NEC Sub-committees-Tuesday July 6th

Tuesday was sub-committee day in London. It started with the Womens, Race and Equality committee in the morning. We had another in a series of detailed and very useful reviews of the General Election. As we know we did well in some areas of traditional Labour Strength-Scotland, Merseyside, inner London and other metropolitan, multi-ethnic areas. We did badly in others-Midlands industial areas, some of the former coal-field areas (Yorkshire, Mid-Glamorgan) Shire Towns and the industrial corridors and dormitory towns along the M4 and in North Kent. Our biggest loss of support was amongst the C1/C2 voters- skilled and semi-slilled private sector workers in non-metroplitan areas. We need urgently to assess the reasons for this.
We also discussed the implications of the Tories gerrymandering of Parliamentary Boundaries. We don't have all the details yet but they are proposing to cut the number of seats from 650 to 600, raise the average electorate to75,000 with no more than a 5% deviation (apart from Orkney and Shetland and the Scottish islands) which will lead to a widespread disregard for county and local authority boundaries (and possibly ward boundaries) and to rush these changes through by 2013-before an anticipated election.
The estimated seat reductions are as follows:
Wales Down 10 to 30
Scotland Down 7 to 52
England Down 30 to 507
Its not clear if Northern Ireland will lose 3 seats or stay as it is.

In England the seat losses will be concentrated in the North and Midlands and the nett effect of these changes could cost Labour 25-30 seats.
We then had a discussion about access to the political system for people with disabilities. I have been charged with preparing a report on this-working with our affiliated unions and the Labour Party members disabled group.
At Mid-day we had the Disputes Committee. Very much a working committee where we try to resolve disciplinary issues.
Then in the afternoon we had the Organisation Committee. The big issue was the procedure we use for Selections. We considered the role of postal votes, the length of time it takes and the possibility of caps on expenditure. A paper will be coming back to us.
I made the point that we need to move very swiftly on this as this Coalition could well collapse next year-I am not saying it will only that it could! If it does we need to be in a position to fight it and that means having candidates in the field. The longer candidates have to build a relationship with the electorate the better and we don't want to have a rushed procedure or impositions at the last minute. It's better to be ready for an election that doesn't happen than not ready for one that does.
We also agreed that NEC nominations be published on the members website-so CLP's can check when they arrive.
Two hour wait for the off peak train means I can catch up with a couple of pints before the train.

Nec Sub-Committees-Election alert

I will be going down to London on Tuesday for the Sub-committee meetings. The Organisation committee will be looking at a report on the election and our candidate selection procedure. I will also be bringing up the organisation of the Leadership campaign. I am also conscious that the referendum on voting changes could well bring this coalition down. As a party we need to be conscious of that and take the step necessary to ensure we could fight an election if we had to-that means beginning selections as soon as possible and beginning a policy review as soon as we have a new leader

Unite Hustings Leeds Saurday July 3rd

Saturday saw the UNITE hustings in Leeds with a good turn out to hear all 5 candidates. They received a good reception but the format of short answers to questions does make it difficult for candidates to develop distinctive arguments.

The party's procedure committee could do with looking at ways of refreshing the format.

It was interesting to see the way Leeds has developed over the past few years.

Ipswich Thursday July 1st

Down to Ipswich to do an NEC report and get Feed-back from the members. Ipswich is a great place. I was the assistant agent there in the 1980's when we had p[robably the strongest Labour Party in the country. The people are great, the town is very attractive and really prospered under a dynamic Labour council.

In recent years the town has been run by a Tory/LibDem coalition( due to end next May, I suspect) and at the General Election we lost the seat by two thousand votes- proof that even incredible hard work doesn't always win elections.

The meeting was good and lively with plenty of contributions from the members. Members are unhappy with the lack of a hustings in the region and are lookig to arrange one with Norwich members.

Plenty of questions and well up for the fight.

Signed up a new member in the pub afterwards-always have them forms with you!

Don't be Conned

The next couple of months will be important for Party members as we consider the lessons of thirteen years of Labour Government and work out how to best defend and advance the progress made-not just over the last Government but by every Labour Government since 1945 because thats what's being threatened by this coalition.Lets not be mistaken,the aim of the Tory hand inside the Lib Dem glove puppet is to roll back Labours welfare state. They are using the smoke-screen of "having to cut the deficit" to fundamentally re-order society.

We need to be on the front-foot in opposing them and to do that we need to get our politics and our campaigning right.

We need to be proud of the many achievements our Government made.The Tories and Lib Dems seek to trash our record in order to justify their own dirty work by blaming it all on our economic and social policies-So NEVER FORGET-in an economic crisis caused by bankers greed in the states and The City ,Gordon Brown and the Labour Government took the decisions that staved off economic collapse and introduced measures to protect people from unemployment and repossessions. If the Tories had been in Northern Rock and other banks would have collapsed with disastrous consequences for every family in the country.

Labours core policies of economic intervention and industrial partnership are what this coalition opposes because they are ideolgically committed to free market solutions. That's why both the Tories and the Lib Dems opposed the minimum wage in the first place and that's why that "nice" Mr. Cable has cancelled the loan to Sheffield Forgemasters.

To be proud of our legacy doesn't mean we didn't make mistakes. In the grown up world people make mistakes, acknowledge them and learn from them( I don't think there will be much demand from the members for re-introducing ID cards!) It isn't heresy to admit this-No-one expects a Labour Government to be perfect-Very good will do and people are already seeing the difference between us and this shower.

That said I'm proud of what our Government achieved and .proud to have worked for its re-election.

