Labour votes on 'refounding' plan

25 September 2011 Last updated at 17:31 GMT By Victoria King Political reporter, BBC News, in Liverpool Labour delegates have been debating the party's future Delegates at the Labour conference have voted on a series of measures to amend the party's constitution and the way its leaders are elected.

The proposals, known as "Refounding Labour", were designed by Ed Miliband to breathe new life into the party.

Shadow Welsh secretary Peter Hain, who has led the project, said it would open Labour up to new supporters, but some argued it had been rushed through.

The result of the vote will be revealed on Monday.

The proposals would give members of the public the right to become official Labour "supporters" without formally joining the party.

These supporters would then have the power to vote in leadership elections - at present, only MPs, MEPs, party members and members of an affiliated group, such as a trade union, can have a say.

Mr Miliband also wants to abolish the system of multiple votes in leadership elections under which individuals who are members of different affiliated organisations can vote more than once.

He wants to reform what he sees as the party's arcane procedures and make it more welcoming to outsiders, as well as forging links with other voluntary groups in the community.

But the some of the proposals have proved controversial with party members who fear it will reduce their influence.

'Dose of medicine'

Mr Hain told delegates at the conference in Liverpool: "We have to build a people's movement for Labour in our neighbourhoods, our workplaces, that is what we mean by Refounding Labour."

He said "revitalising Labour in this way" would help "ensure that lessons leaned on the doorsteps" could be transmitted all the way up to manifesto level.

Some have expressed concern that the ideas are designed to dilute union influence, but several union representatives spoke in support of them.

Paul Kenny, of the GMB, said Refounding Labour was "a harsh but required dose of medicine", adding: "We desperately need fresh ideas and new energy."

Wendy Nichols, from Unison, said her union would support the changes "even though we have concerns", especially about having to cast a single vote on "hundreds of changes".

But she said that when union members were "under the cosh" as now - with fights on public sector cuts and pension changes" - "Refounding Labour isn't exactly top of the agenda".

'All or nothing'

Ahead of the debate on the proposals, several delegates expressed concern at the speed at which they were being pushed through.

They also objected to having to vote on the proposals as a whole rather than one by one.

Dominic Curran, of Vauxhall constituency Labour Party, said: "I'm really, really disappointed and, frankly, outraged about how Refounding Labour has been dealt with.

"It's all or nothing, conference isn't being trusted to properly deal with this document.

"I thought the party had moved on, but I'm beginning to question that."

But the calls for an extended study were rejected following an unclear show of hands, sparking cries of "Carve up!".

Earlier, Liam Byrne, chair of Labour's policy review, which is half way through its two-year task, said there was a "new centre-ground in British politics" which the party had to fight for.

"It's not a place that the party gets to pick. The centre-ground is where voters say it is.

"Our challenge now is to change and move in and say once more the centre-ground is our home-ground, and this is where we fight."

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Labour to stress its alternative

25 September 2011 Last updated at 17:03 GMT It's not easy to sum up a party conference as its delegates arrive. But in Liverpool, you can sense a degree of nervousness.

Labour activists I've spoken to believe the coalition's cuts agenda, rising unemployment and the sluggish economy offer the party a real chance to put forward its alternative.

There was a hint of that with Ed Miliband's eye-catching announcement to cut university student tuition fees by a third.

He also says it's up to Labour to be the voice of those families "whose living standards are being squeezed ever tighter".

Liz Kendall: Labour must have a "credible plan" on economy

Labour is not unlike a football club that's enjoyed a golden spell winning every trophy going - and is now stuck in the Championship, hoping to return to the glory days again.

In political terms, Labour has to ask itself whether enough voters are prepared to listen again to what the party's got to say.

'Families are terrified'

The Leicester West MP Liz Kendall believes the party must send out a message of hope this week.

"But we must also show we have a credible plan on the economy and that we have a fair way to deal with the deficit," she told me.

"People can see the coalition's policies aren't going right: the bankers and the energy companies seem to be getting away with it. That can't be fair.

"So many families are terrified that with childcare costs on the rise and fuel bills going up by 20%, how are they going to cope?

"We have to offer them hope for the future."

What is clear is that the EU must change”

End Quote Glenis Willmott East Midlands MEP

Labour's also talking up the need to connect with communities. Its activists in Derby have been praised by the leadership for their campaigning to save the city's train makers, Bombardier.

So is an effective grass roots presence a recognition that Labour in power increasingly lost touch?

East Midlands MEP Glenis Willmott told me that people expect Labour to be on their side - on issues that affect them locally and globally.

"People look at the deepening financial crisis in Greece, then the bails out in Ireland and Portugal. Little wonder they are worried," she told me.

"What is clear is that the EU must change.

"But we mustn't turn our backs on the EU, because globally produced problems can actually only be solved globally."

Both inside the conference hall and on the fringes this week, Liz Kendall and Glenis Willmott will help shape Labour's changing message to the country.

Their hope is that any initial conference jitters over the party's standing will be transformed into a confident message that voters will want to hear.

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