"Deselect" redirects here. For the computer interface term, see Unclick.

Deselection in the UK Labour Party is the process by which support for an MP is withdrawn by their local party meaning that the MP is unable to stand in a forthcoming general election with the support of the party.[1]

Rules governing deselection

right

Labour Party rules specify that MPs will face a "trigger ballot" procedure where each branch of the Constituency Labour Party (CLP) and each affiliate (trade union and socialist society) branch will have a simple majority vote on whether they wish their sitting MP to automatically stand again in the next general election, or whether they wish to have a full selection process.[2]

If one third or more of party or affiliate branches vote for a full selection then the sitting MP will face a vote of all party members to decide whether they want their existing MP, or an alternative candidate to represent them at the next election.[3]

History of deselection rules

Before 1970

Before 1970 the process for reconsidering support for a sitting MP required three Constituency General Committee (GC) meetings to be called for the purpose of considering whether to support the MP, followed by a meeting of affiliates to the CLP where affiliate GC delegates were mandated to vote a certain way. If the local party sought to remove their MP the MP could then appeal this decision to the NEC.[4]

The NEC was at this time controlled by the right of the Labour Party and almost invariably sided with the sitting MP and against the Constituency Party.[5] The NEC threatened to disband some CLPs which sought to change their Labour MP.[6]

1970–1979

The rules governing reselection were amended at Labour Party Conference in 1970 making it marginally less difficult to challenge a sitting MP. Dropping the required number of GC meetings from three to two and removing the mandating of affiliate GC delegates.[5]

The Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD), founded in 1973, was set up by left wing Labour activists to organise for greater democratic representation within the Labour Party. CLPD spent the next six years organising to seek to win a rule change at Labour Party Conference to create an automatic reselection procedure for each sitting Labour MP.[4]

At Labour Party Conference in 1974 the NEC reported that they had conducted a review of the rules and concluded that no changes were required.[4] Ken Coates moved a motion to seek automatic selection at this conference which was defeated. Although CLPs submitted motions in 1975 and 1976 calling for an automatic selection procedure to be introduced these were ruled out of order on the grounds that they breached the 'three year rule'.[7][5]

67 CLPs submitted motions calling for automatic reselection to the 1977 conference. These motions were ruled out of order on the grounds that they breached the '1968 rule'[8][4] However, Ian Mikardo announced on behalf of the NEC that "We shall put down at next year's Annual Conference all the amendments to the constitution necessary to provide automatic reselection in the way and in the sense that the sponsors of those sixty-odd resolutions want. I do not think there is the least chance of the Executive reneging on that undertaking."

At Labour Party Conference in 1978 the NEC broke this commitment and did not bring forward the proposal for automatic reselection. CLPD organised for a motion on automatic reselection to be voted on. The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AUEW) delegates had democratically agreed to support the CLPD motion however when it came to the vote the AUEW's then president, Hugh Scanlon, voted against the CLPD motion, and it was narrowly defeated.[4] Following an intensive 12-month organising campaign by CLPD, at Labour Party Conference in 1979 a CLPD motion for automatic reselection was passed.[4]

Gavin Strang MP suggested that one of the consequences of the introduction of mandatory reselection was that MPs spent more time in their constituencies, saying "it's far more the normal thing now to have an office in the constituency, to employ someone there, and to live in the constituency. Reselection has turned MPs into better campaigners for the local party."[9]

1979–present

In 1990 Neil Kinnock, then leader of the Labour Party, scrapped mandatory reselection, replacing it with a system of trigger ballots.[10]

Changes to make deselection of Labour MPs easier, by lowering the number of branches that have to vote to trigger a contest from 50% to 33%, were passed by a large majority at Labour's 2018 Party Conference.[11] However, the proposal made by a number of CLPs for open selections was not permitted to go to a vote, leading to criticism from Momentum who described the changes as "meager" with "key proposals being watered down".[12]

No Labour MPs were deselected during the leadership of Ed Miliband or the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

In February 2022, it was reported that Jeremy Corbyn was close to being deselected.[13] In October 2022, Sam Tarry became the first MP to be deselected since 2010. He was beaten by leader of Redbridge London Borough Council Jas Athwal.[14] Tarry questioned the integrity of the election, citing the electronic voting system that was used to count the votes.[15][16]

