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Electing the General Secretary?
By Andy | March 11, 2008
The General Secretary-ship was hot topic of conversation at Spring Conference. Everyone new that the shortlist had been narrowed down to three and it wasn’t difficult to find out who the three were.
Inevitably this was a topic close to the heart of Party structure anoraks (like myself) but I was surprised to hear the issue ranged in a number of conversations with a number of younger members who seemed - otherwise - to reasonably well adjusted.
A common view was that, in future, the NEC could narrow the candidates down to - say - a shortlist of three and then there could be a Party debate with the membership making the final choice. I’m not quite clear what I think of this but this in an indication of how ordinary Party members are wanting to have a say over the running of their party. These trends - and demands - are likely to grown and not subside.
This time around the Party tried to be different but without a great success. The Party went out to head hunters and one member of the NEC talked to me about this as if it was a major step forward. I pointed out that non of the shortlisted candidates came through the head hunting route; wasn’t this all something of a waste of money? The reply was really looking to the future where this may well be a sensible tactic. Apparently there were a number of very interesting candidates sounded out this time around who, for one reason and another, were not in the position to consider the job.
The direct election of the General Secretary could well fit into the concept of a modernised, people’s party. And I’ve no doubt that it is right to seek high quality candidates for our senior officers from beyond the traditional, limited, gene pool. But the danger is that in innovating in this way that the Party leadership is seeking to consolidate its hold on the Party machine and - in the long run - this is probably not a good thing.
Our Party officers are critical to the development of the Party. Members should understand their job descriptions, be clear about where the checks and balances in the system lie. And members should also see these senior figures as working for them to build a better, more inclusive, political party. Direct elections to some of these posts may well be something to consider seriously.
Topics: Party Reform |
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:31 am
March 2008: Welcome aboard, Mr Pitt-Watson: it’s so New Labour, aspirational and indicative of social justice to have a man with a double barrelled name at the helm.
May 2nd 2008: Oh, goodbye Mr P-W, missing you already duckie…..