represent, will people seek to join it and vote for it. Top-down autocracy must be replaced by grassroots democracy. As a member of the NEC I will continue to stand up for democratic socialism and the rights of ordinary members. The NEC’s priorities must be the interests of the Labour Party even when these sometimes override demands from government. Experience: Member since 1977. Editor of Tribune and member of Labour Party NEC, 1998-2000, 2001. Parliamentary candidate for Buckingham 2001. Telephone 020-7433-6410. Member of Buckingham CLP.   Christine Shawcroft I have been a Labour, Co-operative and trade union activist for 25 years. I am a member of the NUT, and of Meriden in the West Midlands. In my three years on the NEC I have tried to raise grassroots concerns about party democracy, organisation, and candidate selection. To stem the loss of disillusioned members and supporters we need a more radical second term. I support public ownership, council housing, an end to Private Finance Initiative schemes, and index- linking pensions to average earnings. I am secretary of Labour Against the War and I am campaigning for a real ethical foreign policy. I try to be accountable and to report back. To contact me, e-mail cshawcroft@cs.com, or write c/o Millbank. Member of Nottingham South CLP.   Pete Willsman My motivation for standing again is to give members and constituencies an experienced representative, dedicated to defending their interests. I have represented constituencies on Labour's national committees since 1981 and am always available to give information and advice – telephone 020-8854-7326. In recent years, the party’s internal democracy has been eroded and members feel their views are often ignored by our government. Consequently party activists are becoming less committed. These trends must be reversed. Experience: NEC 1998-99; Conference Arrangements Committee 1981-94; National Constitutional Committee 1995-98; National Policy Forum 1998-99, Constituency GC/EC 1975-2002; Research Officer NUPE/UNISON 1979-94, Branch Secretary APEX/GMB 1980-98. CWS SE Political Committee/Area Committee/Party Council 1998-2002. Member of Erith & Thamesmead CLP.   The GrassRoots Alliance The GrassRoots Alliance is an inclusive body of democratic socialist groups and publications across the centre and left of the Labour Party. Candidates supported by the Alliance were elected to the NEC in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. This year it is again promoting candidates who will stand up for the rights of ordinary members and genuinely represent their views. All candidates believe that members must have an effective say in shaping policy in order to reverse declining membership and activism. Each of them, while retaining freedom of judgment on other issues, has therefore undertaken to uphold the following principles: A radical reforming Labour government. These candidates will work for Labour to reinforce its reputation as a party of democratic socialism, committed to redistributing wealth, income and power from the few to the many. They welcome promises to increase government spending on public services, endorse progressive taxation and public sector borrowing to achieve this, but oppose the principle of using taxpayers’ money to subsidise private shareholders. They support policies which mitigate the effects of market forces and reduce the widening gap between affluent and disadvantaged sections of our society. They will seek to ensure that Labour honours commitments to trade union recognition, employment rights, an adequate minimum wage and increased powers for local government. They will press for fulfilment of promises to end child and pensioner poverty and to improve health, education and transport, and they will argue for human rights and universal benefits to be maintained. Elimination of discrimination. Both inside and outside the party they will fight discrimination on grounds of gender, race, age, social class, disability, sexual orientation or religion. Democracy, transparency and accountability. They will - insist that the party operates in a democratic, accountable and transparent way, and set an example by reflecting the concerns of their electorate and reporting back to them; - demand that consultation through the forum process is genuine, that members’ views can visibly influence Labour’s programme, and that policy is determined through transparent mechanisms including the sovereignty of annual conference; - defend one-member-one-vote in internal party selections of candidates for elected office; - oppose control-freakery and over-centralised decision- making; - promote the right of local and regional parties to choose their own candidates without prior or political vetting; - uphold national and local links between the party and the unions.   May 2002. .                                 back to top of page