Yellow Pages

Labour Party Women’s Conference – Yellow Pages issue 3, June 2021

by CLPD | published on 24.06.21 in CLPD Women's Collective, Labour Women's Conference

We need a democratic Annual Women’s Conference where women’s voices are heard

Women members up and down the country have put forward motions to this policy-making Women’s Conference, our second one since the Democracy Review recommended (re)building an accountable, lively, democratic Labour Women’s Organisation. This time we are trialling the first ever large Labour democratic event to be held fully online. It’s new for us all, and for some members it may be a first chance to participate, which otherwise would not have been possible. We are asked to be patient, and to work differently. That’s agreed. However, it is extremely difficult to fully participate, when the detailed agenda has been so delayed, and so many delegates and visitors are experiencing problems with registration and finding what they need.

Compositing meetings took place last Friday and Saturday, a week in advance, which could have provided delegates with early sight of the motions, ensuring discussion within delegations, time to prepare contributions and get involved. Having been told we couldn’t see the motions until the day they are debated, the decision to publish online with a couple of days to spare is welcome and undoubtedly a response to the increasing frustration of delegates about access to information and methods of organisation.

Conference runs from 9.30-19.30 on Saturday and 10.15-17.30 on Sunday. That’s a long time to be on a screen, even with a yoga break at lunchtime – and in the total Conference time of 17 hours 15mins, only SIX HOURS is allocated to the policy debates. Doing this differently could have built in time to hear more of our motions, and hear from more women members. Surely that is the point. And there continues to be some dispute about whether what was agreed in the compositing meetings actually appears in the final composite – in some cases this has been quickly rectified and in others met a brick wall.

This is just the latest in a litany of confusion in relation to this conference, which has seen blocks put in the way of setting up Women’s Branches, different versions on the Party website of the criteria for delegate applications resulting in confusion in entitlement, poor grouping of motions and no clarity on an appeals process if your motion was not accepted. The compositing process has been deeply inadequate in some cases, with false guillotines put on meetings, undue pressure applied by shadow cabinet members, and in some cases what can at best be described as poor advice provided by the Chair, who did not in every case make it clear that wording for composites was entirely in the hands of delegates, which was the guidance that should have been given.

Learning to work differently does not mean discouraging participation, with inadequate time and timely information, for policy debates. We expect many points to be raised with the WCAC when the first Report is given at 10.30am on Saturday, and encourage delegates to do so.

CLPD is calling for a vote against the WCAC Report or ‘Reference back’, to allow some of the concerns raised by delegates to be addressed over the weekend.

Labour needs to stand up for women

This weekend, our Labour Women’s Conference has the opportunity to send a strong message to Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet that we need radical policies to not only address the multiple crises in which we find ourselves, with women always disproportionately impacted, but also to address Labour’s electoral crisis and start rebuilding to win. Labour’s political strategy should be based on attacking the Tories and their policies that make life worse for women. We need an end to the Party leadership’s approach of attacking Labour’s former Leader, Party members and local Party officers – we are not the enemy!

At the conference there will be the opportunity for important debates on the economy, and on how the pandemic has impacted women in the workplace and in the home. Delegates should take the opportunity to raise the particular impacts on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women, on disabled women, on women in their role as carers not only working within social care and the NHS but in their unpaid caring roles. Women have fared worst from the pandemic and we need policies that will build on the popular 2017 and 2019 manifestos and call for significant investment in public services and an end to privatisation, for action to address low pay and unequal pay, for improved rights at work, particularly maternity and carers’ rights, and for support for the poverty emergency declaration.

We also need policy to tackle the rise in domestic abuse, rape and sexual violence against women and girls, and for the new Women’s Committee to address this as a priority including:

– increased funding for frontline services supporting women and children living with or seeking to leave, domestic abuse situations;

– investment in public services, including local authority housing, with specific allocations to meet the needs of women experiencing domestic violence;

– resistance to measures which prevent women from taking to the streets to protest to express their very legitimate anger;

– investment in mental health support services, with dedicated resources for women and girls;

– campaigning for measures in Labour’s green paper ‘Ending violence against women and girls’ to be implemented by government(s) as a matter of urgency as a starting point;

– incorporation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women into UK, Scottish and Welsh law, as agreed at previous UK Labour Women’s conferences and in previous manifestos.

We also have the opportunity to discuss two very important international issues impacting women – the need for climate justice, and for human rights in Palestine.

Under Jeremy Corbyn, Labour’s policies in these two key areas not only took these issues seriously, prioritising human rights, and for investment in a green future, they were also issues important to key voters in the coalition we need for Labour to win. Promoting radical action and investment to address the climate crisis, as outlined in the motion moved by Clwyd South CLP, is not only the right and necessary thing to do for humanity, it is fundamental to Labour’s future electoral success.

We also have the very important opportunity to express our solidarity with Palestine, and in particular Palestinian women, and call for an end to evictions and detentions. Unfortunately an important call for sanctions in the original motion does not appear, and neither does the Apartheid nature of the Israeli regime as called out by Human Rights Watch – an indication perhaps of leadership pressure in the compositing meeting. But delegates can ensure that Labour women continue to stand strong for justice for Palestine by supporting the motion from Mid Bedfordshire CLP.

