The Fourth Dimension
Labour leader - Ed Miliband - has announced a plan to extend voting rights to non-party members in future leadership elections.
If approved, this will create a Fourth Dimension to Labour's electoral college - which is currently divided into three sections- members of parliament (1) individual party members (2),and affiliated trade unions (3).
Each of the three sections is worth one third of the total votes cast.
Which means that the votes of a few hundred members of parliament - are worth the same as thousands of individual party members say (150,000) - and the combined votes of around 3.5 million affiliated trade unions.
So some people's votes are worth much more that others - which is as crazy as it sounds.
The idea is that Labour supporters will be entitled to a say - so long as they register their desire to take part in a vote - but they don't have to sign up and become full-blown party members.
Although the whole thing seems like a damp squib to me - Ed's 'reform' is being billed as the most far reaching change to party rules in a generation.
And here's me thinking that we had moved on from an era of New Labour spin.
Anyway the issue will be debated and decided at the annual Labour party conference - which takes place at the end of the month.
For the life of me I can't understand why Labour doesn't just embrace One-Member-One-Vote - as other parties do.
Instead it seems intent on making the current system - even more of a dog's dinner.
If approved, this will create a Fourth Dimension to Labour's electoral college - which is currently divided into three sections- members of parliament (1) individual party members (2),and affiliated trade unions (3).
Each of the three sections is worth one third of the total votes cast.
Which means that the votes of a few hundred members of parliament - are worth the same as thousands of individual party members say (150,000) - and the combined votes of around 3.5 million affiliated trade unions.
So some people's votes are worth much more that others - which is as crazy as it sounds.
The idea is that Labour supporters will be entitled to a say - so long as they register their desire to take part in a vote - but they don't have to sign up and become full-blown party members.
Although the whole thing seems like a damp squib to me - Ed's 'reform' is being billed as the most far reaching change to party rules in a generation.
And here's me thinking that we had moved on from an era of New Labour spin.
Anyway the issue will be debated and decided at the annual Labour party conference - which takes place at the end of the month.
For the life of me I can't understand why Labour doesn't just embrace One-Member-One-Vote - as other parties do.
Instead it seems intent on making the current system - even more of a dog's dinner.
