- National Executive Committee
-
For the NEC of the South African political party the ANC, see National Executive Committee (African National Congress). For the NEC of the Scottish political party the SNP, see Scottish National Party#Party organisation.
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties, and socialist societies, as well as ex officio members such as the Party Leader and Deputy Leader and several of their appointees.
During the 1980s, the NEC had a major role in policy-making and was often at the heart of disputes over party policy. In the Tony Blair era, the committee's role declined and its membership was reformed, but it remains the administrative authority of the party. Its former policy development function is now largely carried out by the National Policy Forum. One of its committees has disciplinary powers including the ability to expel members of the party who have brought it into disrepute or to readmit previously expelled members.
Contents
Membership
As of 2009 the NEC had 33 members elected from the following constituencies:
- 12: Affiliated Trade Unions
- 1: Socialist and co-operative societies
- 6: Constituency Labour Parties
- 2: Labour Councillors
- 3: Backbench MPs or MEPs elected by all Labour MPs and MEPs
- 2: Leader and deputy leader of the party
- 1: Treasurer
- 1: MEP leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party
- 3: MPs nominated by the Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet
- 1: Young Labour
- 1: Black Socialist Society
The General Secretary acts as the non-voting secretary to the NEC.
Current members
(As of July 2011)
- Ed Miliband (Leader)
- Harriet Harman MP (Deputy Leader)
- Diana Holland (Treasurer)
- Angela Eagle MP (Frontbench)
- Peter Hain MP (Frontbench)
- Tom Watson MP (Frontbench)
- Glenis Willmott MEP (EPLP Leader)
- Callum Munro (Young Labour)
- Keith Birch (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Jim Kennedy (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Harriet Yeo (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Paddy Lillis (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Norma Stephenson (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Andy Kerr (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Cath Speight (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Mary Turner (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Chris Weldon (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Andy Worth (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Rachel Maskell (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Vacant (Div. I - Trade Unions)
- Simon Wright (Div. II - Socialist Societies)
- Keith Vaz MP (Div. II - Socialist Societies: Black Socialist Society)
- Ken Livingstone (Div. III - Constituency Labour Parties)
- Johanna Baxter (Div. III - Constituency Labour Parties)
- Ann Black (Div. III - Constituency Labour Parties)
- Ellie Reeves (Div. III - Constituency Labour Parties)
- Christine Shawcroft (Div. III - Constituency Labour Parties)
- Luke Akehurst (Div. III - Constituency Labour Parties)
- David Sparks (Div. IV - Labour Councillors)
- Ann Lucas (Div. IV - Labour Councillors)
- Michael Cashman MEP (Div. V - PLP/EPLP)
- Dennis Skinner MP (Div. V - PLP/EPLP)
- Margaret Beckett MP (Div. V - PLP/ELP)
Source: Labour.org.uk
Chair of the Labour Party
The chair of the party is elected by the NEC from among its own members, and holds office for a calendar year, chairing both NEC meetings and national party conferences.
The name of this post has become confused since 2001 when Labour Party leader Tony Blair appointed Charles Clarke to the courtesy position of "Party Chair" without the NEC or the national conference authorising such a position.[1] The office's name remains "chair of the party" in the Labour Party Constitution, but elsewhere the party presents the position as "Chair of the NEC".[2] Prior to 2001 the position was called "Chair of the Labour Party", and before that "Chairman of the Labour Party".
List of Chairs of the Party
(Information taken from 'British Political Facts 1900-1994', Butler & Butler 1994, PP144-5 for the period down to 1993).
