KEY Labour activists warned the party at the weekend to step up its game or face five more years of austerity government — even if the party wins May’s election.

Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) leader Billy Hayes urged leftwingers at the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD) AGM to “deliver a majority Labour government and to spike the current leadership’s austerity agenda.”

And he joined MP and London mayoral contender Diane Abbott in a stark warning against state funding of political parties — saying it would destroy unions’ ability to exert political power.

Speakers at Saturday’s rally praised party leader Ed Miliband for moving Labour “slowly to the left” and were encouraged by recent organisational developments — such as the election of leftwinger John Cryer as chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party and the success of grassroots rule changes at last year’s party conference.

But activists stressed the need for rank-and-file activists and trade unions to work more closely together within Labour’s policy-making structures.

Left Futures editor Jon Lansman said there were lessons to be learned from last year’s session of the Labour national policy forum — where all but one policy amendment proposal was dropped before the vote.

A proposal for an incoming Labour government to implement an emergency budget to end austerity only received 14 votes at the July forum — and almost all trade union delegates voted against in return for concessions on other issues.

Mr Lansman said so-called “consensus wording” in policy documents was “obtained under coercion” by shadow ministers and party policy officers at the national policy forum.

“We need to do it differently in future. We need to have some amendments we decide in advance to push to the vote, even if we think they’ll lose.”

CLPD secretary Pete Willsman struck a more optimistic note, citing the left’s moderate success in recent parliamentary selections and the strong performance of the left slate in last year’s national executive committee elections.

“We’re on the up and the Blairites are going into the dustbin of history and we’re going to keep them in there, slam the lid on them and trap their fingers when they try to get out,” he said.

The AGM resolved to propose rule changes to Labour conference on issues including increasing black and ethnic minority representation and ending mechanisms which allow party officials to keep contentious issues off the conference agenda.
conradlandin@peoples-press.com