15LTB Labour Party Elections

[TrueBlueTerrier]

15LTB Labour Party Elections

Dear Colleague



RE: LABOUR PARTY LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS



The National Executive Council has today discussed the forthcoming Labour Party Leader and Deputy Leader election.



Following an extensive debate the NEC agreed to nominate and recommend to members that they vote for Jeremy Corbyn MP, for Leader of the Labour Party.



In making this decision the NEC agreed the following rationale:-



A belief that if the party needs a fundamental change of direction away from the new Labour era, then Jeremy Corbyn MP is the most likely candidate to assist this process. That there is a need to finally loosen the grip of Blair and Mandelson’s market driven politics on the Party. This is the single most important issue in this election.



That Jeremy Corbyn MP has consistently been the most aligned candidate to existing CWU policy, ranging from opposition to Royal Mail privatisation, unfair competition and closing the loophole on agency workers, to wider issues such as the anti trade union laws, equality and opposition to the Government’s austerity programme.



That a Jeremy Corbyn victory is the most likely way to force a proper debate on an alternative to the Government’s austerity programme and the need for Labour to seriously challenge the Government’s anti trade union laws.



That the union rejects the notion that what Labour needs to do is move back to the centre ground of British politics. That this is a recipe for more of the same and is focused on the need to gain power, rather than the policies we believe in - and what is in the best interest of the people we represent. The real debate is for Labour to redefine what the centre ground of British politics should stand for with policies that bring about fairer wealth distribution, create decent jobs, terms and conditions for workers, remove inequality and provide substantially more affordable housing for working people. There was a time when this type of agenda would have been seen pretty much as the centre ground, not an extreme left wing agenda. This is the challenge for Labour.



The NEC further agreed that Andy Burnham MP would receive the union’s recommendation as second preference in the transferable voting process.



In respect of the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party election, the NEC agreed to nominate and recommend to members that they vote for Angela Eagle MP. The NEC further agreed that Caroline Flint MP receive the union’s recommendation as second preference in the transferable voting process.







A press release outlining the NEC’s decisions was issued this afternoon and this is below for your information.



Branches are reminded that only Political Fund paying members who have registered as Labour Party ‘affiliated supporters’ will get a vote in this election.



Therefore, it is important that branches publicise to political fund paying members that they must register to vote on-line by 12th August 2015. This can be done by the using the following link.



http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/your_chance_to_choose" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Full details of the CWU ‘Sign-up Campaign’ can be accessed through the CWU website



http://www.cwu.org/your-chance-to-choos ... eader.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Political Fund paying members who register as an ‘affiliated supporter’ will receive their ballot papers from 14th August 2015 onwards - either by email or in the post.



Members should be strongly encouraged to vote for Jeremy Corbyn MP as Leader of the Labour Party and Angela Eagle MP as Deputy Leader.



If you have any enquiries on this LTB, these should be addressed to the General Secretary’s Office at gsoffice@cwu.org quoting the reference GS14.0/LTB 501/15.





Yours sincerely





Dave Ward

General Secretary











PRESS RELEASE



Immediate release

30.07.15



CWU backs Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader



The Communication Workers Union is today (Thursday) announcing its endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn MP to be the next leader of the UK Labour.



Please see here for a video of Dave Ward announcing the decision: http://youtu.be/W_b3Vh-EkSg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Speaking after the decision, the General Secretary of the CWU, Dave Ward, said:



“I am delighted to announce that the CWU will be backing Jeremy Corbyn MP to be the next leader of the Labour Party.



"There are no quick fixes for the Labour party, but there are some easy decisions and choosing Jeremy as its leader should be one of them.



“We think that it is time for a change for Labour. The grip of the Blairites and individuals like Peter Mandelson must now be loosened once and for all. There is a virus within the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn is the antidote.



"We reject the notion that Labour needs to move to the centre ground of British politics. The Centre ground has moved significantly to the right in recent years. We do not see arguing for fairer wealth distribution, decent jobs with good pay, terms and conditions and a substantial increase in affordable housing for the next generation as a left wing agenda.



"Jeremy agrees with the vast amount of CWU policy, ranging from opposing the selling off of Royal Mail, to offering a real alternative to austerity, and repealing anti-trade union laws.



Ends



Notes to editors:



The CWU will be also recommending that members vote for Andy Burnham as their second preference in the leadership election.



In the Deputy Leadership Election the CWU will be recommending that members vote for Angela Eagle as first preference and to vote Caroline Flint as their second preference.



The CWU is affiliated to the Labour Party and represents workers in post, telecoms, mobile, and financial services companies including BT, Capita, EE, O2, Parcelforce, the Post Office, Royal Mail, Santander and UK Mail.



For more information please contact:

James Mills, Press Officer, mobile: 0779 3314249, e-mail: jmills@cwu.org

[dvbuk55]

Well it's not often I agree but on this occasion I believe it's the right choice, after the next election in 2020 and another even more humiliating defeat someone who can make the Labour Party electable again might come along.