List of deselected Labour MPs

Name of MPYearConstituencyLeaderNotes
Evan Davies1929[17]Ebbw ValeRamsay MacDonald
Jack Kinley1955[18]BootleClement Attlee
S. O. Davies1970[19]Merthyr TydfilHarold WilsonWon re-election as an independent
Dick Taverne1972[20]LincolnHarold WilsonResigned to force a by-election which he won as "Democratic Labour"
Eddie Milne1973[21]BlythHarold Wilson
Edward Griffiths1974[22]Sheffield BrightsideHarold Wilson
Reg Prentice1975[23]Newham North EastHarold WilsonSubsequently defected to the Conservatives.
Frank Tomney1976[4]Hammersmith NorthJames Callaghan
Arthur Irvine1977[4]Liverpool Edge HillJames Callaghan
Ben Ford1981[24]Bradford NorthMichael Foot
Eric Ogden1981[25]Liverpool West DerbyMichael FootSubsequently defected to the Social Democratic Party.
Raymond Fletcher1981[5]IlkestonMichael Foot
Fred Mulley1982[26]Sheffield ParkMichael Foot
Stan Cohen1983[27]Leeds South EastMichael Foot
Frank Hooley1983[28]Sheffield HeeleyMichael Foot
John Sever1983[29]Birmingham LadywoodMichael Foot
Arthur Lewis1983[30]Newham North WestMichael Foot
Michael Cocks1985[31]Bristol SouthNeil Kinnock
Norman Atkinson1985[32]TottenhamNeil Kinnock
John Forrester1986[33]Stoke-on-Trent NorthNeil Kinnock
Michael McGuire1987[34]MakerfieldNeil Kinnock
Ernie Roberts1987[35]Hackney North and Stoke NewingtonNeil Kinnock
Alec Woodall1987[36]HemsworthNeil Kinnock
John Hughes1989[37]Coventry North EastNeil Kinnock
Sydney Bidwell1991[38]Ealing SouthallNeil Kinnock
Ron Brown1990[39]Edinburgh LeithNeil Kinnock
David Young1994[40]Bolton South EastTony Blair
Max Madden1997[41]Bradford WestTony Blair
Jane Griffiths2004[42]Reading EastTony Blair
Bob Wareing2007[43]Liverpool West DerbyGordon Brown
Frank Cook2008[44]Stockton NorthGordon Brown
Anne Moffat2010[45]East LothianGordon Brown
Sam Tarry2022[14]Ilford SouthKeir Starmer
Mick Whitley2023[46]BirkenheadKeir Starmer
Beth Winter2023[47]Cynon ValleyKeir StarmerFor selection to represent Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare
Lloyd Russell-Moyle2024[48]Brighton KemptownKeir Starmer

This list does not include MPs who successfully overturned a vote to deselect them at the NEC.

Labour MPs deselected under each leader since 1970
Labour leaderPortraitYears as leaderNumber of MPs deselected during leadership
Harold Wilson1963–19765
James Callaghan1976–19802
Michael Foot1980–19838
Neil Kinnock1983–19929
John Smith1992–19940
Tony Blair1994–20073
Gordon Brown2007–20103
Ed Miliband2010–20150
Jeremy Corbyn2015–20200
Keir Starmer2020–present4

Further reading

  • Labour Party Rulebook 2019
  • Blackburn, Tom. (2017) In Defence of Party Democracy
  • Osland, David. (2016) How to Select or Reselect Your MP: 2016 Remix ISBN 0851248616
  • Leys, Colin. Coates, David & Panitch, Leo (1997) The End of Parliamentary Socialism: From New Left to New Labour ISBN 9781859843383
  • Shaw, Eric (1988) Discipline and Discord: Politics of Managerial Control in the Labour Party, 1951–86 ISBN 0719024838
  • Seyd, Patrick. (1987) The Rise and Fall of the Labour Left ISBN 9780333447475
  • Wainwright, Hilary. (1987) Labour: A Tale of Two Parties ISBN 0701207787
  • Seyd, Patrick. (1986) The Labour Left PhD Volume 1 & Volume 2
  • Mullin, Chris. (1981) How to Reselect Your Member of Parliament ISBN 0901740748

