Labour Conference Has Voted In Favour Of Keir Starmer's Changes To Electing The Party Leader
2 min read
Labour Party Conference delegates have voted in favour of implementing a series of controversial changes to the way the party leader is elected.
Labour Party Conference delegates have voted in favour of implementing a series of controversial changes to the way the party’s leader is elected.
Following an intense and at times emotional debate inside the main party conference hall in Brighton this evening, delegates also voted to tighten rules around deselecting MPs.
Candidates wanting to stand for party leader will now require the backing of 20% of Labour MPs, up from the current 10% threshold.
In leadership elections, members of the public will no longer be able to pay a one-off fee in order to have a vote. Instead, those wanting a say in leadership elections will need to have been Labour Party members for at least six months.
Deselecting a Labour MP will also be more difficult now. To trigger a deselection process, 50% of an MP’s Constituency Labour Party members will need to vote in favour, up from 33%.
The passing of the rule changes will be viewed as a win for Keir Starmer, who some argue introduced the package to make it more difficult for Labour to elect MPs with fringe views to the leadership.
Alongside voting to change the way future Labour leaders are elected, conference delegates also voted to implement the Equality and Human Rights Commission's recommendations for reforming the party's complaints processes.
Labour will now be required to introduce an independent complaints process for accusations of racism and sexual harrasment by party members.
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