CLPD 2004 AGM Resolution 2

Changing the Leadership

“This AGM notes the widespread dissatisfaction within the Party with many of the policies the present leadership has been pursuing, including those rejected by the party’s annual conference.

This AGM further notes that the leadership is taking the party in a direction alien to Labour’s commitments to the redistribution of wealth and income through progressive taxation, and the redistribution of power through the extension of public ownership. The leadership’s policies have already lost us the safe seat, of Brent East, and have led to a sharp decline of public confidence in Labour. At the same time there has been a hemorrhaging of party members

from 407,000 in 1997 to 248,000 in 2002. The danger of an inconclusive result of the next general election or even the possibility of a Tory victory can only be averted if we abandon the third way of “personal choice, user pays” ideology, the private financing and management of public services, and withdraw support from US military adventures.

The AGM reaffirms CLPD’s policy of using all provisions in the party constitution to increase the accountability of Labour’s elected representatives whenever their actions contradict the party’s democratically agreed decisions. Although the present leadership has deprived individual and levy-paying members of many opportunities to make it accountable, the constitution still allows conference to express its dissatisfaction by initiating the process of replacing the leader and deputy leader.

Accordingly this AGM resolves that CLPD should urge CLPs and affiliated organizations to express their dissatisfaction by invoking, through contemporary or emergency conference resolutions, the constitutional provision for changing the leadership.