One of our key tasks before the next election will be to win back the support of skilled workers: Engineers; IT workers; Lorry drivers-theC2's in the jargon. Always a key part of Labour's core vote and a group we did very badly amongst at the last election. The feelings of this group were best summed up about a year ago by an engineering shop steward I know "I've never been so well paid and I've never been so badly off" Partly this is related to the costs of housing and bringing up young families and we need to re-assess how our economic policies affect this group of supporters.

A general Election may well be nearer than many think and the first task of any new leader will be to review our policies to ensure we are speaking tothe Britain that exists in 2011/2012

Labour leader Hustings

I have been in touch with the General Secretary of the Labour Party asking that the procedures board extend the hustings into August and that the Party organise an official hustings in every region of the country. I feel that that's the minimum that party members are entitled to! Its vital that we are seen to be listening to, and acting on, the views of Party members in areas like the Eastern Region and the South West with their particular concerns.
The leadership election has to engage with our membership and anyone who would like to support my campaign is asked to send me an E-Mail.

John Hutton

It was very disappointing to see John Hutton agreeing to work with this Government to front up what will obviously be an attack on public sector pensions. Labour Party members are entitled to expect those who had a prominent role in our Government to play a key role in protecting our gains. Leading the opposition to this coalition not providing a fig leaf for it. We can leave that to the Lib Dems

Leadership hustings Salford Thurs June 24th 7.30pm

It looks to me like the leaderhip election is wide open-and thats a good thing. The result will be decided in countless meetings of party members and supporters up and down the country. Our neighbouring CLP- Worsley- have organised one for this Thursday and all Labour members are welcome. Dianne Abbott and Andy Burnham will be there in person. David Miliband will be represented by Ivan Lewis MP and the campaigns of Ed Miliband and Ed Balls have also been invited. It should be a good meeting-lets ensure there's a good turn-out

Belfast Wednesday June 16th

I was invited over to Belfast for a meeting of Labour Party members in Northern Ireland-it's always a pleasure to visit Belfast. Members in Northern Ireland waged a long campaign for official recognition and last year were finally organised into a single Constituency Labour Party.They have been steadily growing in numbers and in the last month experienced a 20% increase in membership.They recieve good support from a number of unions,especially Unite and the GMB and are very keen to contest the assembly and local elections next May. These elections are held under STV so there are no problems with splitting the centre left vote.

There was a vigorous discussion about the importance of these elections. If the party is to do well we need to fight them properly and start the hard work now. To do that they need to be authorised by the party nationally. The meeting unanimously agreed to seek that sanction and I agreed to do all I can to help them.

England V. USA Saturday June 12th

Saturday night was the big match and we had a good turn-out for our branch fund-raiser. Hot Dog and chips and a world cup quiz including a section called " name that pie" set the tone for a very enjoyable evening-the only thing wrong was the result and the fact that we were watching it on ITV HD so missed the goal. Thanks to Patrick and all the staff at "The Seven Oaks."- a top pub in Chinatown.

Leadership election- ballots and hustings

It was good to see Dianne Abbott make the short list and a pity that John McDonnell didn't. Lets be clear- I believe the election of either as Labour leader would be an unmitigated disaster for the Labour Party- buts that's just my personal view and they have every right to stand for election and if the members agree with them and not me then I have to accept that. Thats the nature of democratic debate.
I have said before that one of the jobs of the NEC is to defend the rule book as agreed by conference, we cant make the rules up as we go along. What I believe we now need to do is to change the rules to ensure that when there is a vacancy for leader we have a relatively low threshold of nominations to maximise nominations combined with a relatively high one when we have an elected leader to discourage the sort of self-indulgent challenges we saw in the 1980's
The leadership debate will be crucial for us as a party and its' vital that the membership are fully involved. There will be official hustings in every part of Great Britain and hustings for every sector of the party( I have just noticed there isn't an official LGBT hustings which strikes me as an omission so I will raise this with the General Secretary)
There will also be plenty of other hustings and campaign meetings by the candidates.
I give below the dates and locations of official Hustings-more detail should be on the Labour Party Website.
Sunday June 12 Scotland
Saturday June 19 Leicester BAME
Saturday June 26 Newcastle
Sunday July 4 Cardiff
Saturday July 10 Southampton
Friday July 16 London and South
Sunday July 18 Birmingham
Sunday July 26 Leeds- Women
Saturday July 31 Manchester

I have just noticed in typing this list that there are no official hustings in Eastern England or The South West and no all inclusive ones in Yorkshire (brief pause while I hit the roof!).
Lets be clear - the minimum members should be able to expect is an all member hustings in their region. Bame,Womens, Youth and LGBT, not to mention disability, hustings are all vital but they should be in addition to the regional and national hustings. In the South West we lost ten seats, in the East we lost ten seats, in the South East we lost twelve. Our representation in the Southern part of England has been shredded and without it we will never have a Labour Government. Are we saying Labour Leadership candidates have nothing to learn from party members in Norwich, Brighton or Exeter!
I will be contacting the NEC officers and other NEC members to increase the spread of official hustings and will let you know how I get on-but feel free to get involved. Write toRay Collins at The Labour Party, 39 Victoria st. Westminster SW1h 0HA

NEC Elections-Some good reasons to vote for Peter Wheeler

CLPs are now nominating for the NEC elections and members will receive their ballot papers in August.

I am standing for re-election and hope for your support.

On the NEC I do my best to ensure the views and opinions of members are respected. I have always been loyal to our party and its leadership-I firmly believe that unity is strength- but have never been frightened of standing my ground when I believe our members are not being properly valued.

