NEC

Prior to going down to the NEC sub-committee meetings we had a telephone briefing on recent events. We were advised that a new procedure for appointing a general secretary is starting and would be doing the interviews and appointments on June 12th.

The next NEC meeting was due to take place on May 22nd - the same day as the Crewe By - Election, but has been postponed also until 12th June. Whilst I would have preferred it to be earlier, there is no doubt in my mind that it was right to postpone the meeting.

NEC SUB COMMITTEES

Went down to Crewe on Monday after work - did a couple of hours canvassing, then on to London for the NEC Sub-Committees.

The first meeting of the day was the Women's, Race and Equalities Committee. We had a guest speaker Kay Carberrry of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, is the successor to the Equal Opportunities Commission, Disability Rights Commission and Commission for Racial Equality. She explained the extension of their work to tackle discrimination on the basis of age and sexual orientation and the promotion of Human Rights. We had reports on activity with Faith Groups, the Ethnic Minority Task Force and women's organisation and had the last report from Alan of Back the CGBT representative who will be standing down from the committee after this meeting. Everyone thanked Alan for the energy and enthusiasm he brought to his role. We also wished Janet Seymour - Kirk of the Labour Party Disabled Group all the best in recovering from an operation.

The Disputes Committee considered various internal disputes and we then had the Organisation Committee. We had a sombre presentation about the recent local election results and I can assure members that the NEC understands the message of these elections - I've still got the bruises! We also need a discussion about the effect of recently published memoirs. Frankly, they don't help and we would expect better when party members are giving their all in places with Crewe and we are entitled to expect everyone to play their part.

We discussed arrangements for the Euro - Elections in June next year. We are hoping the County Council elections will be moved back a month to coincide with them. The fees on CCP's will be £1200 - a significant reduction on the last time and in future these will be easier payment terms.

We discussed forthcoming parliamentary selections and it was agreed that Wolverhampton North East be an open shortlist.

The meeting ended and I went back to Crewe for an hour's canvassing. Busy Day!