This Women’s Conference elects a new Women’s Committee for the first time in decades. We need a strong message from the Women’s Conference that Labour must stand up for women and advocate the policies we need and the Women’s Committee must prioritise taking these issues forward. In 2019 65 per cent of women aged 18–24 voted Labour – Labour’s recent polling indicates this has plummeted.

Let’s make Women’s Conference a first step in rebuilding that support!

Vote 'Socialist Six' for Women’s Committee

We urge your support for all the six left candidates for the new national Women’s Committee CLP places.

Solma Ahmed @Solma_Ahmed
Ekua Bayunu @Ekua4Hulme
Mandy Clare @SocialistMandy
Tricia Duncan @Tricia12Duncan
Pamela Fitzpatrick @Pam4HarrowEast
Chloe Hopkins @ComradeChoppy

All elections during conference will be online card votes and ensuring all six get through is vital because the greater the number of socialist sisters we can get elected, the better the chances that we safeguard and fulfil the aims initially set out for Labour’s Women’s Organisation in the Democracy Review by Katy Clark under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

As a ‘socialist six’ the team will be part of a wider group responsible for ensuring that decisions made at Women’s Conference are carried forward. Additional priorities include defence of All Women’s Shortlists; pro-active support for the establishment Women’s Branches (overcoming some bureaucratic opposition it seems), creating a positive interface so that work can be guided by the concerns and views of women, fostering respect, ensuring an active interface with the NEC, with trade unions, with councillors and with socialist societies on issues of relevance to women and ensuring that those women with the least political power and voice have access routes to being heard, valued and to positions of representation within the party at all levels.

CLPs have demonstrated their support for the six left candidates, including the Grassroots Labour Women team with a lead in nominations. Now we need to ensure those nominations are translated into votes.

To get a team of six left CLP reps elected, it is really important that CLP delegates vote for all six left candidates.

What we need from our new Women's Committee

The new Women’s Committee is crucial because it will have actual powers – for example, to lead political work relating to women members, and oversee the Women’s Organisation and Women’s Conference. Its terms of reference were agreed by Labour’s NEC in March 2020. We need left members elected who will assert their mandate and work for a vibrant and democratic Women’s Organisation, developed and contributed to by women from branch level upwards, as intended in the Democracy Review 2018.

We need the new Women’s Committee to roll out women’s branches as active, vibrant and indispensable parts of our local organisation; to take motions passed at Women’s Conference as a basis for present and future projects; to support Women’s Officers; to encourage women to hold posts and stand as candidates, especially women from working class backgrounds and other disadvantaged and under-represented groups such as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women, disabled women, women carers and LGBT+ women; to defend all-women shortlists; to press for democratic Regional Women’s Conferences; to report back to Labour women members and to seek their input; and to promote a detailed plan of support for the women who have been particularly badly affected during the pandemic, in increased domestic violence, health, employment, childcare, social security, poverty, housing, and all aspects of their lives.

For these reasons, as well as backing the left candidates for the CLP places, CLPD is also supporting longstanding CLPD and feminist activist Pam Tatlow from the Socialist Education Association for the Socialist Societies place on the Women’s Committee.

In July there will be the CAC election - Vote for Seema Chandwani and Billy Hayes!

Very important elections take place over the summer by one-member-one-vote for Labour's Conference Arrangements Committee. It is vital that Seema Chandwani and Billy Hayes are re-elected. Billy and Seema ensure that grassroots voices are heard and stand up for a democratic, inclusive annual conference in which members have a say.

Preparing for Annual Conference

This year’s annual conference will be critical to the Party’s future in many ways, so all CLPs are encouraged to elect delegates by 9 July who will promote an agenda of attacking the Tories not the left, defend the democratic socialist agenda from the 2017 and 2019 manifestos and support demands for a democratic Party where members are valued not pushed out. There may also be rule changes promoted by the leadership to reduce member input still further, which we may need to mobilise against.

Three crucial issues we know are coming up:

Support the CLPD rule change to make the PLP more accountable, which reports suggest could restore the whip to Jeremy Corbyn, and begin to rebuild a united Party capable of winning elections.
Support the campaign against the election of David Evans as General Secretary of the Labour Party. This is decided by Annual Conference and is necessary to reverse the crackdown on members’ right to debate and take views on important matters.
Elect Centre-left Grassroots Alliance candidates for the National Constitutional Committee – Anna Dyer, Rheian Davies, Annabelle Harle and Emine Ibrahim – who will stand up for members’ rights and natural justice.

Unite members - Vote Steve Turner for General Secretary

A very important election is in progress for the General Secretary of the trade union, Unite. Unite has played a vital role in recent years in supporting progressive candidates, campaigns and initiatives within the Labour Party, and particularly in the rebuilding of Labour's Women's Organisation. It is crucial that a left leadership is maintained.

Yellow Pages

Labour Party Women’s Conference – Yellow Pages issue 3, June 2021

We need a democratic Annual Women’s Conference where women’s voices are heard

Labour needs to stand up for women

Vote 'Socialist Six' for Women’s Committee

What we need from our new Women's Committee

Preparing for Annual Conference

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