| Save the Labour Party |
| NEWS RELEASE 01/03
New 'grass-roots' body calls for member-led Inquiry into the Labour Party London, 28 July - A new 'grass-roots' Labour Party organisation has launched an intensive lobbying campaign of trade union leaders, parliamentarians and local party officials to call for an urgent member-led Inquiry into the state of the Labour Party. This follows a slump in Labour Party membership to less than 250,000, below the level when Labour Party Leader, Tony Blair, was first elected in 1994. The new body, called Save the Labour Party (STLP), is attracting grass-roots members from all over the United Kingdom, and left, right and centre within the Party. A model resolution calling for the Inquiry was agreed at an STLP meeting in Birmingham on 19 July. All parliamentary constituency Labour parties (CLPs), MPs, affiliated trades unions and other member organisations will be contacted. The promoters want the Inquiry to probe the Labour Party's structures and policy-making processes. They say this is needed to halt the loss of members and restore Labour' ability to fight and win elections, which is being threatened by the decline. The Inquiry needs to be completed well before the 2004 Party Conference, widely expected to be the last before the next General Election. Initial results of lobbying over the summer are to be announced at an event in London on 20 September. This is timed to take place a week before Party Conference, which this year is being staged in Bournemouth from 28 September to 2 October. STLP acting chair Trevor Fisher said: "Reports from our members show that the Party's capacity to fight elections has been seriously weakened. Falling membership is just one expression of the growing gulf in the Labour Party between the Leadership and rank-and-file members. Our aim is to galvanise all sections of the Party into action to stop the rot and rebuild membership well before the next general election." STLP is determined to focus on internal party organisation, and policy-making processes. An overwhelming majority at the Birmingham meeting rejected proposals for wide-ranging policy debates within the new organisation. Media Enquiries: Trevor Fisher - Acting Chair 01785 606931 (evenings/weekends) eMail: trevor@lanefisher.fsnet.co.uk Notes to Editors 1. Save the Labour Party is a voluntary association, open to all Labour Party members and affiliates. 2. Former and prospective Labour Party members may be eligible for associate membership. 3. For further information write to: STLP, PO Box 2028, Stafford ST16 3WA Ends |