| Save the Labour Party |
| NEWS RELEASE 04/04
Labour Party members demand truth over membership London, 14 June Labour Party members are demanding early publication of the Party’s 2003 annual accounts, which includes vital membership data for the period Prime Minister Tony Blair took the UK to war against Iraq. Accurate national figures have remained a closely guarded secret even from the Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC). Time is running out over this issue for the Labour leadership. Under new laws brought in by Labour to clean up politics, all political parties have to disclose their membership figures and corporate governance arrangements. Statements of Accounts have to be filed with the independent political watchdog set up by Parliament, the Electoral Commission. The deadline for large political parties is in less than a month on 7 July. The case for early publication has been made by the recently formed 'grass-roots' organisation Save the Labour Party (STLP) following exchanges of letters with the Electoral Commission and Labour Party general secretary Matt Carter. Normally the accounts are not available to members until two weeks before Annual Conference. In the latest letter to Mr Carter today, Peter Kenyon chair of STLP, asked whether the accounts will be on the NEC agenda on 29 June. “Following the June election results it is vital that Labour Party members have time before annual conference in September to consider the impact of Iraq and other controversial policies on party membership and the Labour Party’s capacity to fight elections, in particular the forthcoming general election”, he said. According to a sample survey conducted by STLP earlier this year, total membership could be as low as 200,000 – a 70-year low. This would be less than half the number in membership when Tony Blair was appointed Prime Minister in 1997. Though latest indications are that membership losses have been stemmed in some areas. Recruitment has been helped by the threat of a resurgent Tory Party under Michael Howard, and the return of London Mayor Ken Livingstone following intense pressure on the leadership from the London Labour Party. ends Media Enquiries: Peter Kenyon – 078 0221 6591 eMail: peter.g.kenyon@btinternet.com Notes to Editors 1. Save the Labour Party is a voluntary association, open to all Labour Party members and affiliates and includes members from the left, right and centre of the Labour Party committed to democratic socialism. 2. Details of its activities – past present and future can be seen at: www.savethelabourparty.org |