Though Cowards Flinch

Readers may have missed news of Anne Moffat’s battle for re-selection, which has been continuing since 2007, and has now resulted in the suspension of the entire CLP by Labour’s National Executive Committee. In July of 2007, out of six branches to the local party, three voted against her, two voted for her and the largest (by far, apparently) tied. Local press reports that, despite this, the local unions stepped in to save Moffat’s candidacy and to secure her renomination.

Moffat has been embroiled in a bit of controversy for strenuously opposing the release of information concerning the allowances of MP. It probably didn’t help that, with a whopping claim for over £39,000, Moffat topped the list. Whatever their reasons, however, a large swathe of the local party voted against Moffat in the automatic re-selection trigger ballot that is standard for sitting Parliamentarians. The unions stood in the way of deselection – and no doubt in that respect it helped Moffat to have her name on the Trade Union Freedom EDM.

There is some suggestion of irregularity in the votes over the re-selection ballot, reported upon investigation by Leslie Quinn. The NEC, however, upheld Moffat’s reselection. Given her voting record, no surprises there.

What has my interest piqued is exactly how the unions intervened. As far as I was ever aware, card carrying Labour members vote according to OMOV and the unions vote according to a delegate system, based on their numbers. Last year, the de-selection of Bob Wareing as candidate for Liverpool was accomplished amid the affiliation of a dozen USDAW branches, all of which had been whipped to vote for Wareing’s opponents, despite having never before taken much part in the local CLP.

One wonders if something similar is afoot here, though Wareing was further incapacitated by being a bloody awful constituency MP by some accounts – reminiscent of many student politicians, more interested in Bolivia and Venezuela than in organising on local issues.

Unable to pronounce upon the right and wrongs of the situation in the East Lothian constituency, it is left to me to worry about the potential electoral complications. If, as has been suggested by the media, Moffat is at odds with large parts of her local party then her chances of re-election are severely diminished. Her majority dwindled substantially to seven thousand at the last election and without large numbers of activists, East Lothian promises to be rich hunting grounds for the Lib Dems and SNP.

In such circumstances, therefore, squabbling when no clear impetus exists to oust Moffat promises only heartache. As anyone involved with a constituency can attest, relations between branches and between prominent individuals are often strained by nothing more remarkable than disagreeable personalities. Moffat is a bit of a New Labour stooge according to her record – but clearly the attempt to replace her, whether by Right or Left, isn’t going anywhere fast.

It such cases it needs to be pegged for the time being, lest Labour lose yet another seat in Scotland to the SNP, bringing the dissolution of the Union one step closer.