Dave Levy explains why he is running.
The National Constitutional Committee is meant to operate on the principle of “innocent until proven guilty in front of a jury of peers”. The gold standard of a fair trial is Article 6 of the of the European Convention on Human Rights. The NCC was originally created after court cases in which it was determined that the previous system where the NEC authorised prosecutions and determined guilt or innocence was contrary to both the law and the principles of natural justice.
Labour’s disciplinary processes breach the standards of Article 6 in a number of ways. Access to a fair hearing is constrained and the Party’s complaints process does not permit complaints about full time staff, even when they are accused of being in breach of their duty to provide a fair process to members. It Is equally almost impossible for an ordinary member to complain about their MP. Members are also not permitted representation at the NCC hearings.
It’s important that members of the NCC are not prejudiced to support ‘prosecutions’ on factional grounds and should have access to independent legal advice from the Labour Party as should the accused.
The recent changes in rules have had the effect of significantly sidelining the NCC.
Despite that, it’s important that independent people with experience, such as that which one can obtain as a worker’s companion, are elected to the NCC.
My election statement makes no promises other than that I will be fair to both victims and the accused and, while I am standing on a slate, that makes no difference to the way in which I will pursue the duties if elected.
The Ford report predicted the factional abuse would lead to a loss of confidence in the disciplinary process. We need some rule changes, but short of that we need people on the NCC who are committed to justice and not factional loyalty.
Please nominate me for the position of CLP Rep on the NCC and also other members of the CLGA slate. Their names and party numbers are published on twitter and the Party’s elections pages. The deadline for nominations is Friday “7th June.
Dave Levy is a member of Lewisham North CLP and blogs at https://davelevy.info/blog. He is a member of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy National Committee.
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