Labour party leadership election

Dear Brother/Sister,

The Labour Party has formally announced a leadership contest, which will take place over the next two months. This week, Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), which sets the rules for the election, agreed that Jeremy Corbyn will be on the ballot paper. Other challengers are putting their names forward.

Members will take an active interest in the contest, not least because the FBU reaffiliated to the party at the end of 2015. This means that some FBU members will be eligible to vote in this leadership election. The formal timetable and arrangements have now been made available by the Labour Party. FBU members need to prepare themselves to be eligible to vote. There are three possible ways to secure a vote:

1. FBU members who are already paid up Labour Party members and joined before 12 January 2016 will receive a ballot paper through their normal channels.

2. FBU members may still be eligible to vote as ‘affiliated supporters’, being a member of an affiliated trade union. To become an affiliated supporter you must have been a fully paid up FBU member before 12 January 2016, paying not only the trade membership fee, but both the political levy and the affiliation levy. This rule is determined by the Labour Party.

To become an affiliated supporter, you have to sign up online on the Labour Party’s website (http://support.labour.og.uk), and agree to further conditions laid down by the party:

• Provide your name, address, postcode, email address and telephone number.
• You must be on the electoral register with a valid polling number.
• Sign a statement supporting Labour’s aims and values and a declaration they do not belong to any organisation opposed to the Labour Party.
• Must agree the data protection statement.

There is no cost to FBU members eligible to vote using this route. However, if you cannot provide an email and insist on a postal vote, the FBU will be charged £2 per request.

3.    FBU members who want to vote, but are not Labour Party members or affiliated supporters (as above), can join the Labour Party as a ‘registered supporter’ (at a cost of £25) to get a vote. To become a registered supporter, you have to sign up online on the Labour Party’s website (http://support.labour.org.uk), between Monday 18 July and Wednesday 20 July.

The Labour Party sets the following conditions to become a registered supporter:

• Over 18.
• On the electoral register with a valid polling number.
• Supply a valid email address, home address and date of birth, and able to pay fee online.
• Sign a statement supporting Labour’s aims and values and a declaration they do not belong to any organisation opposed to the Labour Party.
• Pay a fee of £25.
• Must agree the data protection statement.

If FBU members are already registered supporters, you will have to reapply and pay this new rate to be eligible to vote this way. The FBU does not pay members to join any political party, so this fee has to be paid by the individual joining.

Retired and out of trade (ROOT) FBU members are not eligible to vote as an affiliated supporter. FBU members anywhere in the UK who pay both the political levy and the affiliation levy as part of their FBU membership are eligible to apply to be an affiliated supporter. The FBU has not used political fund money from regions 1 and 2 for the union’s collective affiliation. However, this does not affect the options for individual members, as long as they comply with other requirements.

The Labour Party will cross check records, so each individual only gets one vote: either as a Labour Party member, registered supporter or affiliated supporter. This is a one member, one vote election.

The timetable issued by the Labour Party is as follows:

The FBU will be producing a wide range of materials on this leadership contest throughout the coming months. Members should check the website, twitter and circulars for the latest information.

Yours fraternally,

Dave Green
National Officer                                                                                                                     

DG/kc