THE BATTLE for the Labour Party leadership is expected to intensify today with a declaration by former cabinet minister Ed Balls, but a row is looming over the decision to close off nominations next week.
Even though the election will not be decided until Labour’s September annual conference, the party’s national executive committee yesterday decided that nominations would close tomorrow week.
Gordon Brown’s replacement will be chosen by an electoral college split three ways between MPs, Labour Party members and union members who have not opted out of paying a political levy.
Influential MP Jon Cruddas, who has ruled out running for the leadership, sharply criticised the NEC’s decision to set May 27th as the closing date for nominations.
The decision, he said, is “an absolute nonsense”, since there is no hurry given that the race will not end until September, adding that newly-elected MPs need to be given some time to form opinions about the candidates.
So far, former foreign secretary David Miliband and his younger brother Ed are the only ones to have declared – though Mr Balls, irritated by suggestions that he does not have the nomination numbers, is expected to do so today.
Urging the NEC to meet again and change the nomination dates, Mr Cruddas said: “I’ve known David Miliband for 20 years, I’ve known Ed Balls for 20 years, but I don’t know what they stand for.”
During June and July, the candidates will take part in hustings throughout the UK, while a major television debate – similar to the ones that shook up the general election campaign – will be offered to TV stations.
Left-wing MP John McDonnell said he wanted to run but he doubted if he would be able to gather the support of the necessary 33 Labour MPs needed to sign his nomination papers before the deadline.
“The national executive committee agreed that we will have a long process for debate but the nomination process will have to take place in four days. Such a time-limited period for nominations skews the whole process, it basically fixes it,” he said.
The decision, he said, was taken to ensure that “the existing favourites, the Miliband brothers and maybe Ed Balls, will get on [the ballot sheet]”, but that others would not have time to gather support.
“The Labour hierarchy seem to have steamrollered this through. I know a lot of rank-and-file members will be very angry. I just thought we learnt the lessons last time, we didn’t want a coronation.”
Last night, supporters of David Miliband said they were confident that he already had 100 MPs signed up, while his brother also has more than the numbers needed.
However, it is not clear so far if Mr Balls has sufficient names gathered, while former health secretary Andy Burnham – another possible contender – is unlikely to have the necessary signatures at this point.
Under the rules, the leader is chosen by the transferable vote system, which leaves candidates who finish down the table on the first count with hope that they could still come through, as Harriet Harman did in the 2007 deputy leadership race.