IN A swift and ruthless move to obtain a factional advantage, Keir Starmer has rammed through his changes to the way the nine constituency seats on the national executive committee (NEC) are elected. 

This blow is just before nominations are sought.

There was scarcely any warning or even discussion. In a meeting with many senior trade-union leaders present the right pressed home its advantage. 

They did not bother with the inconvenience of consulting Constituency Labour Parties. 

These have been deliberately prevented from meeting, for many months, with the convenient excuse of Covid-19. 

This is despite the technology being available for some time. With superb irony, and hypocrisy, it was even used to enable the NEC itself to take place virtually.

Whether this “coup” succeeds or not may yet be determined in a court of law. Outraged ordinary members are now threatening legal action.  

Paradoxically, this move does draw attention to the ugly reality that the right has a clear “modernisation“ agenda. 

It wants to permanently consolidate its domination, in concrete. The left has recently been too busy squabbling over extremely disunited “slates” to offer much resistance to the right, never mind an alternative.

The NEC itself is a strange beast, twisted into its odd shape by its history. 

Born essentially from the trade unions, individual membership was only created 18 years after Labour’s formation. 

A great struggle, spearheaded by the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy and others, was needed to get anything like decent representation of women on the NEC. 

More recent changes have included representation from the Scottish and Welsh nations, as well as local government. 

Positive change has been won, especially when trade-union allies have supported the left.

Throughout Labour’s history the Parliamentary Labour Party has held a very privileged position. 

There are now nine members of Parliament on this powerful body. 

While there are only about 200 Labour MPs, there are now 580,000 members, who have to make do with electing the same number to the NEC, nine. 

Do readers of the Morning Star find this a little unbalanced and top-heavy?

The majority in the PLP have recently demonstrated a degree of disloyalty that is truly breathtaking. 

Is it not time that the NEC received a further injection of rank-and-file democracy?

The three seats directly elected by the PLP section should be taken off them. They should be added to the Constituency section and elected by the membership as a whole.

If Gramsci was alive today he would likely be advocating a “long march” through the structures of the labour movement. 

The superstructure can be, and is, influenced by the battle of ideas at the foundation level. This means Labour Party branches and Constituency Labour Parties, in the main. 

It also includes branches of the 12 unions affiliated nationally.

The next opportunity to change the rules democratically will be at the September 2021 conference in Brighton. 

The man-made paralysis imposed on branches and CLPs at present, must end eventually. 

Meetings should then be voting to replace parliamentarians with grassroots members, elected by the whole membership.

Every bit as important is the role of progressive trade unionists, whether in the Labour Party or not, who should be working to get their own national conferences in 2021 committed to the rule change.

Despite, or even because of, recent setbacks, the left should now be going onto the offensive. 

Momentum’s new leadership is galvanising positive change and energy already. 

There are also unprecedented moves, in many regions, to organise broad-based and non-sectarian left organisations to challenge long-entrenched right-wing positions.

We have a new world to win. Winning the Labour Party for socialism will be a giant step on the way.

Stuart Hill is an active member of the newly formed Northern England Labour Left and a member of the North Tyneside CLP. He is writing here in a personal capacity.