Crisis in Catalonia

Crisis in Catalonia

I made a storify about the Crisis in Catalonia when the Spanish Police disrupted the Referendum in Catalonia. This story includes an article by Owen Jones and two by Craig Murray, together with one or two other articles that I hoped might help me understand what was happening. I transferred this to the blog, as at the original date of publication, once Storify announced they were abandoning the service.  …

Mother of Meetings

Listen up Lewisham labour party folks…today we start a week long series of AGM meetings! Check out where you need to be, when you need to be there and what time.

Bring two friends, your membership card and get ready to vote for your reps. #grassrootsdemocracy #forthemany”

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Counting Votes

Advice from someone who’s been there!

Important lessons learned & tips for tellers. PLEASE READ & SHARE.

  1. Make sure the meeting elects competent & confident tellers. Officers/Councillors/MP are NOT entitled to count by virtue of their position.
  2. Carefully count numbers of eligible voters in the room for each vote.
  3. Ballot papers should only be issued to eligible people in the correct number.
  4. Make sure only tellers collect ballot papers from members – no one else should do this. (Ballot papers SHOULD be posted into ballot boxes. We are looking into getting these for our meetings).
  5. No of ballots cast should match to no of voters. Check & confirm independently. In no circumstances, should
  6. Count votes for each candidate. Tellers should double check each other’s counts & re count until agreed. Do not be afraid to recount. Everyone should be satisfied that the count is correct. Don’t be rushed.
  7. Make a note of total ballots cast, total for each candidate & any missing or spoilt papers. Numbers should all add up. If ballots are unclear they can’t be counted.
  8. No one should count or handle ballots who’s not an elected teller. If someone is interfering or distracting you whilst counting don’t be afraid to ask them not to!
  9. If anything odd happens, someone else collects ballots , ballots are missing or additional ballots cast raise this immediately and ask for a fresh ballot to be held.
  10. All the tellers must certify the result in writing, and the results announced.

If anything has been missed please comment below. …

Tidemill

I am proposing the following motion to the Lewisham Deptford Labour Party General Committee.

This CLP resolves to send the following motion to London Regional Conference

“This Conference notes

1. The passing of Composite 5 on Housing at Labour Conference 2017
2. Jeremy Corbyn’s leader’s speech in which he stated “Regeneration under a Labour government will be for the benefit of the local people, not private developers, not property speculators … [&]… councils will have to win a ballot of existing tenants and leaseholders before any redevelopment scheme can take place.”
3. That Lewisham Council Strategic Planning committee approved planning permission to redevelop the Old Tidemills School site involving the redevelopment (destruction) of 16 council houses and the loss of Tidemills Community Gardens.
4. That further planning permissions involving the loss of council houses in Lewisham Deptford have been prepared.
5. That Councils have a duty to follow the direction of the Mayor’s Housing Plan

This Conference calls on the Mayor of London to call in planning permissions granted which involve the destruction of social housing”

This CLP instructs the Secretary to write to the Mayor of London informing him of this motion calling on him to “call in” the Tidemills Planning Application.

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Labour’s Housing Policy

Labour’s Housing Policy

At #lab17, new policy on housing was passed, including most dramatically the promise to ballot existing tenants and leaseholders before destroying current social housing stock. The text of the motion, Composite 5, is posted below with a YouTube clip from Jeremy Corbyn’s Leaders speech in which he refers to the new policies. …

Godalming Three

I have now spoken to one of the Guildford Three. They were expelled for organising a public meeting to explore a common/shared candidate. The General Committee had voted to explore the possibility of a “Progressive Alliance” candidate. A public meeting was organised, the three Labour organisers were expelled. A candidate was imposed. In response, the General Committee voted a zero budget for the SW Surrey Campaign and donated what they would have spent to their nearest marginal, Ealing Central. Most of SW Surrey CLP’s leadership travelled to support Labour candidates in other seats.

Steve Williams, after his expulsion, nominated Louise Irving, the NHAP candidate. As he says, once expelled the rules have no power.

The three people expelled are all Corbyn supporters, of course, and leading activists in the CLP.

On one hand, you can see how a beleaguered head office, gearing up for an election they expected to be smashed in, would have had little time to deal with this in a sensitive fashion, but they are so used to getting away with it, that they roll out the old rule 2.I.4.B again. …