The Guardian reports on radical reforms in Labour Party democracy being advocated by Peter Hain MP. A move to extend voting rights in internal elections to labour supporters as well as members and affiliated union members could have mixed consequences for unions:
It remains to be seen whether the current electoral college will be scrapped to give all those taking part in Labour Party elections equal voting rights – which would be a positive development albeit an unlikely one.
But on the other hand the Guardian report implies a potential dilution of union influence – with registered supporters possibly being added to the union member section of the electoral college. This system is already heavily biased to MP’s and MEP’s.
Adding large numbers of registered supporters to the affiliated section of the electoral college would diminish the ability of unions to influence election outcomes by mobilising votes for candidates more aligned with union policies.
For background note on the existing voting arrangements read:
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/08/vote-worth-labour-mps-members