Chairmen of the Annual Conference of the Labour Representation Committee
- William Charles Steadman MP 1900
- John Hodge 1901
- W Davies 1902
- J Bell 1903
- John Hodge 1904
- Arthur Henderson MP 1905
Chairmen of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party
- Arthur Henderson MP 1906
- J Stephenson 1907
- Walter Hudson MP 1908
- John Robert Clynes MP 1909
- Keir Hardie MP 1910
- William Cornforth Robinson 1911
- Ben Turner 1912
- George Henry Roberts MP 1913
- T Fox 1914
- *No conference held* 1915
- W Anderson 1916
- 1917: George Wardle MP (acting)
- 1917-18: W. F. Purdy
- 1918-19: John McGurk
- 1919-20: William Harold Hutchinson
- 1920-21: Alexander Gordon Cameron
- 1921-22: Fred Jowett MP
- 1922-23: Sidney Webb MP
- 1923-24: Ramsay MacDonald MP
- 1924-25: Charles Cramp
- 1925-26: Robert Williams
- 1926-27: Frederick Roberts MP[3]
- 1927-28: George Lansbury MP
- 1928-29: Herbert Morrison MP
- 1929-30: Susan Lawrence MP
- 1930-31: Stanley Hirst
- 1931-32: George Lathan MP
- 1932-33: Joseph Compton
- 1933-34: Walter R. Smith
- 1934-35: William Albert Robinson
- 1935-36: Jennie Adamson
- 1936-37: Hugh Dalton MP
- 1937-39: George Dallas (no conference in 1938)
- 1939-40: Barbara Gould
- 1940-41: James Walker MP
- 1941-42: Walter Henry Green MP[4]
- 1942-43: Alfred Dobbs
- 1943-44: George Ridley MP
- 1944-45: Ellen Wilkinson MP
- 1945-46: Harold Laski
- 1946-47: Philip Noel-Baker MP
- 1947-48: Emmanuel Shinwell MP
- 1948-49: Jim Griffiths MP
- 1949-50: Sam Watson
- 1950-51: Alice Bacon MP
- 1951-52: Harry Earnshaw
- 1952-53: Arthur Greenwood MP
- 1953-54: Wilfrid Burke MP
- 1954-55: Edith Summerskill MP
- 1955-56: Edwin Gooch MP
- 1956-57: Margaret Herbison MP
- 1957-58: Tom Driberg
- 1958-59: Barbara Castle MP
- 1959-60: George Brinham
- 1960-61: Richard Crossman MP
- 1961-62: Harold Wilson MP
- 1962-63: Dai Davies
- 1963-64: Anthony Greenwood MP
- 1964-65: Ray Gunter MP
- 1965-66: Walter Padley MP
- 1966-67: John McFarlane Boyd
- 1967-68: Jennie Lee MP
- 1968-69: Eirene White MP
- 1969-70: Arthur Skeffington MP
- 1970-71: Ian Mikardo MP
- 1971-72: Tony Benn MP
- 1972-73: Willie Simpson
- 1973-74: James Callaghan MP
- 1974-75: Fred Mulley MP
- 1975-76: Tom Bradley MP
- 1976-77: John Chalmers
- 1977-78: Joan Lestor MP
- 1978-79: Frank Allaun MP
- 1979-80: Lena Jeger
- 1980-81: Alex Kitson (1980–81)
- Judith Hart MP (1981–82)
- Sam McCluskie (1982–83)
- Eric Heffer MP (1983–84)
- Alan Hadden (1984–85)
- Neville Hough (1985–86)
- Syd Tierney (1986–87)
- Neil Kinnock MP (1987–88)
- Dennis Skinner MP (1988–89)
- Jo Richardson MP (1989–90)
- Tom Sawyer (1990–91)
- John Evans MP (1991–92)
- Tony Clarke (1992–93)
- David Blunkett MP (1993–94)
- Gordon Colling (1994–95)
- Diana Jeuda (1995–96)
- Robin Cook MP (1996–97)
- Richard Rosser (1997–98)
- Brenda Etchells (1998–99)
- Vernon Hince (1999-00)
- Maggie Jones (2000–01)
- Margaret Wall (2001–02)
- Diana Holland (2002–03)
- Mary Turner (2003–04)
- Ian McCartney MP (2004–05)
- Jeremy Beecham (2005–06)
- Michael Griffiths (2006–07)
- Dianne Hayter (2007–08)
- Cath Speight (2008–09)
- Ann Black (2009–10)
- Norma Stephenson (2010-11)
See also
References
- ^ Roy Hattersley (26 July 2001). "Blair mistook his Clarke for a chair". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4228365,00.html. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ "NEC committees". Labour Party. http://www.labour.org.uk/nec_committees. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ Who's Who
- ^ Who's Who
External links
Categories:
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.