There are a lot of good reasons I can think of to vote for me and I list four below.

1. Northern

I am the only clp rep who doesn't come from London or the home counties I do my best to
ensure that the views of members in traditional Labour areas are heard in the NEC debates.

I hope members in London and the home counties would agree that that viewpoint needs to

be represented.

2.In Touch.

I am always available by phone or E-mail if members have problems or issues to raise.

I travel the country (at my own expense) to report back meetings from Scotland to Devon,

Belfast to Ipswich and all points in between. I know its vital that we have strong representation

in every part of the country, people everywhere need Labour Councillors, Labour MPs and

Labour MEPs and without their support we will never have a Labour Government. I work

closely with friends in these areas to help re-build the party.

3. Trades Unionist

I am an active Trade Unionist. I believe Trade Unions are vital for people at work and have

always played a key role in building a fairer society.

Until last year I was a full time official for Unite, representing members in engineering and

manufacturing. I know the reality of industrial relations on the shop-floor and in the office.

The party's relationship with the unions has been crucial in keeping us alive in difficult times

and keeps us in touch with the reality of life for millions of people.

We need to strengthen our links at a local level with MPs taking a lead role in building

relations with local work-places and trade union organisations.

4. Labour

I am a down to earth, plain speaking, traditional Labour supporter. I have never been a

member of any other party-if you cut me in half you would probably find Labour written

right through me ( as well as Manchester City FC! )

I come from Salford and joined theLabour Party at the age of 16. I play a full part in my local

branch and CLP and always try to turn out for by-elections and any other campaigns. I am a

council tenant- which gives the NEC a different perspective in discussions about housing-and

live the same sort of life as millions of our supporters.

I have strong Labour values: fairness, social justice, hard work, empathy, solidarity and trying

to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance in life.

The next two years will be vital for us as a party-we need to re-group,elect a new leader, learn

the lessons of our period in Government and ,above all ,lead the campaign to protect the gains

we have made in Government.We need to ensure that the party is in a position to fight a

General Election whenever it comes and I am determined to ensure that a larger more

valued membership is fully involved in that process.

GMB Congress Southport Monday June 7th

Went up to Southport yesterday to hear the first of the leadership hustings at the GMB Congress. All six candidates were invited but Ed Balls couldnt make it due to urgent parliamentary business.

It was a question and answer format followed by short speeches. All of the candidates spoke well in answering a wide range of questions from GMB members. The tone of the debate was just right with candidates alternatively listening, defending the Labour Governments record and acknowledging where we hadn't got it right. Lets hope the debate carries on in this way.

Labour party NEC elections 2010

Nomination papers are now with Consituency Labour Parties for them to nominate candidates for the constituency section of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party. There are 6 places and the elections are held every 2 years.

Every CLP can nominate up to 6 people and the nomination papers have to be back at the Labour Party Head Office by July 30th.

Ballot papers will be sent to members in mid-August at the same time as the leadership election. All members will get a vote, either by post or online.

This will be a hard fought election and I would welcome your support

Claremont Labour Party

The revival continues! Having won the seat for the first time in ten years, we are attracting new members at a record rate. We have had more new members this month than all of last year and at our first branch meeting we had double our usual turn out. We have almost completed delivering our thank you leaflet to the entire ward and are making our preperations for a years hard campaigning on behalf of local people. Well done to Sareda, our newly elected councillor.

Don't blame me..

The in-demand revival of a late 1970's classic. Show your friends and neighbours just where you stand-and get them to join the Labour party at the same time!

Up-dated versions of the 'Don't blame me, I voted Labour' badges and stickers are now available:

Badges £2

Stickers £2

Generous bulk rates available for

CLPs and branches-allowing you to raise your own funds!

All proceeds to distressed Labour Party funds-make cheques payable to Peter Wheeler

6, Victoria House, Victoria rd. Salford M6 8LF

Tel: 07880 790182

E-mail wheelerpeter@hotmail.co.uk

Leadership election

The party is now at the start of a crucial leadership election and its important we have a proper debate, which genuinely involves the membership. So far there has been none of the rancour that marred our 'debates' in the early '80's and its important it stays that way.
I supported the recommendations at the NEC to allow for a full debate which ends at conference. We are a little bit shackled by rules written for a different time to limit the potential for annual divisive challenges and I think there is a case for a lower threshold for nominations when we do not have an incumbent leadership. However one if the NEC's jobs is to defend the rules as agreed by Conference so I feel we had little alternative but to stick with the current arrangements.
I do feel its important though that we have the widest possible choice and I would urge MPs to take this into account when making their nominations.
Above all, lets ensure we have a spirited and comradely discussion and never take opur eyes off the fact that our job is to protect the people who will suffer most from this government.

England vs. USA Saturday June 12th 6.30pm

We won the election in Claremont-and spent all our money doing it! Thats one of the reasons we are having a fund-raiser-the other one is to have a good time. We have booked a room with a big screen at The Seven Oaks, Nicholas st. Manchester M1 4HL.( right in the heart of Chinatown) and all members and friends are invited to join us to watch the start of Englands bid for World Cup glory. As we are playing the USA there will be hot dogs and chips-All for just £5 per ticket

I need to know numbers for catering so please book your tickets by E-Mail on wheelerpeter@hotmail.co.uk or phone me on 07880 790182

