Introduction

The Labour Party has introduced new rules that will see Local Government Committees (LGC) replace Local Campaign Forums (LCF) in the coming months.

An LCF/LGC exists for every primary council area in England, Scotland and Wales; and also for county councils in England.

The LCF/LGC plays an important role ahead of local elections, including overseeing the selection of candidates, developing the manifesto and organising parts of the election campaign.

As part of the national agreement between the Co-operative Party and the Labour Party, we are entitled to up to two seats on every LCF/LGC where the Co-operative Party sponsors candidates.

Although, the Co-operative Party provides additional support to Labour and Co-operative candidates; our joint candidates are covered by the procedures, manifesto and campaigns agreed by the LCF/LGC. It is therefore important that the Co-operative Party has a strong representative on these bodies.

Changes to the Rule Book

The changes to the LCF/LGCs were voted into the Rule Book at Labour Party Annual Conference in September 2021. As we informed you at the time, a drafting error had resulted in the Co-operative Party’s seat being omitted from the final version of the Rule Book.

It was expected that the drafting error would be corrected at the Labour’s Annual Conference in September 2020, however as you’ll have seen Conference will not take place in it’s usual format and so the corrections to the Rule Book won’t be implemented until the 2021 Conference.

Importantly though, Labour Party Head Office has issued guidance confirming that when each LGC is created, the Co-operative Party’s seat must be retained.

The new structures for the LGC will therefore see three sections from which the membership will be drawn: one third from the Labour Group(s); one third from Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs); and one third from affiliated trade unions. In addition to these sections the Co-operative Party will have a seat on every LGC where it has had official or supported Labour and Co-operative candidates.

Next Steps

As each LCF is reconstituted and becomes a LGC, your local Co-operative Party should be asked to elect a new representative. This should happen automatically and you should be contacted by the secretary with further information on this.

If the new LGC says that the Co-operative Party is not eligible for a seat based on the Rule Book, please contact us with their details and we will reply to them on your behalf to resolve the issue. You can also suggest that they contact the Labour Party’s Governance and Legal Unit for clarification.