Debts prompt overhaul of Labour party structure
Labour party has announced an overhaul of its organisational structure to cope with mounting deficits and a future where spending on elections could be severely curtailed.
The party’s most recent accounts recorded debts of £14.5 million last year, and despite being slightly less than those reported by the Conservatives, they have caused concern.
Today’s consultation is designed to “address accumulated election deficits and to make the party fit for the future”, officials said.
In particular, it is an attempt to make Labour more efficient and ensure it can operate within new spending limits expected from a new review of party funding.
Former top civil servant Hayden Phillips has been charged by the government to come up with new ways to fund political parties, including possible caps on individual donations and new limits on how much parties can spend on a general election.
Last year, both Labour and the Conservatives spent almost £18 million each in the run-up to the May poll – almost 85 per cent of the total for all political parties.
There is cross-party support for change in the wake of the cash for peerages affair, where the highly secretive way in which political parties were funded was laid bare.
“A real challenge faces all political parties. Membership of political parties has halved since 1980 and spending by those same parties has, in real terms, almost trebled in the same period,” a statement from the Labour party said today.
“We will present a case to the Hayden Phillips’ review on party funding suggesting limits to party expenditure, limits on all spending, national and local, by all parties, at all times.
“It is time that all political parties lived within their means and the Labour party will take the lead in this new post-Phillips review environment.”
Labour officials said the review would look at staffing levels, how resources were allocated across regions and the use of the party’s website among other changes.
However, it will not look at any aspects of the party’s constitution, such as union voting rights – despite indications that the leadership would welcome a change in this area.
“We must put in place measures early in the electoral cycle in order to prepare fully to fight future elections and carry out the organisational and policy making role of the party on an ongoing basis,” said NEC chairman Jeremy Beecham.
“It is therefore necessary for the party to enter into consultation with staff, unions and stakeholders to formulate proposals for a radical restructuring of party operations.”
