Concerns about ruling body of Welsh Labour

Martin Shipton

Concerns have been expressed about a senior councillor’s membership of Welsh Labour’s ruling body amid allegations that he doesn’t have a mandate to sit on it.

Cllr Ashley Lister, a Cardiff council cabinet member, sits on the party’s Welsh Executive Committee (WEC) as a representative of socialist societies and of LGBT Labour Wales.

The WEC is the main governing body for Welsh Labour, responsible for servicing the Welsh Labour Conference and Policy Forum, implementing the party’s constitution in Wales, and managing party work and elections in Wales. Key roles include the General Secretary and Governance and Local Government Officer, who support the committee’s work.

The committee’s key functions include:

* Administration and policy: The WEC oversees the servicing of Welsh Labour’s conference and policy forum, and supports the implementation of the Party’s constitution in Wales.

* Elections: It is involved in election processes, and the General Secretary acts as the legal agent for various elections in Wales.

* Liaison: The committee maintains relationships with affiliated organizations and liaises with the UK General Secretary and the National Executive Committee (NEC) on party matters in Wales.

* Governance: It supports the implementation of devolution of the rulebook to Wales and handles the process for selecting candidates in contested seats.

An active member of more than one socialist society who did not wish to be named said: “As an active member of socialist societies, I’ve engaged in many discussions over recent months about Senedd candidate selections at our meetings. There has been a lot of disquiet about how groups like the Cooperative Party, SERA (the Socialist Environment and Resources Association) and the Socialist Health Association were allowed to be involved and about which candidates were long listed.

“Many of us are frustrated and feel we don’t have a voice. It became apparent during these discussions that our WEC rep had been in place for some time without having to face reelection. He is apparently on the WEC from LGBT Labour Wales, a group that has only existed on paper for at least three years. I don’t know Ashley Lister that well, but know enough to say he is close to senior Welsh Labour staff. Is this why he seems to have our place on the WEC permanently? It used to be elected on a regular basis.

“Welsh Labour’s governance structures should mirror the very best around in Wales. That includes members of the WEC having to renew their mandate: there is no excuse for not holding these elections.”

Some in the party have been critical of decisions taken by the WEC over candidate selection.

Jamie Pritchard

Joe Lock, the General Secretary of Welsh Labour, decided with the backing of the WEC to exclude Cllr Jamie Pritchard, now the leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, from the shortlist of candidates for the recent Caerphilly by-election. Cllr Pritchard was told he was being excluded for historic social media posts in which he expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn when the left-winger was party leader, The decision caused uproar in the local party and led to the resignation of Cllr Sean Morgan, Cllr Pritchard’s predecessor as leader. As well as resigning as council leader, Cllr Morgan also quit Labour and has since joined the Green Party.

Meanwhile a WEC panel excluded the highly regarded Owain Williams from a Senedd candidates list in Cardiff – a decision that was regretted by First Minister Eluned Morgan.

The WEC is currently controlled by right wing party members.

We contacted Cllr Lister, who is Cardiff council’s cabinet member for children’s services, tackling poverty and supporting young people, for comment, but he did not respond to the message we sent him.