References

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  2. ^ "How Labour's trigger ballot system works". LabourList. 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  3. ^ PoliticsHome.com (2019-07-01). "REVEALED: Labour MPs given trigger ballot guide as 'purge' fears grow". PoliticsHome.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  4. ^ Seyd, Patrick. (1987). The rise and fall of the labour left. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan Education. ISBN 0333447476. OCLC 17952021
  5. ^ Seyd, Patrick (June 1986). "THE LABOUR LEFT". Department of Political Theory and Institutions
  6. ^ Ranney, Austin (1965). Pathways to Parliament : Candidate Selection in Britain. Wisconsin: University of wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299035600. OCLC 468512977
  7. ^ See equivalent rule in the 2019 Labour Party Rule Book chapter 3, clause II, section 2, subsection H: "When Party conference has made a decision on a constitutional amendment, no resolution to amend the constitution or rules of the Party having the same or a similar primary objective shall appear on the agenda of the three following annual party conferences, except such resolutions to amend the constitution and rules that are in the opinion of the NEC of immediate importance."
  8. ^ This rule, introduced at Labour Party Conference in 1968, specified that any proposed constitutional rule changes at conference were referred to the NEC to consider for the following year's conference.
  9. ^ Wainwright, Hilary. (1987). Labour : a tale of two parties. London: Hogarth. ISBN 0701207787. OCLC 16092917
  10. ^ "Q&A: What is deselection, and what does it mean for Labour MPs?". www.newstatesman.com. August 2016. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
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  12. ^ "Labour agrees MP selection rule changes despite party splits". The Guardian. Press Association. 2018-09-24. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
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  17. ^ Stenton, Michael & Lees, Stephen (1979). Who's Who of British Members of Parliament. Vol. III. Brighton: Harvester Press. p. 90. ISBN 0855273259.
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  20. ^ "Dick Taverne: "Some of the Labour Party people have absolutely nowhere to go"". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  21. ^ Panitch, Leo. (2001). The end of parliamentary socialism : from New Left to New Labour. 2nd ed. London: Verso. ISBN 1859843387. OCLC 59521118
  22. ^ "In Defence of Party Democracy". New Socialist. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  23. ^ Ley, Shaun (2015-11-30). "Deselection fear hangs over Corbyn's critics". Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  24. ^ Pomper, Gerald M. Voters, Elections, and Parties: The Practice of Democratic Theory. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9781412841122.
  25. ^ Jones, Peter (November 2002). Party, Parliament and Personality: Essays Presented to Hugh Berrington. Routledge. ISBN 9781134821211.
  26. ^ "Obituary: Lord Mulley". The Independent. 1995-03-16. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  27. ^ "Stan Cohen". Daily Telegraph. 2004-03-01. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  28. ^ Ley, Shaun (2015-11-30). "Deselection fear hangs over Corbyn's critics". Retrieved 2019-09-30.
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  34. ^ McGuire, Sean (2018-11-22). "Michael McGuire obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  35. ^ Waller, Robert & Criddle, Byron (1999). The Almanac of British Politics. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415185417.
  36. ^ "Alec Woodall: MP who fought for the rights of miners and servicemen". The Independent. 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
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  38. ^ Butler, D. & Kavanagh, D. (1992-10-20). The British General Election of 1992. Springer. ISBN 9780230372092.
  39. ^ "Former MP 'Red' Ron Brown dies". 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  40. ^ "David Young". The Independent. 2003-01-16. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
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  43. ^ Turner, Ben (2007-09-17). "Rebel MP Bob Wareing axed by Labour". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
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  45. ^ Carrell, Severin (2010-03-19). "Scottish MP Anne Moffat sacked by Labour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  46. ^ Neame, Katie (16 June 2023). "Alison McGovern wins selection contest in new Birkenhead seat". LabourList
  47. ^ "Beth Winter Ousted in Another Controversial Labour Selection Battle". Labour Hub. 7 June 2023.
  48. ^ Sigsworth, Tim (2024-05-29). "Left-wing Labour MP suspended and will not stand at election". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-06-13.

See also