Listened in Liverpool-Friday May 21stIt was a

It was a baking hot Friday in Liverpool-the first, and perhaps only, hot day of the summer, so it was great to see 24 members from across Merseyside come together to discuss the election, the Great Betrayal and the leadership election.
After congratulating Liverpool and St. Helens labour groups on taking control of their local councils and Julianna Berger MP on increasing the Labour majority in Liverpool Wavertree, the point was made that being in Liverpoll (and Scotland) was like being in a labour bubble where we didn't lose the election. Unfortunately we did and we need to work out what that means for us.
We had a good general discussion with everyone able to contribute. Points made included:
* Disunity at the top had been a problem and we need to move on from the Blair/Brown devide.
*The leadership election needs to be conducted in an amicable fashion-elections have the potential to devide as well as unite.
*The Party has been too centralised and this needs to change- supporting members in their efforts to build support for Labour in their areas. Conference is too stage managed and this needs to change, linking in with changes in policy making.
* Government sometimes lost sight of the politics, becoming too administrative. On Merseyside too much cosying up to Lib-Dem councils.
* need to genuinely respect local democracy- can achieve great things. No child killed on Sefton roads in the last 8 years!
*Nothing wrong with targets-its how they are arrived at that matters.
* Unbelievably, the Lib Dems are applying for Short money-only available for opposition parties.
* need to acknowledge mistakes eg 2008 Transport Act.
Joe Benton MP spoke very powerfully about the need for the Party to be a broad church and to re-examine our values. He felt we had become complacent in power.
We all agreed that the party needed to re-vitalise itself with greater community engagement, more political discussion and a much more out-going approach recruiting members and more involvement in policy making.

National Executive Committee Tuesday May 18th

I go down to London the night before NEC meetings and stay at my brothers in Lewisham. It means I avoid getting up at dawn and, more importantly, saves £150 on the train fare. Thats why I was in a pub by the ground in Charlton watching them in the play off semi-finals. All very depressing as they were beat by Swindon-maybe next year?

The NEC meeting starts at 9.30 am and the main business is the details of the leadership election and consideration of the General Election. There was a lengthy discussion on timing and whilst I understood the arguments about moving quickly to elect a leadership to take the fight to the coalition I felt that we need to entrust that job to our elected Deputy Leader,thats why Harriet was elected in the first place.

I feel it's vital that we have a proper election campaign which allows members to weigh up the merits of the different candidates and study the lessons of 13 years of Labour Government. An election culminating at annual conference allows for this and is also approximately £200, 000 cheaper-an important consideration in these cash strapped times. Members have had enough of being bounced into decisions and I, for one, am perfectly capable of campaigning against this coalition at the same time as discussing our leadership and future direction. Good features of the recommendations include extensive hustings and a cap on expenditure (details to be agreed).

We did, I think, make a mistake with too tight a dead-line for nominations by MP's but the procedure committee which we established has now agreed to extend that dead line.

We then had a good presentation about the election including success areas like Scotland and Merseyside and also our problem areas. We agreed to start looking at starting the selection process as soon as possible ensuring we are in a position to fight an election as soon as possible. I believe CLPs should pick their candidates with minimal interference from above.

The meeting finished at 2.20-just short of 5 hours- meaning a quick sprint to Euston for the last off-peak train to Manchester.

Unite and BA

There was a welcome development in the courts yesterday when the judges allowed the unions appeal against the injunction from BA preventing the Union honouring the wishes of their members and calling a strike. There has been an employer offensive in recent months, trying to tie Unions up in red tape and prevent them respecting their members wishes. One thing needs to be got straight-no trade unionist ever wants to go on strike-you lose money and the whole situation is very worrying for members. However, there are times when, no matter how hard you try there is no alternative, and the right to withdraw your labour is a fundamental right in a free society. Employers like Willie Walsh at BA need to be working with their employees and the union not bashing them!

Urgent-Thirsk and Malton

As we know they do things different in Yorkshire and there is one part of the county where the General Election hasn't happened yet! Due to the sad death of the UKIP candidate in Thirsk and Malton the election had to be postponed and will now be held on Thursday 27th May. We have an excellent candidate in Jonathan Roberts, he needs our help to get a good result here. I am hoping to get up next week. Anyone who can help is asked to ring jonathan on 07810 304 006.

Listened in Manchester Saturday 15th May

At times like this its good for Labour Party members to get together and discuss politics and the way forward and its vital that the NEC understands the feelings and views of members.

For that reason I am arranging a number of meetings for party members and supporters and I am also inviting local politicians to drop in-the understanding being that it's mainly for members to put their views.

We held the first in Manchester on Saturday. Its always difficult to judge turn out at these things. I booked a room that could take 50-guess what? Over 100 turn up so we had to seamlessly re-locate.

We were joined by Lucy Powell, candidate for Withington at the election, Tony Lloyd MP, Ivan Lewis MP, Andy Burnham MP, Julie Hilling MP and Arlene McCarthy MEP.

One of the issues I was keen to get feed back on was the timing of a leadership election and there were differences of view between those who wanted a quick election, ending in July and one ending in September at Annual Conference.

There was complete unity that we needed a fair, open and transparent election. Party members are not in the mood for being bull-dozed!

Every body who wanted to speak got the chance, that was 30 in all, and points made are given below. Apart from a very valid point about deteriorating environmental and water quality most of the contributions fell into three groups:

a) The General Election

There was general relief that the election results had not been much worse with well earned praise for party workers, supporters and trade unionists who worked hard against the odds.

There was critiscism of the lack of vision and forward offer, with one member describing the manifesto as a "shambles" and views that we need to sort out our message and attack lines. Cabinet ministers were calling for a tactical Lib Dem vote at the same time as we were correctly saying that a Lib Dem vote would let in the Tories.

