Unite Executive Council Elections 2020
If you are a Unite union member you will get a ballot for the Executive Council elections if there are contested elections in your region and/or industrial sector.They must be returned by 12 noon on...
View ArticleLabour NEC Elections - state of the race
According to the CLP nominations so far, I'm currently 10th in the race for the 9 CLP reps on the NEC, which is an exciting place to be!The deadline for CLPs to nominate NEC candidates is fast...
View ArticleNEC Report - 24 November 2020
Yesterday was my first NEC meeting after an eight-year gap.I wanted to give you a quick report back so that you can be confident all of us elected on the Labour to Win ticket are doing the job of...
View ArticleNEC Report - 11 February 2021
Although there have been the NEC Away Day and a special meeting to deal with the EHRC Action Plan, this was the first ordinary full NEC meeting I have attended since my election back onto the NEC in...
View ArticleIn memory of my mum
A few words about my mum, Nan Akehurst (nee Davies), who passed away suddenly today. Mum was quite a character. She was fun, caring, thoughtful, arty, creative, wacky, and could be incredibly...
View ArticleNEC Report - 25 May 2021
The NEC met in sombre and serious mood on 25 May, with an obvious priority of reflecting on the 6 May election results and considering the dramatic improvements and changes that will need to be made to...
View ArticleNEC Report – 21 July 2021
The July NEC has a reputation for having a heavy agenda every year, and this was no exception, lasting nine and a quarter hours on one of the hottest days of the year. The most important items in my...
View ArticleNEC Report – 17 September 2021
The September NEC is always focussed on Annual Conference business. Whilst it was another long meeting, seven hours, it was curiously muted compared to recent meetings. The meeting opened with a...
View ArticleNEC Report – 25 November 2021
The November NEC meeting is the Away Day when we don’t tackle ordinary business but instead hear a series of strategic presentations from senior staff. It isn’t very “Away” as we met at Labour’s...
View ArticleNEC Report – 25th January 2022
The January NEC meeting was mercifully short compared to some recent ones, at “just” five and a quarter hours. Keir and Angela had to send their apologies due to the urgent statement about Ukraine in...
View ArticleNEC Report – 29 March 2022
The March NEC meeting was relatively short, at five hours, and focussed very much on the practicalities of the coming local elections and preparation for the General Election.David Evans gave an...
View ArticleIn memory of my dad
My dad, Anthony Philip Akehurst, died aged 83 on 9th May 2022. I wanted to tell his story so that future generations of the family, and anyone else who chooses to read this, will know a bit about this...
View ArticleNEC Report – 24 May 2022
This was another relatively short NEC meeting, at six hours, as the party moves on from the infighting of recent years to preparations for the General Election. The meeting opened Angela Rayner’s...
View ArticleNEC Report – 19 July 2022
We had unexpectedly weighty business to conduct at the July NEC, as at 11.35am, 25 minutes before the meeting and well over two years after it was commissioned, we finally received the Forde Report...
View ArticleNEC Report – 20 September 2022
The September NEC meeting is always dominated by conference business, and is a meeting of the outgoing NEC, as any newly elected members take office at the NEC AGM on the final evening of Annual...
View ArticleNEC Report – 29 November 2022
The NEC held its Annual Away Day on 29 November at Labour Central, the Newcastle home of the Labour Party's Head Office in the north. The meeting began on a sad note with obituaries, including that of...
View ArticleNEC Report – 24 January 2023
The January NEC meeting was the first one held at Labour’s very impressive new HQ in Blackfriars Road in south London. The overall feel was the most united, friendly, and focused externally on winning...
View ArticleNEC Report – 28 March 2023
The March NEC was rather livelier than the previous one in January. The meeting opened with fine obituaries for Labour stalwarts Eddie Lopez and Janet Anderson. Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood then...
View ArticleUnite Executive Council elections 2023
If, like me, you are a Unite member, you should have received ballot papers this week for the Unite Executive Council. They must be returned by post to the Independent Scrutineer by Noon Tuesday 25th...
View ArticleNEC Report – 23 May 2023
The NEC met on 23 May for the first time since the local elections, with spirits consequently high. The first main item of business was to sign off the assignment of incumbent MPs (except those that...
View ArticleNEC Report – 25 July 2023
The NEC meeting on 25 July started with obituaries to Margaret McDonagh, Glenda Jackson and Bob Kerslake. Our first major item of business was to review reports from the Forde Report Working Group...
View ArticleNEC Report – 26 September 2023
The September NEC met in Glasgow, and before the meeting we went out canvassing for Labour in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election. We welcomed Ellie Reeves MP back onto the NEC after a...
View ArticleNEC Report – 28 November 2023
The November NEC meeting is always the Away Day, a more strategic meeting that looks at the year ahead. We met this time in at Labour Central, the party’s back-office hub in Newcastle upon Tyne. On...
View ArticleNEC Report – 23 January 2024
The NEC meeting on 23 January began with obituaries and eulogies for Derek Draper, Glenys Kinnock, Tony Lloyd and Alan Rogers. Our first substantive item was to conclude the NEC’s work on the Forde...
View ArticleNEC Report – 26 March 2024
The first substantive item at the full NEC meeting on 26 March was David Evans’ report as General Secretary. David said he was disappointed that the General Election had not been called for 2nd May as...
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