| Save the Labour Party |
| NEWS RELEASE 16/04 STLP calls on Labour leadership to rebuild Party following Electoral Commission report London, 16 December – The Electoral Commission report on funding of political parties is a clear signal to the British Labour Party to rethink its attitude to individual members and rebuild mass membership according to Labour Party activists. The report follows an 18-month inquiry, which has been closely followed by members of the grassroots campaigning organisation, Save the Labour Party. The Labour leadership has allowed individual membership to slump by 50% while dallying with ideas about cutting traditional links with the Trade Union movement and lobbying for a substantial increase in taxpayers’ subsidies to fund mainstream political party activity. STLP chair Peter Kenyon said: “We welcome the Commission’s findings, in particular the recommendations that small donations should be eligible for tax relief, and that non-taxpayers contributions should be rewarded too. At last, party political membership is being recognised as valuable active citizenship in our society. We are calling on the Labour Party ruling national executive committee at its next meeting on January 25 to set out a strategy to rebuild Labour as a mass-membership party in preparation for the next general election. Detailed consultations are needed with the Labour Party’s members about how these additional monies could be used to achieve that goal over the next five years”. The Electoral Commission, in addition to deciding not to make any recommendations for radical changes to political party funding by taxpayers, also left the historic link between Labour and the Trade Unions untouched. Media enquiries: Peter Kenyon M: 07802 216 591 eMail: peter.g.kenyon@btinternet.com Notes to Editors 1. STLP is campaigning to win elections with more, active members and challenging the Leadership to work with it. Since it was set up a year ago, STLP has attracted support from most sections of the Labour Party, not just its left wing. It has members in nearly 100 parliamentary constituencies and close links with other campaigning organisations in the labour movement in England, Scotland and Wales. 2. Labour Party finances have become increasingly dependent on a small number of rich individuals 3. Labour membership as measured by the national membership system introduced in the 1990s peaked at 407,000 in 1997, and has fallen every year since to stand at a reported 208,000 (on a comparable basis) in mid-2004. Only 190,000 ballot papers were issued in May to fully-paid up members in the 2004 NEC constituency section elections according to an NEC source. pk |