14 constituencies proposed for London Labour Party members reps on Board

Out of all the motions submitted to the Labour London Regional Conference the one that is likely to draw least attention is the one increasing the representation of members on the Regional Board after the huge increase in the London membership of the Labour Party over the past two years by Rule Change 1: A more representative Regional Board but be in no doubt its a critical one.

It is an understatement to say we have major anolomies in the boundaries of the members seats in the Regional Board for historical reasons. For example the Central London board member is elected from 17 CLP’s including all the following:

• Bethnal Green & Bow
• Bermondsey & Old Southwark
• Camberwell & Peckham
• Cities of London & Westminster
• Dulwich & West Norwood
• Hampstead & Kilburn
• Holborn & St Prancas
• Islington North
• Islington South
• Kensington
• Lewisham Deptford
• Lewisham East
• Lewisham West & Penge
• Poplar & Limehouse
• Streatham
• Vauxhall
• Westminster North

Only in the London Labour Party Regional Board could you have such a definition of Central London. Its time to change it, so members in Central London, Lewisham and Streatham are better represented.

One must ask when were the three seats in Lewisham and Streatham ever in Central London? l certainly don’t know anyone who lives in those seats who considers themselves in Central London let alone in TfL travel zone one! Furthermore having such huge geographical areas to cover in these Regional seats does not help those seats being represented well on the Board. 

The suggestion to make the Regional Board seats for the members represent the 14 GLA constituencies instead makes a lot of sense certainly for GLA election campaigns. After all there has been a lot of working across our local authority boundaries in GLA elections already since 2000, so having the Regional Board members constituencies coterminus with them makes a lot of sense. It respect local authority boundaries and thus most parliamentary seat boundaries at this moment in time.

So lets have the members of Lewisham and Streatham better represented in their respective Regional Board seats for Greenwich & Lewisham and Lambeth & Southwark. While those in Central London are better represented in a West Central Board constituency incorporating the boroughs of the City Westminster, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham.

Only in the London Labour Party Regional Board could you have such a definition of Central London. Its time to change it, so members in Central London, Lewisham and Streatham are better represented.