The impact of the debates had thrown us and people felt we could have been more decisivee.g. ruling out a VAT rise.

There was much criticism of the lack of women in prominent campaign positions-one member suggested a quota of 50% for women in the shadow cabinet.

There was also a view that we had failed to institutionalise political change-establishing regional assemblies, returning power to local government. The contributions were frank and honest but there was no rancour and there was an understanding of the difficulties of defending a Government after 13 years. We need to be proud of and build on the good things we have achieved-Labour politicians must not trash our legacy!

b)Current Situation

There was anger at the way the Lib Dems had dropped any pretence at radicalism and put the Tories in power. Particular outrage was expressed at the attempt to impose a 55% requirement to dissolve the House of Commons. Despite the hype about how they love each other this figure has been arrived at solely to stop them stabbing each other in the back.

People were clear that we need to be defending our communities from tory/lib dem attacks from day one. An important point was made that we also need to be aware of the needs of the private sector. We cannot just be a lobby group for the public sector.

It was suggested that we elect a shadow cabinet straight away to lead the party in Parliament.

c) The Party

The good news is that party members are in surprisingly good heart with no wish for a return to the rancour of the early '80's. There was a wide spread view that we had been far too 'top down'
and centralised and changes are needed in our policy making and communication. Members need to be trusted much more-problems of disunity were at the top not amongst the membership.

We need to transcend the old, artificial devisions-New/Old labour,Brownites/Blairites.

There was also a widespread view that we had, as a government, been too administrative and not seen as being on the side of the people.

We need to look at how we communicate as a party-both with our members and supporters and the wider community. There were criticisms of the high cost of membership and we need to remove the barriers to participation,especially to encourage new members and young people and women-the support of women is crucial.

We need to be very dynamic about recruiting. The £1 membership for young people was appreciated but needs extending 'The Tories?-Get rid for a quid!'

The mood of the meeting was that the members are in reasonably good heart-they want to be supported in their work for the party not obstructed from above.In terms of the leadership election they want to have a reasoned and open campaign. The future is very much in our hands.

I have arranged another feedback meeting in Liverpool next Friday, May 21st, at the New Friends Meeting House, School Lane. L1 3BT at 7pm. All welcome, Lucianna Berger MP will be there, possibly Andy Burnham and I am inviting other local politicians. Any leadership contenders very welcome!

Listening in Liverpool- Friday May 21st

Given the events of the last few days its important that Labour members and supporters have a chance to discuss the General Election, the Lib Con coalition and the upcoming leadership

election.

I am holding a feed back meeting for members and supporters on Merseyside-Come along and have your say!

I will be joined by Andy Burnham MP and Lucianna Berger MP but the evening will be mainly about members having their say.

The meeting will be at 7pm in the New Friends meeting House,School Lane, Liverpool L1 3BT.Please encourage others to come along- for more info please ring me on 07880 790182.

Peter Wheeler- Labour Party National Executive Committee

The fightback starts now

Down to London for the organisation committee and NEC briefing. News breaking last night about a possible deal with the Lib Dems has provoked much comment from the members and we need to see the detail of any proposals. I worry that we don't have the numbers to carry it off- as we learned in the late '70's, relying on the SNP isn't the best place to be!

First we have a meeting of the Organisation Committee. Well earned thanks to the members and staff and genuinely meant tributes-I make sure the unions and' Mirror' get a mention as well.

I also press the importance of allowing CLP's to endorse the candidate they have and get them campaigning as soon as possible-providing they are happy with them! Alternatively we need to start selecting as soon as possible. We also need to persuade MP.s who dont want to carry on to let their party know in good time. There were exceptional circumstance last time but late resignations last time could well have lost us half a dozen seats and led to members rights being compromised in a number of seats.

Then at four o'clock we had the NEC. We heard a report from Gordon on the current situation and that the Libdems had asked for talks with us. Clearly we need to explore any possibility of preventing the tory onslaught on public services- a view strongly endorses by the trade union reps on the NEC. It was agreed that the result of any talks go to the Clause Five committee for agreement, including National Policy Forum members and Trade Unionists. There is little doubt in my mind that agreement could have been reached but Nick Clegg preferred to deal with the Tories. His so-called principles about Trident, immigration or Tuition feesw didn't last long when office came calling!

So then it was time for a very moving and emotional speech from Gordon, the man has more integrity than the lot of them put together.

Its a sad day for the british people when Cameron walks through the door of Number Ten-we have to ensure he's not there long and we come back strong.

Gordon Brown stepping down

Just got in to the news that Gordon has said he will stand down. Quite a shock and there are probably more to come. Its a good job we got an NEC meeting arranged for tomorrow-vital that NEC members stay in touch with and reflect party opinion. We have to do whatever we can to protect public services but need to ensure we don't put everything we believe in at risk. Instinctively I am against coalition government and would take a lot of convincing.

Cabinet meeting at 6pm so we will probably learn more then. In person Gordon is a smashing man, principled and caring. He has done an incredible amount for people, both in this country and for the very poorest abroad. When he goes we will miss him.

What next?

Last weeks election was a major event for all of us in the Labour Party.We fought back from the brink- seeing off the Cleggmaniacs and denying the Tories the majority government they had taken for granted for so long. That will make it so much harder for them to roll back the welfare state in the way they intended.

However, we paid a heavy price, losing 96 seats and its vital that party members have a say in the important decisions being taken over the coming days and months.

As one of your NEC members I am always available to come to meetings and hear your views-just call me on 07880 790182.

I am also arranging a series of meetings for members and supporters to come and discuss their views.

