Is Labour Short of Members?
Deadline Extended for Potential Applicants.
Members of the Labour Party report that the deadline for submitting applications to join the list of candidates for 2026 has been extended to the 4th August. Gone, it seems, are the days when there were three or four applicants for every available position.
Could you represent your local community and be part of a thriving Newham Labour group? Apply to be a Labour council candidate today!
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MONDAY 4th!
The letter reiterates that the local Labour members will have no say (again) in the selection of candidates.
The selection process for the Borough of Newham will be done through an NEC Panel. The process will be overseen by the London Labour Regional Office.
The NEC panel will shortlist via application then interview to select the candidates.
It goes on to assert that despite apparent “irregularities within Newham”, whatever that means, it is a process that will “ensure the best candidates for Labour”. Of course, we are getting somewhat cynical now, but this seems to be remarkably similar to the process prior to the 2022 election. That gave us Rokhsana Fiaz and a swathe of suspensions, defections and resignations from the council. You might forgive our cynicism given their recent track record.
The introduction of outside interview panels across London and the wider Labour Party has ensured that we have raised and maintained a better standard of Labour local government candidate. While the irregularities within Newham mean that membership participation remains difficult, this NEC led process will ensure the best candidates for Labour at the upcoming elections in 2026.
We welcome applicants from all walks of life. You’ll thrive in this role if you’re collaborative, eager to campaign, and driven to make a real difference for Newham residents. In order to ensure a diverse council group, a number of the seats will be all women shortlists to ensure a minimum of 50% of the Labour Group are women, as per the Labour Party rulebook.
It's good to see that equity remains high on the list of important values in Labour. Past experience suggests that there are two or three male applicants for every female aspirant councillor.
It is a requirement that does suggest that Labour might occasionally be scraping the bottom of the barrel. We recollect that there have been recent elections when Labour has had to extend and extend the application process because there were too few (or no) female applicants. It also gave rise to the rather embarrassing position when at the very end of the process, in the last ward to select, there were only two women left for two available positions in Plaistow South. The calibre of the candidates, both of whom had gone through the rigorous selection process, was so poor that the branch refused to select either.