Labour’s undemocratic and bizarre leadership election
Labour’s leadership contest is terribly confusing. Potential candidate John McDonald MP has already said that the 4 day period for nominations set, without a vote by Labour’s NEC is designed to fix the election in favour of the Millibands and stop any left wing candidates from getting enough nominations. Apparently lots of the MPs needed for nominations will be away during the next four days too.
Meanwhile, Labour appear to be offering cut price membership deals and have changed their constitution to allow new members to vote in the leadership (previously you had to be in for six months). They’re even advertising on the radio telling people to join so they can have a say in the leadership contest.
However, members don’t get a full vote- MPS & MEPs, trade unions and affiliate organisations, and members each get balloted separately and the votes of each group count for a 3rd each. Trade unionists can vote (provided they’re not members of a different party) but don’t have to be members of the Labour party. I’m not geeky enough to research this and I’m making the numbers up as I type, but I get the impression that if 30 MPs vote for Miliband (a) and 20 MPs vote for Miliband (b), whilst 20,000 members vote for Miliband (a) and 30,000 members vote for Miliband (b), and 40,000 trade unionists vote for Miliband (a), while 35,000 vote for Miliband (b) the result is:
For Miliband (a):
- 30 MPs out of 50 voting = 60% of 1/3 of electoral college = 20%
- 20,000 members of 50,000 voting = 40% of 1/3 of electoral college = 13%
- 40,000 trade unionists of 75,000 voting = 53% of 1/3 of electoral college = 18%
- Total: 51%
For Miliband (b):
- 20 MPs out of 50 voting = 40% of 1/3 of electoral college = 13%
- 30,000 members of 50,000 voting = 60% of 1/3 of electoral college = 20%
- 35,000 trade unionists of 75,000 voting = 47% of 1/3 of electoral college = 16%
- Total: 49%
Miliband (a) wins because the votes of 10 MPs count for far more than the votes of the 5000 extra votes for Miliband (b) from the paid up members. In fact, an ordinary member’s vote counts for a tiny percentage of the vote of an MP. On top of that, Labour MPs can presumably also vote as members, and so can those members who are trade unionists. In fact, MPs could get 3 votes, each with different weights. If 100 of Labour’s 258 MPs vote for one candidate, and 50,000 members of 100,000 voting vote for the same – then the vote of each member is worth 0.0023 of the vote of an MP. Democracy!
And to think – I’ve heard Labour politicians saying that proportional representation is too complicated for the British electorate!
I fervently hope that somebody will come on here and tell me my understanding of Labour’s leadership process is wrong, because it looks utterly bonkers to me.
There are 4 days to seek nominations; the votes of members count for practically nothing compared with those of MPs and you need not even be a member to vote; people can vote multiple times; the system is, according to Labour’s own MPs ‘fixed’; and it will still take 4 months for the campaign to run its course.
What an undemocratic and massively bureaucratic and complicated party Labour are – no wonder they ran the country the same way.