SIX NOTTINGHAM Inner City Labour Party wards have been denied the right to select their own candidates - that's 12 candidates in safe Labour seats!
The East Midlands Regional Executive have alleged membership irregularities. Their decision was endorsed by the NEC.
The first the branches knew about the decision was when an article appeared in the local press.
A number of the branches had already selected their candidates and had canvassing preparations well underway.
It is no surprise that all of these wards are in areas comprising of large afro-caribbean and asian communities with significant black Labour Party membership.
It is also no surprise that these impositions follow hard on the heels of the expulsion of leading black activist Hassan Ahmed.
The membership secretary of Nottingham East started the whole process off when he discovered that there was a large number of reduced rate members in the Inner City.
The fact that all the wards are in areas of very high unemployment seems to have escaped his notice!
All the wards in the constituency were told to check the status of their unemployed members, with branch officers being asked to behave like DSS Snoopers!
When asked how they should check their members unemployed status, one DLP official suggested that people be asked to explain "what they do during the day!"
The allegation of membership irregularities appears to be a smokescreen to disguise the real purpose behind the impositions: to ensure that left candidates from the black communities and those associated with Hassan Ahmed do not get elected onto the Council.
On Monday 20 March two democratically selected black sitting councillors were deselected by the Regional Office and replaced by two white members. Their crime? To be black, have political aspirations and to know Hassan Ahmed!
These latest attacks will do nothing to encourage black membership and can only serve to fan the flames of racism both inside and outside the Party. Socialism, Social Democracy & REVOLUTION Saturday May 13, North London See page 15
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 81, April 8 1995, Page 3