The first will be on Saturday, 15th May at Manchester Town Hall at 11am. Tony Lloyd MP and Lucy Powell will be there and all party members and supporters will be welcome

The Results

After 13 years in Government it was always going to be difficult for Labour. In fact about a year ago we looked on course for a wipe-out and even a few days ago we looked like coming third in vote share. The national campaign was lack-lustre and the debates threw us off balance. It could have been a nightmare!

What saved us however was the massive hard work of our members, supporters and party staff on the ground and in regional and head office. This coupled with unstinting support from Trade Unions and 'The Daily Mirror' allowed us to turn the corner in the last five days as Labour supporters horrified by the prospect of a Cameron Government came back to us.

That allowed us to deny Cameron his Government and see off the Cleggmaniacs but it was very far from a victory.

We need now to ensure we get a proper discussion in the party about where we are now and how we go forward. On the NEC we need to ensure that the views of party members are properly represented in the decisions to be made over the coming days and months, thats why I have been calling for an early NEC meeting and I have had some success-we will be meeting now on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

It looks to me like Clegg is going to back a Tory Government-what a surprise! He has always seemed a bit of a Tory to me. Both he and Cameron will have difficulty selling it to their people as both have diminished standings due to throwing away potentially winning positions.

Gordon has a duty to try to form a Government to save our economic position,however we need to acknowledge that if Clegg is determined to sell his party to the Tories there is nothing we can do to stop hom.

What we mustn't do is give the Lib Dems a blank cheque in return for backing us-short term gain,long term loss for both the Party and the Country.

In terms of individual results there were some great results locally in Bolton West and Oldham East and Oxford East was a brilliant result as was Edgbaston. The results in Withington,Crewe and Ipswich were hard but we will be back soon.

Many thanks to ALL our members and supporters-we will be back soon building a fairer better Britain.

Not the General Election Day One Friday

Down to the count at Eccles Rec. starting at 11am. Takes a couple of hours but we have some brilliant results taking 17 of the 20 seats up for election with the tories getting three and the Lib Dems nil! Holding Eccles,Langworthy,Cadishead and Irlam-seats we lost last time and gaining Weaste,Claremont and Swinton South gave us a brilliant result and means we won every ward in the Salford and Eccles constituency. It was a great team effort and we have lots of young people involved and committed. Steve, a student who joined our branch at 16 was the agent in Claremont which we won by 50 votes and my son Michael was the agent in Eccles which we held with a stunning majority of nearly 600.

Then it was off to the pub over the road then home to catch up on sleep,tidying up and the Telly.

General Election Day 31 Thursday

The Big Day. I'm up near dawn to get over to Withington-everything well under control. Throughout the day there are hundreds of party members coming in with great support from USDAW members and students in particular. Its looking close but promising-we will soon know.

In the afternoon its back to Salford for me and we have teams out in every part of the city. we work until nearly the close of poll- when our sheets run out we head off to the count at Buille Hill school-council insisting on photo ID-not sure thats legal,wiil check for next time.

There has been a clear firming up of the labour vote over the last couple of days. The count seems to last longer than the count but our Agent, Ray has done a great job of organising the Scrutineers and its soon clear we have a very comfortable majority. Its also clear we are doing well in the local elections but there is mixed news from around the country. its funny seeing the tories looking as sick as chips, they came to celebrate and now look down in the dumps.

Result declared at about 5.15 am and we have a majority of just under 6000-more than i expected. Then its the familiar post election dawn drive home,bottle of beeer and fall asleep on the couch watching results come in -big surprise is just how badly the Lib Dems are doing.

General Election Day 30 Wednesday

Well, thats it- the last eve of poll leaflet delivered, the last door knocked on. Clothes ironed and ready for tomorrow. Its now all about encouraging Labour supporters to go out and vote.

Lets hope they do because their is so much at stake.

I have been leafletting in Salford and Withington today- me and John set the record for leafletting the entire Nell Lane estate in one hour twenty five minutes, then bumped into a gang of Liberals looking very lost. They are struggling round here if they have to bring in outside help!

The Labour Party members have been great throughout this campaign-lets hope they get their just rewards.

-and Eddie Izzard was back in Withington, a really nice man.

VOTE LABOUR ON THURSDAY

General Election Day 29 Tuesday

More leaflets delivered in Withington, we certainly have left the Lib Dems for dead in terms of campaigning. Then it was over to Ordsall in Salford for more canvassing-good response and lots of members out working.

In the evening went to the Gordon Brown rally in Manchester with my son Michael. Gordon was very,very good speaking passionately about the role of public services. There is still an awful lot to play for as Cameron looks increasingly desperate charging around the country in the middle of the night.

General Election Day 28 Monday

Ellesmere Port today leafletting. Had a good team of students over from Liverpool and we took them down to the 'White Lion' for the mayors charity Hog Roast. Its good to see how the party is coming together for the final push. I think the hog that got roasted was a Lib Dem flying pig.

General Election Day 27 Sunday

Leafletted Nell Lane in Withington again today. When I first did it it took over 4 hours,now i've got that down to less than 2 1/2, who says practice doesn't make perfect!

Polls are showing the libs back in third place leaving the final week for the big push. A lot depends now on the 'Dont know if i'll vote' people, its up to us to convince them. The clock is ticking!

General Election Day 26 Saturday

Well, The 'Guardian' came out for the Lib Dems today. Typical of them to jump on a downhill bandwagon. Thank God for the 'Daily Mirror'. The point for us to remember is that while we always need to be reaching out for new support we need to remember our constant loyal supporters-industrial workers,Trade unions,the low paid.ethnic minorities,council tenants,equal rights campaigners-to name but a few. The bed-rock of Labour support in this country

I have been working in my next door ward of Eccles today. We have lost it at the last two local elections but all the signs are very good. We have an excellent candidate in John Cullen and with my son, Michael,as agent how can we go wrong?

