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| Helen Hayes - our local MP is under threat |
Many people do not know the name of their local Member of Parliament, let alone what he or she looks like. They tend to vote for a party and are often more influenced by the character of the leader of that party than that of its local representative, saying things like I voted for ‘Maggie’ (Thatcher), Blair or Cameron rather than for who actually represents them. I suspect this is particularly true for that all-important group, floating voters in marginal seats.
As it happens, I am engaged enough to know the name of my MP, who is Helen Hayes and, being a member of the Labour Party, actually took part in the selection process of choosing her. I was not allowed to vote for a man in this process as the shortlist was made up entirely of women, an attempt by Labour to increase the number of female MPs – even if the party has never chosen a female leader. Meanwhile the Conservatives have twice been led by a woman (three times if you count the recently departed Scottish leader Ruth Davidson). Both of them became Prime Minister: Margaret Thatcher, with the longest run of the modern era at Downing Street, and Theresa May with a rather shorter, less successful spell. Even the Liberal Democrats are now led by a woman, Jo Swinson. While Labour introduced all-women shortlists, it has never entrusted a woman to run the party, let alone the country.
Yet it now appears that being female is not enough to guarantee that Helen, as I will refer to her, remains as an MP. She faces deselection as the party is now attempting to increase the number of BAME (black and minority ethnic) and working-class MPs – which I suspect is shorthand for left-wing people who can be relied upon to support Jeremy Corbyn.
It is certainly ironic that, having benefited from her gender, my MP now faces the chop because she does not tick certain other boxes. I would be the first to admit that I am not a very active member of the party and hardly ever go to meetings or knock on doors at election time. I joined Labour in the same way that in the USA you can register to vote as a Republican or Democrat. This gives you the right to vote for both a local candidate and a national leader, a right I use. Apart from that, well, let’s say that I have a life beyond Labour.
What sort of MP is Helen Hayes? There is little doubt she is hard-working and conscientious. She always replies to my queries and represents the people of our constituency very well but she may prove to be not left-wing enough to satisfy the activists who increasingly run the party because, unlike me, they show up for meetings and take part in the selection process.
Or the deselection process as it might become for Helen. Legally a local party is perfectly entitled to remove an MP if it thinks they are not doing their job properly. This is an important safeguard against people who are lazy, incompetent or corrupt. But should it apply to people who do not satisfy the prevailing ideology of the activists?
It is important to remember how you are viewed by the electorate as a whole before you toss out someone as your choice of MP. If a commercial business or public service organisation got rid of a loyal employee simply because their face did not fit any more, Labour supporters would be rightly outraged and would back that person up if they chose to fight their firing through employment protection legislation. Why should the same standards not apply to the party?
Any organisation, whether it is political or profit-driven, is judged by the way it treats people who work for it. This, incidentally, is why Dominic Cummings is such a dangerous figure for the Conservatives. He regards himself as being above common decency, a kind of unelected king who can - and does - get rid of people like Sonia Khan simply because he does not like them.
The need to act decently applies especially to organisations which appeal to idealism rather than to self-interest. What does it say about Labour if it pushes out someone who has been loyal and hard-working simply because of who they are, not because of what they have done? Frankly it makes us look terrible in the eyes of those whom we want (and need) to vote Labour.
I say ‘us’ because I am still a member of the Labour Party despite my misgivings about the way it is going. A political party should be there for everyone not just the better-off: for the many not the few as Jeremy Corbyn says. I was unenthusiastic about all-women shortlists but could see that they would at least increase the number of women MPs and might eventually lead to a woman leading the party and perhaps even becoming Prime Minister.
Sadly, there is little likelihood of Labour entering Downing Street for at present. That does not mean we should not be trying to win the election which will probably arrive before the end of the year. Labour should be looking outwards, not inwards, to be challenging Boris Johnson on the £350 million a week he said would be available for the NHS once we had left the EU, rather than fighting a civil war on which candidates are chosen as potential MPs.
Democracy might allow you to deselect sitting MPs. Decency surely says you should only do so if they have manifestly failed to do their job properly. Which Helen Hayes has certainly not done.
Edwin Lerner
My other blog is diaryofatouristguide.blogspot.com
