The other Labour elections...

We have leadership elections and we are selecting our candidate for London mayor this summer, but Labour members have other elections in which to vote too.  We can vote people to the National Executive Committee (NEC) and our National Policy Forum (NPF).  How should we judge our candidates?

Well, here are some criteria worth considering:

• no more of the same ie a desire to help Labour renew itself
  
• commitment to genuine engagement with members, underlined by a convincing track record
• regular and detailed reporting to members
• fairness and equality as fundamental values lived out not just in policy-making but in all aspects of work for the Party
• a genuine understanding of the needs and aspirations of voters in all regions and nations of the UK

In addition, for NPF aspirants:

• an understanding of Labour's core values should be applied
  
• innovative thinking about policy - not the same old
  
• resistance to demands to adopt the latest fashionable policies from pressure groups
• experience of and/or genuine understanding of how wealth is created and how business and finance works
• a commitment to an 'enabling' state but a refusal to support statist policies
• a genuine national perspective

Those are just a few for a start.  I'm not going to just support high profile names for the sake of it.  I'm looking for the people who will work with my CLP and others to renew Labour and get us ready to win the hearts and minds of the British people - and win the next election.