Candidate selection changes - if the wheels have fallen off, what next?

Word has reached me that English Council, upon being invited to adopt the changes sought by the motion passed in Harrogate by Federal Conference, have chosen to do so, or not, as the case may be. There was a clear majority in the room, but not sufficient to overcome the two-thirds hurdle required to amend the English Party’s constitution.

This leaves things a bit pear-shaped, in that the suggestion that the English Party (or to be more precise, the English Candidates Committee) was the cause of much of the unhappiness with candidate selections has been somewhat reinforced. But, without the approval of the English Party, you might wonder how all of the marvellous things promised by the movers of F10 can now be delivered.

We are told that the Chair of the English Party will be consulting to see what might be done to find a suitable and acceptable solution going forward, and I don’t doubt that Caroline Pidgeon is working on that already (you know where to find me, Caroline…).

From my perspective as a veteran Returning Officer, former candidate assessor and a once upon a time member of English Candidates Committee, now repurposed as a member of my Regional Candidates Committee, there is a degree of uncertainty in terms of what we do now. It rather depends on whether or not there will be an attempt to reintroduce the proposal and, if so, how long that will take.

Attempting to pass the motion at the second attempt means that candidate selections, as well as all of the steps needed before they can take place, are likely to be delayed further. After all, if the new Joint Candidates Sub-Committee comes into being, it will have to:

• Develop and implement candidate diversity action plans
• Determine the criteria for candidate approval
• Adopt rules for the selection and adoption of prospective candidates
• Train Returning Officers so that they might understand and apply accurately the new rules

before we can get on with the selection of candidates.

Now I have been led to understand that the “shadow” Joint Candidates Sub-Committee has already been at work, although what it has done and who is doing it remains, if not a secret, then at least not widely known. However, without the approval of the English Party, they have no authority to act.

But, if you leave all of this to the supposedly ineffectual States and Regions, will all the good things be delivered? Presumably, there is little confidence in that happening, otherwise it wouldn’t have been necessary to change the Constitution, would it?

Now, I know what I would do if it were down to me, but whilst the English Party has already revised its Selection Rules, and has existing procedures for approving candidates, it is still to arrange Returning Officer training and, I presume, doesn’t have the confidence of the Liberal Democrat Campaign for Race Equality. Both of these things can be remedied, albeit some time will be needed to achieve that.

So, we’re still at a bit of an impasse, the constitutional equivalent of a Mexican standoff, if you like. Until someone makes a move which clarifies a way forward, there’s an element of not wanting to do anything that is likely to be overturned sooner rather than later.

It would be fair to say that the prospect of selecting 631 prospective Parliamentary candidates by July 2027 is receding somewhat, but I can only hope that a resolution is close at hand…