Anyone who was ever (or still is) involved with the National Labour Students organisation or have had the misfortune to get a close acquaintance with it, will know what a breeding ground for sleaze and corruption it really is. Derek Draper had that education and his actions as a lobbyist have been very much out of the same mould as the activities which Labour Students encourages in its leading lights, an organisation which thinks nothing of fixing elections, etc. As these people move up from the Labour Students kindergarten into Millbank, MPs offices or even into Parliamentary seats, are we to expect them to leave the lying and cheating behind? At least certain elements of the Labour Party (if not right up to the top) have tolerated Labour Students sleaze for many years as a stick to hit the left with. Now its found its way into the upper echelons of the Party (and, perhaps more importantly, the media) they are beginning to have to take a look at the sleaze, corruption and cronyism issue. We can help them in this task by bringing any incidents into the public eye via this page!
The elections for the Constituency Section of the Labour Party's NEC is the home of sleaze at the moment! Despite several assurances that the Party would remain neutral in the spat between the Grass-roots Alliance and Members' First, those assurances have been broken on numerous occasions - particularly by General Secretary, Tom Sawyer, who has strongly criticised the Grass Roots Alliance slate - especially Liz Davies. Furthermore, one Mari Williams has endorsed a Members First candidate on behalf of Young Labour, despite not having any such mandate to do so. We urge readers to complain to whoever you feel appropriate about these interferences and if you find any other evidence of party officials breaking their avowed neutrality tell us, and also tell Ken Livingstone who has received assurances as to this neutrality and so would be interested in such lapses. Even our non-Labour Party readers and overseas readers could write to papers such as the Guardian and the Independent complaining of the lack of neutrality (see Newswatch page for contact details) and members of Young Labour could officially complain about Mari Williams.