Momentum’s “Policy Primary”, to decide which motions Momentum backs for Labour Party conference in September, moves to a ballot of Momentum members on 20-27 April.
Three of the texts to be considered have been pushed by Labour Left Internationalists – on public ownership of energy, on policing, and on free movement – and we urge Momentum members to support those.
Momentum members can vote for five texts. We’ve not had enough time to consult LLI supporters widely enough to recommend on which other two to favour, so LLI as such is only recommending three.
We can say that most of the 20 are ones we’d generally support, but:
• Some lack teeth in what they would commit Labour to (even notionally: we know, of course, that good motions spelling out firm commitments can also be sidelined by the leadership…)
• Some cover so many issues that they would be very likely to get ruled out of order for covering more than one subject as our own Build Back Socialist one was in 2021
• Some look vaguer than existing (2019 or 2021) conference policy, so passing them would not even be a reaffirmation of good existing policy.
On the whole, we want motions which are crisp and spell out clear commitments (the better to campaign for those commitments when the leadership evades them), and motions which are reasonably secure against being ruled out of order.
The deadline for Labour Party conference motions is not until 15 September, so most Constituency Labour Parties will leave it to nearer then before deciding. Some, however, may decide to submit a rule-change proposal instead, and they have to do that by mid-June.
Timetable:
12 noon, Friday 17 June 2022 – Closing date for Constitutional Amendments and CLP delegations
5pm, Thursday 15 September 2022 – Deadline for receipt of motions
12 noon, Thursday 22 September 2022 – Deadline for emergency motions
Sunday 25 September to Wednesday 28 September 2022 – Annual Conference 2022, in Liverpool