Working Title

Today, I wrote to Labour List and proposed to write an article for them.

I’ll take help on the title but currently working with “Privacy Law, canvassing and registered supporters”

Next year, 28th May, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation comes into force. Among other things it will prohibit the storage and processing of canvass returns without freely given, informed and explicit consent. We will have to prove that consent has been obtained and be able to tell electors everything we know about them.

The simplest answer to these new compliance requirements is to extend the registered supporter arrangement, make it an ongoing contract so that the agreement can include privacy clauses. The ambition would be to extend the scheme to high proportions of our voter base. For this purpose, the fee would need to be low, nearer £3 than £25.

ooOOOoo

I should add that without some form of reform, the retention of the Registered Supporters data in the membership system is in my mind questionably legal, as it breaks the storage limitation principle. When compliance ruled that Registered Supporters could not be invited to member’s meetings, they made the sole purpose of holding the data the leadership election. This purpose was confirmed when the NEC required re-registration of the registered supporters at £25 in 2016; the consequence of such a decision to my mind negated the purpose of the original registrations. …

Distortion

I went to Southwark Momentum meeting yesterday and discovered that Joanna Baxter, a past member candidate for the NEC while Secretary of Camberwell and Peckham established local rules that limit/establish the number of branch delegates to 15.

The problem with limiting the number of Branch delegates is that as the membership grows it cannot be properly represented vs. the privileged membership of the socialist societies, co-ops and trade unions, no doubt including the steel workers. In my CLP, the majority of branches have over 20 delegates.

When I get sometime back in my life I think I shall complain about this; it’s clearly a stichup and distorts the democracy of every meeting in which C&P CLP attend and send GC elected delegates. …

E-Voting

E-Voting

At my last Union branch meeting, we heard from Gemma Short of the right to strike campaign. As one part of her presentation she mentioned that one of the Unions’ response to the recent Trade Union laws is to demand that they can run strike ballots (and the mandatory political levy and elections) using e-voting technology. I have been thinking about this for a while and its fans need to take stock; there’s some inconvenient truths. …

Truth

A couple of days ago, I posted the critical facts about the Lewisham Deptford CLP AGM. The Left won the majority of branches and all the forums. The incumbent Secretary negotiated changes in the results with two branches and successfully asked region to rule out the largest branch delegation and replace it with the previous years, which would have had an effect of switching 25 votes from left to right. Such a ruling is clearly against the rules.  Additionally there appear to be irregularities in the management and acceptance of affiliates by the officers of the CLP. …

Labour’s Democracy Review

When Jeremy Corbyn announced that he was planning an NEC away day to review Labour’s rules, I made some notes on my blog, which I have updated via comments, I plan to work them into a submission and submit them it’s successor and hope others will support them. The other blog has comments disabled after 7 days, so if you have something to add, please comment here.

Submissions are best made by email, or via a web form hidden in the party site. …

Scope

Labour’s Rules, yes my life is a bit obsessive, has a section called Scope of Rules, Ch 1.X. This states that the Rules apply to all party units and limits the NEC’s powers to vary the rules. They may not vary the aims and objectives, conditions of membership (inc. affiliates), selection procedures, or change the relationship between CLPs and the Party.

It permits local rules, and defines the NEC’s power of interpretation. It does not require the rules to be published to all members. 😣 …