General Election Day 25 Friday

Well, the debate went as anticipated! Gordon puts up a good show for us which mediaworld then ignores and gives it to one of the other identikit numpties. Its now up to us we have to keep working flat out till Thursday 10pm to save the situation.

I called in at Bury North to drop some leaflets off and say hello. This is where I joined the party(37 years ago omG) and its always been a key marginal. The candidate is Maryam Khan, they are fighting an excellent campaign and their slogan is 'Yes we Khan'- how can they lose!

Then it was off to Bolton North East to help Dave Crausby. Dave is a former engineer, good union member and the sort of guy we need in Parliament.

General Election Day 24 Thursday

Its the day of the big showdown and a lot hangs on the result of the televised contest tonight-can Liverpool beat Madrid by 2 clear goals and get through to the Europa cup final? There will also be the final leaders debate at which I am sure Gordon will do very well and one of the others will then 'win' it. Its a bit like City playing at Old Trafford-the Ref might give you a decision but not very often and not when it matters!

I spent a few hours in Ellesmere Port leafletting, this was not the day to discover that both my shoes had holes in. It was pouring!

Then I went to Liverpool to help at Wavertree- same story as everywhere else- lots of keen party members putting in an incedible amount of effort and a good feeling on the streets. Meanwhile the Lib Dems fight their usual campaign of quarter truths and distortions. I am always amazed when the London media present the libs as some sort of squeaky clean political newcomers-why dont they speak to people in Liverpool, Rochdale or any Northern town who could tell them the truth.

In the evening I went to a UNITE election rally in Liverpool where John Prescott was as good as ever.

General Election Day 23 Wednesday

Went to the Workers Memorial Day rally in Manchester to commemorate all those killed at work-often because safety has been scrimped on to increase profit. I learnt that the Tories plan to allow big firms to have their own private health and safety audit and then prevent the Health and Safety executive inspecting. Supposedly cutting back on red tape-actually a recipe for more deaths and injuries at work. Workplace deaths are down 75% since the 1980's but 180 people are still killed at work every year

Then we heard about the incident in Rochdale. What can you say? everyone makes mistakes at times, if I had a pound for every mistake I'd made I could pay off all the Labour Party's debts. The response on the doorsteps wasn't too bad, most people just saying it only proves he's human.

The trick now is to forget the distractions, do well in the debate tonight and then push for every vote for the next 7 days-those votes are there to be had. Me, I am now off to Liverpool Wavertree

General Election Day 22 Tuesday

Postal votes arrive today so I have been busy in Withington, good response from voters. Major improvement in Campaign as I buy a kettle to replace the one with the top 'detached' which means it wont boil-an essential requirement of most kettles.

Evening spent canvassing in my ward-good response. bit odd as its the first local election in 10 years that I havent been the candidate but it means I can do more on the General Election.

General Election Day 21 Monday

Spent the whole day in Salford leafletting-getting fed up with the media obsession with process,hung parliaments and hypothetical situations. Its important we dont get sucked into this sideline but concentrate on the politics- ensuring the economy doesn't fall back into recession, meeting the needs of an ageing population, tackling our housing problems. Keep the debate on policy and we win.

I am also concerned that the first NEC meeting after the election is not until May 18th. If any important decisions need to be made its essential that the party is fully involved and for that reason I have asked the General Secretary if we can bring the meeting forward by a week.

After canvassing we went for a meal at the Agra Fort in Ellesmere Port. It had been specially prepared for us by Mrs Miah for the party workers and really was excellent-many,many thanks!

General Election Day 20 Sunday

Making good progress with postal vote leaflets, it certainly gets you out in the fresh air!

Incensed by the news that the civil service feel it appropriate to insult the Roman Catholic church in preparing for the Popes visit. Anyone who knows me knows its a long time since I have been a practicing catholic but I passionately believe all faiths should be treated with respect, even, and perhaps especially, if you disagree with their teachings.

When I was growing up we always knew there was a nasty strain of anti-catholicism in the british ruling circles (based largely on the fact that we were predominantly Irish and working class)-it clearly still persists!

PS apologies. I had a comment about the Lib Dem vote but being a bit clumsy(which is a little bit like saying Elvis Presley was alright at singing) I managed to delete it by accident. It is right that the Alliance got more in 1983, my point was that the Liberals came from nowhere in 1974 to get 19% then disappeared witin a couple of years.

General Election Day 20 Saturday

Spent an hour filling red baloons with Helium in Ellesmere Port- an essential part of any political campaign before dashing off to Manchester for a meeting followed by a few hours in Withington.
There's a good mood of determination amongst the members and we know we have a big job in front of us.
We know there are still plenty of undecideds both locally and nationallyand we have to work hard for every one of them. In fact-the Don't Knows will decide it!

General Election Day 19 Friday

Canvassing in Salford followed by delivering postal vote letters in Withington. I was delivering in Burnage on the estate my Aunty Mary used to live on. To be honest it's a credit to the Local Government pioneers who built decent housing to tackle the poor housing that blighted our city.We will need to be just as radical in the future!

Then I went down to Greatledge printers to pick up leaflets for Ellesmere Port.Written on Thursday and E-mailed that night,they were ready for delivery by Friday tea-time. Greatledge are brilliant!

