Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Old habits die hard in Wales
I read Rhodri Morgan's autobiography not so long ago and in particular the way that the Welsh Labour establishment lined up to stop him leading them into the first Assembly elections.
The union block vote was ruthlessly manipulated to get Alun Michael past the finishing line, effectively disenfranchising ordinary members, and the irony is that it was all within the rules.
Of course, they paid the price at the elections, as Labour voters refused to support a man they considered to be Tony Blair's puppet, and the resulting controversy nearly torpedoed the devolution project this side of Offa's Dyke for good.
Now it seems that they are up to their old tricks. The BBC report that the Unite union is investigating members who appeared in a video supporting Julie Morgan's campaign to become Welsh Labour deputy leader. They say that three members have had their credentials suspended, meaning they can no longer represent the union as officials:
In a social media video for Mrs Morgan's campaign, Unite members explain their support for her.
Three of the people featured have received letters from Unite's Welsh secretary, Andy Richards, telling them the union is investigating "alleged breaches of conduct".
The complaints against them say the video used the Unite logo without authorisation and included an attack on Unite's "balanced energy policy" - an apparent reference to them opposing nuclear power.
They are also accused of allowing themselves to appear in a video used by an "outside organisation which publicly voiced support for a candidate in an election who is opposing a Unite supported candidate".
It is precisely because of control-freakery like this that so many people are put off backing the Labour Party. This is not democracy, it is a travesty and, whoever wins this election, their legitimacy will be under question because of it.
The union block vote was ruthlessly manipulated to get Alun Michael past the finishing line, effectively disenfranchising ordinary members, and the irony is that it was all within the rules.
Of course, they paid the price at the elections, as Labour voters refused to support a man they considered to be Tony Blair's puppet, and the resulting controversy nearly torpedoed the devolution project this side of Offa's Dyke for good.
Now it seems that they are up to their old tricks. The BBC report that the Unite union is investigating members who appeared in a video supporting Julie Morgan's campaign to become Welsh Labour deputy leader. They say that three members have had their credentials suspended, meaning they can no longer represent the union as officials:
In a social media video for Mrs Morgan's campaign, Unite members explain their support for her.
Three of the people featured have received letters from Unite's Welsh secretary, Andy Richards, telling them the union is investigating "alleged breaches of conduct".
The complaints against them say the video used the Unite logo without authorisation and included an attack on Unite's "balanced energy policy" - an apparent reference to them opposing nuclear power.
They are also accused of allowing themselves to appear in a video used by an "outside organisation which publicly voiced support for a candidate in an election who is opposing a Unite supported candidate".
It is precisely because of control-freakery like this that so many people are put off backing the Labour Party. This is not democracy, it is a travesty and, whoever wins this election, their legitimacy will be under question because of it.
