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A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British
Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
.
In
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituencies. In
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, CLP boundaries align with constituencies of the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
. The Labour Party in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide constituency Labour Party which is yet to contest elections.
Labour International
Labour International is an organisation for members of the Labour Party who live outside the United Kingdom. It is recognised by the National Executive Committee as a constituency Labour Party
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A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an ...
is a CLP for members of the British Labour Party who are currently living overseas.
For much of the Labour Party's history, especially during the 1980s, CLPs were perceived as relatively left wing, compared to the more moderate or pragmatic trade unions.
Bodies
A CLP's main decision-making body is normally its General Committee or All Member Meeting. Day-to-day management is generally carried out by the executive committee (EC).
Officers
The
Labour Party Rule Book
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
establishes the CLP officers as chair, vice-chair/campaigns, vice-chair/membership, secretary, treasurer and women's officer. These officers are referred to as the Key Officers.
[Labour Party Rule Book (2008), p.39]
CLPs may appoint additional "functional officers" such as a Youth Officer, BAME Officer, LGBT+ Officer, Disability Officer, Political Education and Training Officer, Trade Union Liaison Officer (TULO), Business Liaison Officer (BuLO), Information Technology Officer and Fundraising Officer who may attend meetings of the executive committee (without voting power).
The CLP elects representatives to national Party structures, including delegates to
Labour Party Conference
The Labour Party Conference is the annual conference of the British Labour Party. It is formally the supreme decision-making body of the party and is traditionally held in the final week of September, during the party conference season when the ...
, and it nominates candidates for election to other Party positions such as the
National Policy Forum
The National Policy Forum (NPF) of the British Labour Party is part of the policy-making system of the Party, set up by Leader Tony Blair as part of the Partnership in Power process. A Provisional National Policy Forum had been established by Bl ...
and the
National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties:
* National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa
* Australian Labor Party National Executive
* Nationa ...
, as well as Party structures within Scotland, Wales or the appropriate English region.
Meetings
In 2004, the Labour Party carried out the "21st Century Party" review. As a result, some CLPs chose to change their arrangements. Some CLPs have merged the GC and EC into a single committee, whilst some CLPs have abolished the GC entirely and organize all-member meetings to take decisions. Other CLPs, particularly in urban areas divided between a number of constituencies, have chosen to combine their activities with neighbouring CLPs.
CLP committees generally meet on a monthly basis: some have chosen to meet less frequently and to organise all-member meetings or policy forums in intervening months. Changes to the standard model of operation for CLPs require permission from the Party's National Executive Committee: however, this practice can be devolved to National or Regional (paid) Officers of the Party.
Local campaign forums
CLPs also elect representative to local campaign forums (LCFs) which promote the election of Labour councillors and then oversee the work of Labour councillors on a specific principal local authority. LCFs replaced local government committees in Autumn 2011 as part of the Labour Party's ''Refounding Labour'' agenda. Where the boundaries of a local authority are the same as those used for a parliamentary constituency, the GC will also assume the role of LCF.
The LCF may be referred to in some areas by the older title of district Labour party (DLP) where it is overseeing a district council and county Labour party where it is overseeing the work of a shire county council.
Selection of parliamentary candidates
Functions of the CLP include selecting the local Labour Party candidate for a national parliamentary
General Election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
.
Where there is a sitting Labour MP, the CLP can organise a 'trigger ballot' to decide whether it wishes to carry out the full selection procedure outlined below or simply endorse the sitting MP as their candidate at the next election. It is unusual for a sitting MP to 'lose' their trigger ballot, which requires the endorsement of one third of party branches or one third of affiliated branches to succeed.
In the event that the MP is not a Labour MP, or the sitting MP is retiring or has lost their trigger ballot, a full selection is held. The CLP must, for this, follow the procedures agreed by the National Executive Committee, including whether or not the selection will be carried out from an open or
all-women shortlist
All-women shortlists (AWS) is an affirmative action practice intended to increase the proportion of female Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom, allowing only women to stand in particular constituencies for a particular political p ...
.
The CLP can choose whether or not to select a candidate on the Labour Party's panel of approved candidates. However, should the CLP select a candidate not on the panel, its decision is subject to the National Executive Committee retrospectively satisfying itself that the candidate reaches the standard required to join the panel. In this and other circumstances (for example new information emerging about a candidate subsequent to their selection), the
National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties:
* National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa
* Australian Labor Party National Executive
* Nationa ...
can exercise its power to block a CLP's initial choice, which has on occasion proved controversial. In May 2022, all members of the executive committee of the Wakefield CLP resigned after their chosen candidates were all denied approval.
See also
*
Conservative Association
A Conservative Association (CA) is a local organisation composed of Conservative Party members in the United Kingdom. Every association varies in membership size but all correspond to a parliamentary constituency in England, Wales, Scotland and No ...
References
External links
Labour Party A–Z jargon-busterUnited the Union
{{UK Labour Party
Organisation of the Labour Party (UK)