General Election Day 18 Thursday

Decided to have a break and went down to Crewe to help my mate Dave Williams who is the candidate there. He's doing a brilliant job of trying to regain the seat we lost at the By-election 2 years ago.

I spent the morning inviting people to come down and meet Dave and Andy Burnham, who would be arriving later. We then went out canvassing with Lucy and Nan-you certainly aren't going to say no to that pair! Lots of people coming back since the By-election.

Andy's visit went well then there was a young labour event with over 100 there. The party is doing a great job in Crewe and Nantwich!

General Election Day 17 Wednesday

Most of the day in Withington and a bit in Salford.

These debates are putting a bit of a straight jacket on the campaign,turning it into a three round contest and the final one will be the most intereting.

Cameron is looking distinctly uncomfortable-obviously feeling the pressure from his people who thought it was in the bag

General Election Day 16 Tuesday

Withington and Ellesmere Port today.
Eddie Izzard came out with us today before going to an USDAW branch meeting-that ensured a big turnout! It was a boost for us having him with us, he's a really nice fella.
We are reminding people that the Lib Dems are committed to cutting back on winter fuel allowance for the 60-65's and abolishing child trust funds-issues like this matter to our supporters.

General Election Day Fifteen Monday

Good news that the Government is sending in the Navy to help stranded travellers-issues like this call for decisive action.

I would also like to see tough action from the Government to force the insurance companies to live up to their responsibilities-there are too many reports of stranded travellers being let down and forced to pay out thousands and this is yet another example of financial institutions being happy to take our money but not keeping their side of the bargain.

I spent theday in Ellesmere Port then back to Manchester for a fundraiser with Eddie Izzard-a good night was had by all.

General Election Day Fourteen Sunday

Spend all day delivering Postal vote info. in Ellesmere Port.

Wheels seem to be coming off the Tory campaign-in 1974 the Liberals came from nowhere to take 25% of the vote, wonder if that will happen again?

The airline crisis is causing real problems for people and is going to have major long term consequences.

General Election Day Thirteen Saturday

Direct mail delivery in the morning, Knock off at dinnertime to go to the match-not talking about that! then more direct mail delivery. It all begins to blend in to one.

General Election Day Twelve Friday

All the reaction to the debate seems to be that Clegg "won"-whatever that means. It does create major strategic problems for the Tories as it opens up a second front for them to fight on.

Cameron needs to be worried-the Tories have been expecting this election to be a cakewlk and if he doesnt deliver a majority Government his leadership will come under real pressure-watch out for Boris and George.

Me, I spent the dayin EllesmerePort and Withington,lots of members coming in to help-good feeling all round.

Treated Withington CLP to a £5 bet-if City win 4-1 tomorrow and Tevez scores a hat trick it will pay for the campaign.

General Election Day Eleven Thursday

Todays the day of the leaders debate-clouds of volcanic ash all over the country could be an omen!

During the day I go out in Withington, big direct mail delivery. The quality of our literature really is very good. Then its over to Ellesmere Port helping with the nomination paper. A quick couple of pints in the "White Swan,not exactly gripped with excitement about the debate. Heard some of it on the car radio, Gordon sounded good and strong. Clegg does nothing for me-seems very lightweight. Cameron is the one who seems worried.

General Election Day Ten Wednesday

Well,Well... The Libdems want to cut back on winter fuel allowance-wait till the pensioners find out about that! Add that to the abolition of child trust funds and their willingness to support a Tory Government and there are some nasty plums in their pudding of a manifesto.

They make a big thing of having costed everything in their manifesto-not much use if all your costings are fantasy!

For me its been more voter ID in Withington and direct mail in Salford-life has a degree of predictability at the moment.

General Election Day nine Tuesday

Tory manifesto launch today and I was surprised at how weak it was-basically a rehash of all that 80's stuff about "empowering" people to run their own schools, veto council tax rises and electing mad people to run the police. What they dont get is that most people dont want to "run" things. They want to have their views respected and want to see our public services delivering high standards, what they dont want to do is spend every spare moment at budget sub-committeesor performance review groups

In actual fact the Tories are really about cutting back services and hoping the voluntary sector picks up the slack. Quite simply it won't

General Election Day Eight Monday

Manifesto launch today- Could have gone down but think I am more use here in Mancester. It was a good venue,highlighting the solid achievements of a Labour Government_ we have made a real difference for people in this country and should be proud of it.

Gordon Brown came to Ellesmere Port today visiting the Vauxhall plant, stressing the importance of manufacturing.

The manifesto concentrates on protecting the recovery reminding us that on all the tough decisions the Tories called it wrong.

General Election Day Seven Sunday

Lots of Direct Mail delivery in Salford. Knock off at 4pm and go down to the club to watch City put five past Birmingham. Bit hard on Brum who have been playing well this year but from my point of view-not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

General Election Day Six Saturday

I go over to Withington with my friend Jill and team up with local member Lucy for a good canvass-getting lots of posters up.
Then we go back to Salford to deliver direct mail- I pick up a West Indian take away from Kool Runnings so thats tea taken care of!

Picked the third in the Grand National but dont think my £1.38 winnings will change my life.

In the evening we went to the adoption meeting in Salford at the Willows,home of Salford Reds. Speakers incuded Gary Titley, Arlene McCarthy and John Merry, leader of Salford city council. Hazel and the local members are fighting a real campaign for every vote.

General Election Day Five Friday

Back to Manchester and working in Withington. The mood is very upbeat with lots of young supporters getting involved. There will be a lot of ups and downs over the next three weeks or so and it really will be the case that every vote counts. I think we are all going to be up very late on election night.